On 20 January 2026, the ASTRA project team held an online working meeting to coordinate upcoming actions towards delivering new Black Sea biodiversity data to EMODnet Biology. The meeting focused on aligning data workflows, harmonisation procedures, and publication timelines to support the integration of newly generated datasets into EMODnet Biology in the near future.
ASTRA (Assessment of Toxins and associated micRoAlgal species in the Black and Marmara Seas) is funded under the first AQUARIUS Transnational Access Funding Call within the Horizon Europe programme. The project aims to improve knowledge on harmful algal blooms (HABs), associated toxins, DNA metabarcoding data, environmental drivers, and toxin risk in the Black and Marmara Seas.
The initiative brings together multiple European institutions and research infrastructures to support sampling campaigns, taxonomic analysis, molecular methods, and data management. The resulting datasets are expected to follow FAIR and open data principles and will contribute to EMODnet Biology’s mission to enhance access to harmonised marine biodiversity information.
"ASTRA is helping bridge critical knowledge gaps on HAB species, toxins, and environmental drivers in the Black Sea, while ensuring that new biodiversity datasets become openly accessible through EMODnet Biology." — Dr. Laura Boicenco, ASTRA Project Coordinator
Once available, project outputs will provide valuable insights supporting environmental monitoring, ecosystem status assessment, and regional policy frameworks in the Danube–Black Sea region. These actions align with broader European efforts to strengthen data-driven marine management and scientific collaboration.
Find out more: https://aquarius-ri.eu/transnational-access-call-1/astra/