<\/p>\n
“The situation of the Gorgonians in the Mediterranean is a reflection of what is happening on our planet as a whole. Like the Amazon rainforest, underwater animal forests are gradually disappearing, with equally dramatic consequences. For thousands of living creatures, these forests are both a protective habitat and a food source, and their disappearance inevitably leads to a loss of biodiversity. <\/em><\/p>\n Alexis Rosenfeld,<\/strong> explorer, photographer and head of the 1 Ocean Foundation.<\/em><\/p>\n On the eve of Cop 15 – biodiversity, UNESCO and the 1 Ocean Foundation, under the aegis of the CNRS Foundation<\/strong>, are launching a scientific exploration program on the red gorgonians of the Mediterranean. Following last summer’s mass mortality episode, scientists are seeking to understand how deep-sea gorgonians and their ecosystems can survive. For these species, the ocean may act as a heat shield, and its depths as a refuge. <\/p>\n Gorgonians are sessile animals. They form veritable animal forests on which many species depend. During the summer of 2022<\/strong>, the X red gorgonians of the Mediterranean experienced a massive mortality episode linked to abnormally high temperatures. The findings of the scientists and the 1 OCEAN team are alarming: between 0 and 30 meters depth, almost all the gorgonians died. In the short term, in the face of increasingly frequent climatic disturbances, gorgonians and all associated life are under serious threat. <\/p>\n In response to the ecological emergency, UNESCO and the 1 OCEAN Foundation are launching a scientific exploration program in partnership with the CNRS<\/strong> and the LECOB research unit at the Observatoire Oc\u00e9anologique de Banyuls-sur-Mer. The program, which involves four European countries (France, Italy, Monaco and Spain), is scheduled to last two years. The aim is to determine whether deep-sea habitats can host demographically self-sufficient animal forests and thus become veritable biological safes. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On the eve of Cop 15 – biodiversity, UNESCO and the 1 Ocean Foundation, under the aegis of the CNRS Foundation, launch a scientific exploration program on the red gorgonians of the Mediterranean.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":13774,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n