Dr hab. Katarzyna Piwosz from the National Marine Fisheries Research Institute, together with researchers from German and Czechia, will study the aerobic anoxygenic phototrophic (AAP) bacteria community in terms of carbon cycle. She will be awarded nearly 2 million zlotys for her research.
The project “Eutrophication and AAP bacteria: changes in the contribution of AAP bacteria to microbial dynamics and carbon cycle in response to trophic status” will be conducted together with researchers from the Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (Leibniz-Gemeinschaft). The study will focus on understanding how eutrophication, due to excessive enrichment caused by humans, impacts the AAP bacteria community, and, consequently, the entire carbon cycle in aquatic environments. This will allow us to understand better how to protect precious water bodies from the harmful impacts of human activity. AAP bacteria are called hybrid engines of the microbial world having the superpower to harness energy from sunlight thanks to their built-in solar panels. They play a pivotal role in the microbial loop – a crucial recycling process that ensures the flow of energy and nutrients up the food chain. Understanding how eutrophication, often spiked by agricultural runoff and pollution, impacts AAP bacteria community is very important for the health of our planet’s aquatic environments.
The proposal was evaluated by the Czech Science Foundation (GAČR) and the evaluation results were approved by the National Science Centre and German Research Foundation (DFG) under the Weave collaboration.
Weave-UNISONO and Lead Agency Procedure
Weave-UNISONO is launched within the framework of multilateral cooperation between research funding agencies associated in Science Europe. The programme aims to simplify the submission and selection procedure of research proposals in all academic disciplines, involving researchers from two or three European countries.
The selection process relies on the Lead Agency Procedure (LAP) according to which a full merit-based evaluation is performed by one partner institution, whilst the other partners approve its results.
Under the Weave programme, partner research teams submit their funding proposals to the lead agency as well as their respective research-funding agencies. Joint proposals must include a coherent research programme and identify the added value of international cooperation.
Weave-UNISONO is carried out on an ongoing basis. Research teams intending to cooperate with partners from Austria, Czechia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium-Flanders are encouraged to read the cal text and submit their funding proposals.