BioMLoop

Littoral and retro-littoral wetlands play a crucial role in coastal and terrestrial ecosystems, providing ecosystem services such as habitat, water filtration, climate regulation and storm protection. However, these areas are under threat from climate change and human activities, leading to a loss of biodiversity and disruption of biogeochemical cycles. The erosion of biodiversity leads to a significant reduction in the overall value of ecosystem services and generates socio-economic costs due to our high dependence on these services. The BioMLoop project aims to characterize the taxonomic and functional biodiversity of organisms in the microbial loop in littoral and retro-littoral wetlands in different geographical areas of Europe. The coupling between the pelagic and benthic communities of the microbial loop, at the base of the trophic chain, will enable us to examine the functioning of these ecosystems and identify the factors impacting biodiversity. The originality of the project also lies in the use of this integrative approach to propose tools for managing the health status of the wetlands studied. To achieve these objectives, spatio-temporal monitoring will be carried out on littoral and retro-littoral ecosystems including southern, northern, eastern and western Europe. This monitoring will involve characterizing the biodiversity and environmental parameters of the sites, applying appropriate protocols for sampling techniques and obtaining quality metadata. These in situ observations will make it possible to characterize and map the distribution, richness and structure of the benthic and pelagic communities of the microbial loop in different wetlands. This will provide knowledge of the dynamics of biodiversity and the functioning of these ecosystems, combining the water column and sediments. The data obtained will make it possible to decipher the interactions and assemblages of microorganisms controlling ecological functions. The study on a European scale will provide an insight into the variability of biodiversity in different ecological and geographical contexts. Finally, the project aims to translate the scientific results into management tools suitable for managers of littoral and retro-littoral wetlands. The project aims to promote sustainable management measures to strengthen the resilience of these ecosystems in the face of global change.