Citizen science Sustainability

ANERIS. Towards an Operational Marine Biology Network.

Program:

HE (Horizon Europe)

Duration:

2023-2026

Budget:

9.9M

Consortium:

19 partners in 9 countries

SFC:

Partner

ANERIS project aims to develop the next generation of scientific instrumentation tools and methods for the detection of marine life. Three marine organism detection methodologies will be integrated: genomics, bio-optical sensors and participatory science. The technologies will be implemented following co-design strategies, involving all actors of the quintuple helix.

The project proposes the creation of a long-term systematic information system on biodiversity in oceans and coastal areas, allowing rapid interpretation and dissemination of data in an open manner. The production of FAIR Operational Marine Biology data will be carried out through a state-of-the-art technological infrastructure that will be connected to the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC).

Project challenge

The current biodiversity crisis is resulting in the loss or modification of marine ecosystems without even knowing it. As human impacts on marine life accelerate, greater knowledge of biodiversity is required to monitor, assess and support the best responses for a sustainable future. As a society, we urgently need to improve biological observations to gain a deeper understanding of marine ecosystems and the effects that global changes have on their biodiversity. This is not a simple task, as biological properties are more complex to measure compared to physico-chemical properties

Solutions

The three proposed technologies (genomics, bio-optical sensors and participatory science) will be validated in different case studies, involving ANERIS’ technological innovations: prototypes of commercial instruments and state-of-the-art research infrastructures. A training programme will also be developed, mainly focused on personnel involved in research infrastructures.

At SfC we are in charge of coordinating the co-design of the proposed technologies, based on the co-design methodology applied in Cos4Cloud. We aim to carry out more than 10 workshops involving the agents of the quintuple helix to co-design the 11 technologies of the project. Additionally, we will collaborate in multiple dissemination activities to promote the project, maximise its impact and create community.

Results

We will create optimal co-design methodologies for the co-development of participatory technology services useful for detecting and monitoring marine life, building on the success story of Cos4Cloud. These new technologies co-designed during the 48 months of the project will serve to generate a biodiversity database at different and complementary scales, helping to reverse the deterioration of Europe’s marine and coastal ecosystems.

Project funded by the Horizon Europe research and innovation program of the European Union. Grant agreement no. 101094924