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3D shells in Bergeggi

Despite adverse weather and rough seas, researchers from the University of Genoa successfully completed an important project activity in the waters of the Bergeggi Marine Protected Area (SV). In the first days of October, the biologists conducted a dive to assess the hydrodynamics of the seabed, with the goal of identifying the most sheltered sites from marine currents and storms, where young Pinna nobilis specimens will be placed.

This activity will help establish a protocol for replicating conservation and relocation actions for the pen shells in various areas of the Mediterranean. For the occasion, the Genoese researchers used 31 shells that were created using a 3D printer at the Fablab, the scientific laboratory of the ICTP (International Centre for Theoretical Physics) in Miramare (TS).

They placed them in two different sites in Zone B of the Bergeggi Marine Protected Area, at different depths and exposures, where anchoring is not allowed: the first near a Posidonia oceanica meadow and the second on a rocky shoal. Monitoring over the coming months will reveal which sites are most suitable for the relocation of live specimens.

Video credits: Alice Oprandi – Università di Genova