Building skills and capacity to monitor microscopic marine life, Gibraltar

Research Project

Image of Building skills and capacity to monitor microscopic marine life, Gibraltar

Research Project Overview

This project builds skills and capacity to monitor microscopic marine life (e.g., plankton, algae, fish larvae) in British Gibraltar Territorial Waters (BGTW) and is funded by the UK Government through Darwin Plus (award DPLPS001). The project aims to expand Gibraltar’s existing marine monitoring protocols and to assist with the development of response strategies to any undesirable conditions that may arise due to future climate and/or environmental change.

The key phases of the project are to:

  1. Collate and analyse existing data, which have been collected as part of past monitoring efforts and research projects
  2. Collect new surface water samples and analyse the microscopic marine life within
  3. Establish an electronic, image-based training set of the relevant microscopic marine organisms sampled
  4. Assist DESCCH with the dissemination of relevant information regarding microscopic marine organisms that could affect Gibraltar’s coastline now, or in the future.

Project Team

Dr Sarah Alvarez (Project Officer) is responsible for the daily project activity, supported by Dr Awantha Dissanayake (Project Lead), Dr Darren Fa (Project Participant) and Stephen Warr (Project Participant, DESCCH).

Image of Dplps001 plankton

Significance of the research

Microscopic organisms form a vital part of the marine ecosystem. The small size, fleeting life-stages and environmental sensitivity of these organisms means that they can respond rapidly to change within the marine environment. They are therefore valuable indicators of ecosystem complexity, environmental health and water quality. However, their small size and fleeting-life stages can also hinder monitoring efforts because their identification and analysis requires regular sampling, careful analysis under a microscope and specialist taxonomic knowledge. This project seeks to overcome some of these barriers by collecting images of the microscopic marine life currently present in BGTW and refining standard operating procedures to help streamline future analysis. The project measures key indicators and relevant patterns of plankton abundance, and considers these within broader geographic and ecologic contexts.

Research methods

The project involves field sampling, laboratory processing, microscope analysis and desk-based study. The field sampling primarily comprises plankton trawls in BGTW, with samples being processed and analysed in the University of Gibraltar’s laboratory. Key indicator organisms are viewed and imaged using appropriate microscope and camera equipment, with follow-up analysis using specialist software.

A key output for this project is an electronic, image-based record of the plankton sampled within Gibraltar’s marine environment. This record provides a baseline dataset and valuable resource for future comparison and analysis.

Image of Dplps001 stereo microscope
Image of Darwin plus logo 1717x2048

Project collaborators

This project is funded by the UK Government through Darwin Plus (award DPLPS001), and runs until 31 August 2027.

The Department of the Environment, Sustainability, Climate Change and Heritage.

Relevance to the wider community

Plankton are not readily visible to the naked eye, but they are fundamental components of the marine ecosystem. As such, our efforts to monitor and understand plankton populations and microscopic marine life can greatly enhance our ability to successfully manage our interactions with the local marine realm. These measures not only deliver the intrinsic value of supporting a healthy and robust marine ecosystem, they also have clear benefits for areas such as sport and leisure, fishing, tourism, public health and more.

Image of Dplps001 plankton trawl
Image of Dplps001 compound microscope

Pathways to impact

The baseline information collated within this project helps to expand and support long-term marine monitoring efforts, and provides the necessary data to begin to explore the potential for semi-automated sample analysis. The project also feeds directly into the University of Gibraltar’s MSc Marine Science & Climate Change programme, and thereby invests in future generations of marine scientists. Enrolled students will be able to utilise all project outputs, which will undoubtedly be useful for forthcoming research.

Research
PhD
PhD by Research

Our PhD by research programme is based on independent study, guided by your assigned supervisors and support system. It typically [...]

  • FT 3 to 5 Years/ PT 4 to 8 Years
  • No Placement option
  • Full/Part Time

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