The project will sustain  sustain international research in critical and/or emerging topics in tropical marine ecosystems that, in context of global change and new ecosystems man created, with Luanda Bay as a study case. Luanda Bay is a rich ecosystem that provides a wide diversity of services. Due to its relevance, multiple pressures on surroundings areas are threatening the ecosystem. Solid waste and untreated domestic effluents are released daily into the Bay, hampering the practice of nautical sports, and the subsistence of fishing and leisure activities.

This project will provide biodiversity databases and a deeper understanding of the determinants underlying poor water quality, specifically toxigenic species presence, in LB, in comparison to a reference site, Mussulo bay. An ecosystem-based approach, crucial for planning the future development of LB, is based on two main principles: maintaining and improving the ecosystem health, and balancing derived society values.