Louise Merquiol

The project (BiodivAquArt) aims at better understanding past aquatic ecosystems. To achieve this, we use works of art as sources of information and evidence about aquatic fauna. We focus particularly on European paintings from the modern period (16th–18th centuries). Through their works, artists have left us valuable insights into how aquatic animals were perceived, fished, transported, sold, and consumed. This information is analysed using statistical tools from ecology. By combining this data with historical and archaeological research, these paintings inform us about the long-term evolution of aquatic socio-ecosystems in Europe and the Mediterranean basin. Finally, they help to identify their reference state (the "natural" state of the environment before degradation).

Gelatinous zooplankton are an important component of marine ecosystems and they play a key role in transporting organic matter within and between ecosystems. Overall, my PhD thesis explored different aspects of using trophic biomarkers for ecological studies with an emphasis on gelatinous zooplankton and the planktonic food web of the Gulf of Naples (southern Tyrrhenian Sea).