The increase in anthropogenic activities in the last century has made the Baltic Sea polluted and the most hypoxic area in the world. Our aim is to understand how human and climate change affects phytoplankton diversity, changes in genetic composition and adaptation in the Baltic Sea by . Currently, we are collaborating with a team of mainly Swedish researchers working on the Biodiversa project, examining the phytoplankton and diatom assemblages in multiple freshwater ecosystems in Sweden. We would like to examine the changes in phytoplankton assemblages and gene composition in changing environments in the Baltic Sea. We would like to examine the methods developed in the Biodiversa project and develop new methods to identify taxa and examine adaptive changes in gene composition across different environmental gradients.
The results will help formulate future projects to understand adaptive evolution in phytoplanktons. To enhance the research field and promote networking and capacity building in the Baltic area, the current network proposal aims to invite international collaborators for the exchange of ideas, best practices, data and materials. The envisioned research network is being built to maintain and foster interactivity and collaboration between strong groups active in the field and also expand the scope and exchange ideas on the potential of evolutionary adaptation of phytoplanktons to changing environments due to human actions and climate change in the Baltic region.