In order to achieve our main objective, in Anèllides, marine environmental services we have been part of the following projects:

Active Posidonia: the importance of citizen science in unprotected areas

The Posidonia Activa citizen science project is carried out on the seabed of the Catalan Coast, aims to map the seabed of unprotected areas to accurately locate and delimit phanerogam meadows, as well as study the biodiversity associated with them. This will allow the most biologically important areas to be located on the map, promoting new initiatives to avoid the reduction of these endemic ecosystems in the Mediterranean.

Posidonia oceanica is a species of sea phanerogam with great biological interest since it is the precursor of important marine ecosystems, it is home and food for thousands of species, a reservoir of CO2, a natural barrier that offers coastal protection against coastal regression, promotes oxygenation of the sea, maintenance of the sea floor and expels microplastics from the sea thanks to the balls that produce dry leaves. For these reasons, and many other reasons, it is essential to conserve this species of phanerogam endemic to the Mediterranean, currently in danger and with an advanced regression. This project began in 2020 with the mission of not leaving any marine space on the Catalan coast without sampling, to protect this marine grass, which provides us with almost 50% of the planet’s oxygen.

This study is carried out with voluntary and snorkelling divers, who help us, to take biological measures to observe the state of the meadows and to collect the necessary data that allow us to develop a map of marine species in the area and thus study the habitats of greater biological importance of the studied municipalities.

Interactive map of the maps of Posidonia Activa

Download the maps of Posidonia Activa

Specific objectives

  • Encourage experimentation and practical science among young people

  • Bringing science closer and stimulating citizen participation to scientific processes and data collection
  • Deepen in the observation and knowledge of ocean Posidonia
  • Geolocate the meadows of unprotected areas, blurring their cartography
  • Delimit the Posidonia meadows and carry out annual monitoring of these
  • Identify and record all species of living organisms in the areas studied

Phases and activities

  • In 2020 the project began in the relevant area in Creixell and Roda de Berà, locating and studying a meadow of 80 hectares.
  • During 2021 the study was carried out in the municipalities of Coma-ruga and Sant Salvador, delimiting 6 areas of Posidonia oceanica, the largest of them of 11 hectares.
  • In 2022 the corresponding area in Calafell was studied, which houses large meadows of Cymodocea nodosa and a meadow in regression of Posidonia oceanica, which is why the pilot phase of transplantation in the municipality of Calafell has begun in 2023.
The project aims to reach an area of the Catalan Coast every year, as well as to execute annual monitoring in all the meadows already mapped in the previous phases of ACTIVE POSIDONIA.

This project is led by:

It has the scientific collaboration of:

It is funded by:

Place

Catalan coast

Dates

We will soon notify you of the dates of the dives, the snorkels and the informative activities.

Target

Submarineers with Advanced and more than 10 dives
Snorkellists with good swimming capacity
General public:

Forms
Talks
Exhibits
Informative workshops
Public of functional diversity:

Posidonia Sensory Workshop

Modality

Citizen science project

How to participate?

Send us an email to infoanellides.com with the Posidonia Activa concept