Harmful algal blooms species in thin layers (HABIT)

EU Sixth Framework Programme: Priority 1.1.6.3 Global Change And Ecosystems

The project HABIT researches the development and dispersion of HAB populations in sub-surface micro-layers. It focuses on a genus of phytoplankton that has a serious impact on the economic development of the European coastal zone and which frequently occurs in sub-surface, thin micro-layers. The overall objectives of HABIT are to resolve fundamental patterns in the occurrences of Dinophysis and quantify the processes that are important in governing their distribution. To this end, the project HABIT will:

1. investigate the maintenance and persistence of high density thin layers through studying interactions between fine scale physical diffusion and net growth and trophic relationships within them
2. investigate the precise role of small scale structures on the coastal shelf as incubators for accumulations of Dinophysis
3. utilise physical models to examine the formation and persistence of gyres on the shelf, to predict their transport, and as a consequence HAB events at the coast.