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SOS! Surviving On Swedish island 3

SOS! Scrapers Of Sweden

Time to scrape the substrates! Get on the wetsuits (probably the hardest part), fins on and SPLASH! The sampling days have started and we already feel like part of the marine fauna… hours in the water collecting the samples from the substrates! In order to characterize the benthic communities growing on different substrate types (natural and artificial surfaces: natural rocky walls, concrete pontoons and plastic buoys) we are performing various snorkels in three different locations: 3 substrate types, 3 locations, 4 replicas, easy to say, hard to do and a nightmare for identification. All in the name of science, because knowing the species composition of each of the sites will allow us to understand the effect of the increasing amount of human made establishments in the marine environment. Do the benthic assemblages change in terms of structure and composition? Apart from the classic species identification, we will develop 3D models of the surface structure of the different materials to completely understand what is going on down there. Welcome to the 21st century! This will provide information of the rugosity, which may be a key factor for settlement of the community.


Thanks God our busy brains had a break from the fascinating world of the algae, we sang out loud:

https://scontent-arn2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.15752-9/39536015_2099468230291921_5746951320502272000_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=9bc1f97a1a0ec93ccde1cfe627166b34&oe=5BFB5222
And the Grammy Award to the Best New Artist goes to… Our coordinator Tim Deprez! (Applause).

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