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Is the European date mussel correctly protected?
Is the European date mussel correctly protected?
The marine zoology research group of the UniversitĂ Politecnica delle Marche (Ancona, Italy) focuses, among others, on organism/habitat interactions, and more specifically bioerosion processes. Carlo Cerrano, my supervisor, and Torcuado Pulidos Mantas, a PhD student, are assessing the population state of the European date mussel, Lithophaga lithophaga. It is a strictly protected species that suffers from illegal fishing, a practice which is also highly destructive for their habitat.
For my professional practice, I was supposed to go to Ancona and investigate the population state of the date mussel and its bioerosion activity by doing scuba-diving fieldwork, lab, and computer work. Due to the COVID-19 crisis, my internship was reorganized. So, I investigated (remotely) the level of involvement of European countries in the date mussel's protection measures. A comprehensive report of the situation was written for this study. Plus, I created a geological map referencing the occurrences of the bivalve as well as the common piddock, Pholas dactylus.
The investigation goals
The investigation goals
The use of the report as a reference for future interns of the marine zoology research group;
That the geological map constitutes the base of a modeling project. The aim of this project is to identify the areas where the date mussel and the common piddock could be present. This will help limit date-fishing and pin down the regions that need to be monitored.
Steps I followed for this investigation
Steps I followed for this investigation
For the report
For the report
I looked for references on the biology of the date shell and the common piddock;
Wrote the introduction of the report;
Was organized (e.g., I prepared a recapitulative table of my research);
Searched for the resources available on the internet;
Contacted main actors (e.g., researchers, park manager, environment ministry) in the date mussel's protection in each country;
Wrote the material and method section based on the table, the results which are a summary of the information you found per country, the discussion, and the conclusion.
For the map
For the map
I looked for a geological map that covers the mediterranean basin and the eastern coast of the Atlantic ocean;
Found the WMS URL or the metadata to use on QGIS;
Found occurences data for the date mussel and the common piddock;
Added the occurences data as vector layers to QGIS;
Converted them into shapefile.
Do you want to know more about the date mussel and the common piddock? Then, follow step 1 and 2.
Do you want to know more about the date mussel and the common piddock? Then, follow step 1 and 2.
Step 1: Introductory video
Why is the date mussel protected? To discover it watch this video in full screen (don't hesitate to press pause if needed).
If you want to know more about this topic, I invite you to read the report I produced for this professional practice (Click here to see the report).
The main skills I acquired or improved during this professional practice
The main skills I acquired or improved during this professional practice
Communication skills: I was able to communicate efficiently with my supervisor and the main actors in the date mussel's protection that I contacted. I improved my distance communication skills by using the available technological tools (e.g., email, skype, Microsoft Teams).
Organization skills: For the final report, I needed to gather information from various sources as the Internet, personal communications, books, and others. To keep track of what I had done, where I got the information, and what information I obtained, I needed to stay organized. Also, being at home I had to organize my day for it to be productive.
Reviewing skills: I improved my ability to research information from various sources (not just scientific articles).
QGIS skills: I used previously acquired QGIS knowledge in this professional practice and even increased it.
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