Through this project we seek to provide the first comprehensive characterization of the impact of environmental and anthropogenic drivers on mesozooplankton functional traits and functional diversity. More specifically, our 3 objectives are: O1) To develop ML methods to quantify key MZP traits relevant for energy transfer and trophic quality (e.g., lipid content, colour, trophic regime) from imaging and omics; O2) To estimate functional traits of MZP communities from large datasets available at various spatio- temporal scales (local, regional, global) and describe the distribution of MZP functional traits and diversity in relation with abiotic drivers and ecosystem functioning (i.e., biomass production, carbon export); O3) To develop new functional trait-based models of MZP using data-driven trait information.
