Flagellate biodiversity of marine North Atlantic sandy beaches, Dr.gr.stip/postdr.stip.

The flagellates inhabiting marine sandy shores in general and in Norway in particular are poorly known. The main aim of the project is to establish firm knowledge of the flagellate biodiversity and community structure of sandy beaches in different geograp hical regions along the North Atlantic Drift. To accomplish this we will combine light and electron microscopy with molecular techniques and culturing methods. Field measurements and sampling will be performed in different sandy beach localities along the coasts of Norway, Svalbard and the Gulf of Mexico. Norway alone has about 83000 km of shore-line and a considerable part of it is composed of sandy beaches. Knowledge about their micro-flora and -fauna is very limited and studies to elucidate the biodive rsity and ecology of these habitats are long overdue. Their ecological and economical role can be significant, since many flagellates, including several potentially toxic microalgae, have sand-dwelling resting stages or cysts in their life cycle, which may seed new algal blooms.