The fourth seminar of the MISTIC SEAS 3 project took place on 28 and 29 June 2021, which was conducted telematically due to the pandemic caused by COVID-19.
This seminar was attended by all the project partners and aimed to evaluate the biodiversity descriptors (D4, D1 and D3) and to review the project developments in general. The meeting was moderated by Camilo Saavedra, from the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO), and Maria Vale from the Regional Fund for Science and Technology (FRCT) of the Government of the Azores, coordinator of the project, was in charge of the welcome.
The technical session started with the intervention of Gema Hernández, from the Institute of Marine Research (IIM-CSIC), who updated the information of the work package 1 ‘Development of a coordinated approach for addressing and implementing Descriptor 4 (food webs) in the Macaronesian sub-region.'.
Subsequently, Joana Brito from the Instituto do Mar (IMAR) commented on the progress of the pilot tests, and Luis Outeiro, from the Museu da Baleia, updated information on the Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE) model; in relation to the update of the work package 2 ‘Macaronesian common approach for the integration and aggregation of biological parameters in the trophic web'.
Later, José Nuno Pereira, from the Direção Regional dos Assuntos dos Mar dos Açores (DRAM), presented the task 'Improvement/optimisation of indicators and environmental risk assessment' framed within the work package 3 ‘Assessment across Biodiversity descriptors – Linking D4 (trophic guilds), D1 (Biodiversity) and D3 (Fisheries)'. To close the first day's session, Gema Hernández, presented the task 'Improve monitoring in descriptors 1-4'.
On the second day of the seminar, Camilo presented a wrap up of the discussions occured in the 1st day session, followed by the presentation and discussion of a new approach for the deliverable “Monitoring programs for D4”, through the use of indicators and monitoring programmes in the different archipelagos of the Macaronesian region. Joana Brito and José Nuno presented the Pressure combinations to test the models and updated the status of the model simulations. The meeting ended with a review of the initial tasks schedule and the establishment of a strategy for the deliverables developments until the end of the project.
