On Friday, April 19, 2024, the first meeting of the partners of the new SeaInsights project, with the full name »Improving conservation and management of Northern Adriatic through biodiversity monitoring using eDNA and public participation”, funded through Interreg Italia Slovenija program.," was held at the Dolphin Center in Piran.
The project involves six partners: from Slovenia, alongside the lead partner, the Biotechnical Faculty of the University of Ljubljana, also Morigenos - Slovenian Marine Mammal Society and DivjaLabs d.o.o.; from Italy, the University of Padua, the APS Dolphin Biology and Conservation society, and the Shoreline Soc Coop cooperative. The associated project partners are the Public Institute Landscape Park Strunjan, Debeli rtič Landscape Park, Public agency for promotion of entrepreneurship and developing projects of Municipality of Izola, the Institute of the Republic of Slovenia for Nature Conservation, and the Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia.
At the first meeting of the project team, the project partners were briefed on the procedures related to the implementation of the project activities, the timetable for the implementation of the activities and the tasks of the partners.
The SeaInsights project will use environmental DNA (eDNA) to assess the diversity of the marine fauna of the northern Adriatic and provide data for the development of guidelines for the use of eDNA in marine biodiversity monitoring. They will develop and test innovative tools to identify marine mammals at an individual level using eDNA. Existing data obtained through the photo-identification method will be compared and harmonized to achieve a new cross-border assessment of the dolphin population. The project will also develop guidelines for joint monitoring across the project area. Through a study of cultural ecosystem services, they will identify the benefits of coastal/marine ecosystems and certain marine species as recognized by key stakeholders. The new findings will be integrated into a toolbox for communication and awareness raising among target groups and the general public on the importance of marine biodiversity conservation.
