ARDITI, the Regional Agency for the Development of Research, Technology and Innovation, is carrying out a scientific campaign in Porto Santo between the 3rd and 14th of July 2026. The project focuses on the study of the island’s coastal marine ecosystems and continues the Madeira Marine Biodiversity Monitoring Programme (BioMa), which began in 2016. This year marks 10 years of activity for the programme, which has expanded scientific knowledge of marine biodiversity and the coastal seabed across the Region. With support from the IFCN – Institute of Forests and Nature Conservation – the campaign combines scientific diving with advanced technology, including high-resolution bathymetric surveys by DRIX, an autonomous surface vehicle operated by the Oceanic Observatory of Madeira/ARDITI. Researchers are using repeated observations in Madeira and Porto Santo to follow changes in marine biodiversity, separate short-term variation from longer trends, and provide data for conservation and marine management. In Porto Santo, the dives will assess the condition of coastal habitats and monitor fish populations, mobile macroinvertebrates and benthic communities, while also looking for ecosystem changes over time. Bathymetric work will also be carried out along the island’s north coast, where high-resolution mapping gaps remain, helping to build digital models of the seabed and improve understanding of its geomorphology and habitat distribution.
