Following an exceptionally hot June in the Mediterranean, the first effects of the marine heatwave are already being observed in the waters off Marseille. Sea fans and sponges, which are particularly vulnerable to high temperatures, are showing further signs of stress.
Four years on from the exceptional event of 2022, which had a severe impact on shallow-water marine communities, scientists at the IMBE are closely monitoring how the situation is developing and the populations’ ability to recover.
Thierry Perez, Research Director at the CNRS, and Marie Grenier, a postdoctoral researcher in the’NEMO team, both of whom are sponge experts, give evidence in Provence initial findings and the uncertainties that remain regarding the extent of the impacts of this new marine heatwave.
