As part of the monthly presentations organised by Din l-Art Helwa, Dr. Alan Deidun BSc (Hons.) PhD., CSB MI Biol., will illustrate the impact that climate change is having on the Mediterranean and discuss how the Mediterranean Sea is the ideal testing chamber to assess the impacts of sea warming on marine biota.
According to a 2008 report by the Mediterranean Science Commission (CIESM), global warming is transforming our sea beyond recognition. This institution reports that, since the 1980s, the Mediterranean marine biota has known rapid, dramatic changes which include alteration of food webs, mass mortalities or population explosions such as the occurrence of jellyfish blooms.
Dr. Deidun is a Senior Lecturer at the Physical Oceanography Unit of the IOI-Malta Operational Centre of the University of Malta. He holds a PhD in biology and is a Chartered Biologist of the Institute of Biology of London. He has published over 45 peer-reviewed papers and has contributed to numerous University taught and field courses. The main thematics which interest him are coastal and marine ecology, ecology of invasive species, Marine Protected Areas and dynamics of jellyfish outbreaks.
The talk will be delivered in English on the 10th November at 6pm at the Judge Caruana Curran Hall, Din L-Art Helwa, 133, Melita Street, Valletta. Admission is free of charge, but donations to Din l-Art Helwa’s restoration programmes would be greatly appreciated.
Photo – Cotylhoriza tuberculata Wied il-Ghasri – Photo Stanley Farrugia Randon.