GENIALG - WP6.1 Species Dataset-Droppers

List of macroinvertebrate taxa associated with experimental dropper replicates. Droppers are 1m long polypropylene ropes attached to existing longlines in seaweed farm located in Ventry Harbour, Co. Kerry Ireland. Treatments: rope seeded with Sacharina latissima sporophytes and unseeded controls. Objectives within WP6 of GENIALG: assessing the biodiversity associated with cultivated seaweed. Dataset consists of macroinvertebrate taxa identified and enumerated by NUIG biologists supervised by project lead researcher Dr. Jose M. Farinas-Franco. The samples were collected in July 2018, three months after deployment. The aim was to characterise fauna associated with cultivated seaweed and ancillary structures. Samples collected as part of the GENIALG project (project ID: 727892, GENIALG - GENetic diversity exploitation for Innovative Macro-ALGal biorefinery, http://genialgproject.eu/). GENIALG was funded by the European Union Horizon2020 programme. The remit of the work was assessing the environmental footprint and ecosystem services provided by seaweed aquaculture in Europe to provide best practice advice to industry.