NECCTON

NECCTON is transforming the European capability to predict and protect the biodiversity of marine ecosystems. New modelling products of fisheries, pollution and benthic habitats will enable the Copernicus Marine Service to better inform ocean policymakers, managers and publics

Why NECCTON?


The ocean’s biodiversity provides us with vital services: it sustains 32 out of the 33 known animal phyla and supports the livelihoods of over three billion people. These services are endangered by human pressures and climate change. To understand the pressures on the ocean and manage resources in a sustainable manner requires comprehensive, accurate and timely data.

The Copernicus Marine Service produces ocean monitoring products by integrating satellite and in situ ocean observations with marine models. However, the models currently applied are restraining the provision of information on biodiversity and marine food-webs.

Our vision is to build new and innovative models that will accurately simulate the marine ecosystem, including higher trophic level organisms and the benthic environment. NECCTON will use state-of-the-art techniques and incorporate new data streams to produce a fully integrated modelling system that more closely represents the functioning of the marine ecosystem.

Integrating our systems into the Copernicus Marine Service will enable a greater number of more reliable ocean products to be delivered to support biodiversity conservation and food security.

Learn more
NECCTON Illustration

Objectives

The overall objective of NECCTON is to enable CMEMS to deliver products that inform marine biodiversity conservation and food resources management, by fusing innovative ocean ecosystem models and new data.

Biomass, production, migration and spatial distribution of marine higher trophic level organisms are intrinsically linked to environmental conditions and bottom-up trophic processes. NECCTON will link state-of-the-art higher trophic level models to current Copernicus Marine Service coupled physical-biogeochemical models. This will deliver operational products for nekton communities that support policy development and economic growth.

Biophysical interactions strongly influence habitat suitability for higher trophic level organisms. NECCTON will improve and extend the current Copernicus Marine Service capacity to deliver physical and biogeochemical products for the lower trophic levels of the marine ecosystem, which will improve support for higher trophic level modelling.

The benthic habitat is a vital and integral component of the marine ecosystem. NECCTON will build Copernicus Marine Service capacity on modelling benthic flora, fauna and sediments, to deliver products characterizing the variability of the biological communities.

NECCTON will build Copernicus Marine Service capability to model marine pollution and to assess integrated pressures, to deliver operational products that are relevant to protect biological communities.

Simulations of an ecosystem’s response to climate change scenarios are a valuable tool for marine management. NECCTON will develop capability for the Copernicus Marine Service to perform both hindcast and climate projections for biodiversity conservation and food resource management.

NECCTON will provide Copernicus Marine Service with new capability in integrating numerical model simulations and new and consolidated types of observations by making use of machine learning techniques and advanced data assimilation approaches.

NECCTON will develop a prototype modelling framework inter-linking the newly developed ecosystem-model components with all the existing Copernicus Marine Service biogeochemical and physical models. This will facilitate the sharing of models throughout the Copernicus Marine Service and enable model ensemble exercises to assess the reliability of products.

Case Studies

Read our case studies showing how NECCTON tools and products have been used and co-developed with stakeholders in the fisheries management and biodiversity conservation sectors.

Small pelagic fish

Small pelagic fish in the Bay of Biscay

Fishery Management

Pelagic fish

Forecasting climate change impact on potential catches of open ocean large pelagic fish

Fishery Management

fish

Ensemble of species distribution models to determine hot spots of aggregation in support of management plans and Marine Protected Area definition in the Mediterranean Sea

Fishery Management

aquaculture farm area

Mapping sources of pollutants transported towards Mediterranean aquaculture farm areas

Fishery Management

bottom of the sea

Natura 2000 marine protected areas in the Adriatic Sea

Biodiversity Conservation

Biodiversity conservation

Biodiversity conservation in the North West Black Sea 

Biodiversity Conservation

Want to learn more about the project?

NEWS AND PROJECT UPDATES

November 28, 2024|News

Exciting News: Launch of the PlasticParcels Python Package!

We’re excited to announce the release of plasticparcels, a cutting-edge Python package for simulating the transport and dispersion of plastics in the ocean. PlasticParcels is designed to empower researchers, modelers, and developers to advance our understanding of plastic pollution pathways and dynamics. ...

Learn more
October 30, 2024|News

New NECCTON publication

A recent study highlights gaps in the protection of Mediterranean seagrass habitats, and suggests that strategically placed MPAs could improve protection and connectivity within the ecosystem. ...

Learn more
July 14, 2024|News

Interactive ecosystem modelling workshop

The workshop, titled ‘Introduction to new capabilities in marine biogeochemical and ecosystem modelling,’ aimed to equip scientists of all levels with advanced models and tools. NECCTON’s involvement was crucial in providing insights into innovative ecosystem models, supporting both theoretical and practical sessions....

Learn more
July 11, 2024|News

NECCTON at AMEMR 2024

Our team has delivered a number of insightful talks and presented informative posters, significantly contributing to the international ecosystem modelling community. This engagement has provided an excellent opportunity for networking and building collaborations with other researchers from around the world....

Learn more
April 24, 2024|News

NECCTON at the Ocean Decade Conference 2024

NECCTON’s scientific lead, Stefano Ciavatta from Mercator Ocean joined the Conference to highlight NECCTONs contribution to tackle the challenges 2 (Protect and restore ecosystems and biodiversity), 3 (Sustainably feed the global population) and 5 (Unlock ocean-based solutions to climate change), as project endorsed by the UN Ocean Decade....

Learn more