Rita Cannas

Researcher

Coral and fauna.

The research of Rita Cannas.

3

The researcher’s article

Corals teach man a lesson in resilience.

Nature teaches the art of tenacity, it shows in what way life can reorganise itself despite the mark of mankind on the environment. Climate change and temperature rising are defeated by the resistance of the ecosystems, the ability to give new shape to the biological life which was abruptly interrupted, damaged, altered.

If you tell a story, then everything changes.

Listen to Rita Cannas

In the seas and oceans something is changing. Living species accuse the temperature rise and the acidifications of waters. By the hand of man, because of the carbon dioxide emissions the longest living creatures, the corals, are at risk of disappearing, becoming extinct. There’s still an option, however. The researches of the University of Cagliari tell that.

Rita Cannas

Professor of Study Techniques and Conservation of Marine Biodiversity, Zoology.
Research field in reference to the short film: safeguarding of marine ecosystems.

Rita Cannas teaches Study Techniques and Conservation of Marine Biodiversity. She also teaches Zoology at University of Cagliari.
The first episode is inspired by her research about the theme of the safeguarding of marine ecosystems and its forms of life, the corals in particular, to which Lorenzo gets closer through the reading.

Climate change is at the base of the change in ecosystems and the loss of biodiversity in many habitats, both terrestrial and marine. Studying the way in which living species react to the effects of those changes, particularly the temperature rising, is important for the identification of appropriate conservation practices. The behaviour of red corals, widespread in the Mediterranean Sea and among the most precious corals in the world, is particularly relevant and demonstrates a great ability of resistance to stressful conditions; basically, these corals are able to survive.

On the one hand, identifying the signs of climate change is necessary to direct the choices of intervention to protect the environment, with targeted protective measures; on the other hand, it offers the opportunity to investigate heterogeneous habitats characterised by a strong biodiversity still little known. There are recent studies that tell how these red coral colonies are distributed, where they are located and in what number they are present in the seas.

Read more on the same theme

Discover now the in-depth videos for the first episode.

Interessante?

Condividi questo articolo con i tuoi amici!