Traineeship in Italy: studies on coral responses to microplastics and REE

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Traineeship in Italy: studies on coral responses to microplastics and REE

From 23 June to 2 July, Dr Tomas Makaras, NRC Senior Researcher, participated in a traineeship at the Laboratory of Ecotoxicology and Biomonitoring of the Department of Physical Sciences, Earth and Environment, University of Siena, Italy. The scientist in collaboration with university researchers conducted research on animal behaviour and studied the behavioural responses of marine corals to microplastics and rare earth elements (REE) in water.

The research has generated a large volume of visual material that will be used for further behavioural analysis and publication. These data will help to assess the short- and long-term effects of these pollutants on the study organisms and their recovery potential after exposure, as well as to predict the adaptability of corals to changing environmental conditions in marine ecosystems.

The traineeship also contributed to the fostering of further scientific collaboration between Nature Research Centre and University of Siena. As a result of the traineeship, a joint project application is currently being prepared to be submitted to the Horizon Europe programme. The traineeship was funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation through the Italian Institute of Culture in Lithuania.

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