Changes in the marine Biota (MAF) of the Black Sea

Organizers: Prof. Dr. Kadir SEYHAN and Asst. Prof. Dr. Ömerhan Dürrani Karadeniz Technical University, 61530, Trabzon, Türkiye.

Venue and Timing: Faculty of Marine Science & Institute of Marine Sciences and Technology, Karadeniz Technical University, Trabzon, 61080 Türkiye.

Overall goal: The workshop aims to provide participants with an understanding of the ecological and socio-economic significance of MAF organisms. Through this workshop, participants will learn how to utilize the geometric morphometric approach to identify and analyze phenotypic variations in MAF organisms (e.g., gastropods) in response to environmental deterioration. Additionally, the workshop will update participants on the latest techniques used to estimate the age and growth of MAF organisms, specifically focusing on gastropods. Moreover, participants will gain practical knowledge on the extraction of the gastropods’ ‘statolith’ for accurate age estimation.

Training led by:
Dr. Kadir Seyhan (Karadeniz Technical University, Türkiye).
Dr. Genuario Belmonte (University of Salento, Italy).
Dr. Ömerhan Dürrani (Karadeniz Technical University, Türkiye).

Travel grants: Limited funds are offered to some of the participants to cover round trip travel and per-diem cost. Applications should be appended to the registration material with justification for the funding request.

Venue and Timing: Faculty of Marine Science & Institute of Marine Sciences and Technology, Karadeniz Technical University, Trabzon, 61080 Türkiye, September 18-21, 2023.

Application deadline: August 04, 2023.
Notification of acceptance: August 15, 2023.

To apply for this workshop, interested applicants are required to provide a 1) personal letter of interest, 2) CV, and 3) letter of recommendation from their graduate supervisor or employer.

Applications should be sent via email to Prof. Kadir Seyhan at kseyhan.1962@gmail.com with a copy to Prof. Sergio Rossi at sergio.rossi@unisalento.it.

For more information contact: Dr. Ömerhan Dürrani – ukhan@ktu.edu.tr.

Applying for MAF-WORLD travel support: Limited funds are offered to some of the participants to cover round trip travel and per-diem cost.

Applications should be appended to the registration material with justification for the funding request.

Applicants who are within the EU and associate countries of the MAF COST framework should subscribe in the COST action formally.

Program:

Day 1

1. The ecological and economic importance of MAF organisms (Lecture);
2. The Mnemiopsis story and other foreign plankton in the Black Sea (Lecture);
3. Geometric morphometric approach to determine phenotypic differences of MAF organisms (e.g., gastropods) in response to environmental deterioration (Lecture);
4. Methods for estimating MAF organism age and growth: Gastropoda (Lecture);
5. Geometric analysis of mollusks shells (e.g., gastropod) to determine phenotypic
   differentiation (with MorphoJ software).

Day 2

1. Fieldwork on a vessel to sample MAF organisms from the Black Sea.

Day 3

1. Statolith extraction: aging of mollusks (e.g., gastropod) using statolith (Lab work).

Day 4

1. Quantifying Shape Variations: Digitizing Landmarks on Gastropod Shell Images (with ImageJ and R software);
2. Analysis of Black Sera plankton (taxa identification, ecological diversity indexes and dominance).