Benthic invertebrates of Icelandic waters (BioIce)
The project objectives are to gain basic knowledge about benthic invertebrate species within Iceland’s exclusive economic zone, and to assess individual species’ prevalence and distribution.
The BioIce project began in 1992 as an initiative of the Icelandic Ministry for the Environment, in collaboration with the Marine and Freshwater Research Institute, the IINH and the University of Iceland Institute of Biology. The village of Sandgerði in Southwest Iceland played a key role in the project through its involvement in the management of the Sandgerði Marine Centre, from the project outset to the end of 2012, when initial processing of samples was completed. The BioIce project is a biodiversity research programme that seeks to identify the benthic fauna living within the Icelandic exclusive economic zone. Understanding what benthic fauna live in the waters around Iceland, together with their prevalence and distribution, is a necessary knowledge base for environmental monitoring, assessment of conservation value, and making wise use of benthic biota.
IINH Contact: Guðmundur Guðmundsson