{"id":1424,"date":"2025-06-29T16:13:51","date_gmt":"2025-06-29T14:13:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/planktonplanet.org\/?p=1424"},"modified":"2025-07-07T12:00:51","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T10:00:51","slug":"pif","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/planktonplanet.org\/gb\/2025\/06\/29\/pif\/","title":{"rendered":"Planktonautes of IDF"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Planktonautes of \u00cele-de-France (PiF)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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A student collects plankton from Lake Cr\u00e9teil during an activity<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The French National Museum of Natural History<\/em> becomes a new partner of Plankton Planet<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

“The Planktonauts of \u00cele-de-France<\/em>“, also known as the PiF, is a project integrated into the Plankton Planet program. The PiF are part of the Science Ensemble<\/em> community at the heart of the Sorbonne University Alliance<\/em>. They are supported there by the Science, Culture, and Society<\/em> department of Sorbonne University<\/em>. This pilot project aims to implement and combine at the French National Museum of Natural History<\/em> the traditional naturalist approach with the Plankton Planet methodology, which is based on simple and relevant tools and protocols, to achieve a comprehensive inventory of freshwater plankton identified in the \u00cele-de-France region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a participatory science project that combines rigorous scientific research with a collaborative approach involving various actors from civil society. It thus creates a bridge between academic research and raising public awareness about the challenges of invisible aquatic biodiversity in urban and peri-urban environments. By increasing the number of observation and sampling sites across \u00cele-de-France, a comprehensive map of plankton taxa can be established.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project brings together researchers, students, citizens, and science communicators, and is organized around three main objectives:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. \u00a0Generation of new knowledge through the spatio-temporal collection of plankton data<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Study of the dynamics and evolution of freshwater ecosystems through medium- and long-term monitoring of plankton communities<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Contribution to biodiversity conservation, training, awareness, and environmental education<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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    \"Plankton
    Team of the Planktonauts of \u00cele-de-France project.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

    Why focus on freshwater plankton?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Freshwater plankton plays a crucial role in wetland and continental aquatic ecosystems. It is found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds, marshes, springs, wash-houses, and even groundwater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Unlike marine plankton, which has been extensively studied, freshwater plankton remains largely unexplored, with scattered data across France. This invisible biodiversity is still poorly understood, especially in urban and peri-urban environments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Phytoplankton and zooplankton form the base of the food chain and are the first links in the trophic network. They respond quickly to ecological changes in their environment. Changes within plankton communities provide valuable information about the trophic status of water bodies and can indicate ecosystem pollution. Phytoplankton is well known as an excellent indicator of water quality, in addition to producing oxygen and absorbing a significant portion of carbon dioxide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    New insights into the biodiversity and taxonomic and functional structure of zooplankton reveal that it also plays an important role as a bioindicator. Bioindication and biosurveillance are reliable methods for assessing the ecological status of freshwater aquatic environments, supporting ecosystem management and conservation efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Implementation and development of the Plankton Planet<\/em> methodology in freshwater environments<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    The first phase of the PiF project currently underway focuses on purely technical aspects and will allow testing and validation of the Plankton Planet tools and protocols\u2014particularly the use of the Curiosity Microscope\u2014as well as optimizing and demonstrating the value of citizen involvement in data collection for inventorying plankton diversity in \u00cele-de-France.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The eco-morpho-genetic data generated will enable long-term, meaningful monitoring of plankton biodiversity, its distribution, and its evolution. These data will be accessible through platforms such as iNaturalist, GeoNat\u2019IdF, GBIF, and INPN, supporting scientific research, environmental management, and political decision-making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Partners and Participants<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    A network of committed partners and participants has formed around the PiF project<\/em>. Beyond close ties with Plankton Planet<\/em> and its association S4P2<\/a>, the project is anchored within the Biology of Organisms and Aquatic Ecosystems research unit<\/em> (BOREA-UMR 8067), affiliated with the French National Museum of Natural History<\/em> (MNHN), the National Center for Scientific Research<\/em> (CNRS), Sorbonne University<\/em> (SU), the Institute of Research for Development<\/em> (IRD), and, secondarily, the University of the French West Indies<\/em> (UA).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Among these partners are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n