Healthy Oceans, Healthy Lives: When Mediterranean Diet Intelligence Enhances Fertility and Longevity

Work Packages and Tasks

WP1: Management and Reporting (Leader: University of Basilicata)

Objectives:
Ensure that the project remains on schedule and within budget, manage risks, and facilitate communication among partners.

Tasks:
1.1 Administrative and Financial Management: Track progress, manage financials, and ensure timely delivery of outputs.
1.2 Reporting: Prepare intermediate and final financial and technical reports.
1.3 Risk Assessment, Management, and Mitigation: Monitor and manage risks, update risk management plans every six months.

WP2: Environmental Quality Assessment (Leader: Medes Foundation)

Objectives:
Conduct environmental monitoring and analysis of water, air, and soil quality.

Tasks:
2.1 Study of the Territory for Parameter Identification: Define project activity locations and identify key environmental parameters.
2.2 Environmental Monitoring Plan and Data Analysis: Define methods and analyse environmental data using IoT and molecular sensors.
2.3 Processing and Analysis of Environmental Data: Clean, validate, and analyze data, integrating results from different matrices.
2.4 Environmental Quality Assessment: Assess environmental quality using regulatory limits and indicators.

WP3: Food Quality Analysis (Leader: Servinte S.r.l.)

Objectives:
Analyze food quality in selected areas and study the correlation with soil quality.

Tasks:
3.1 Data Collection via IoT and Molecular Sensors: Collect data on soil chemical composition.
3.2 Identification of Food Products: Select food products for evaluation based on collected data.
3.3 Food Product Quality Analysis: Evaluate the safety and nutritional quality of food products.
3.4 Data Correlation: Analyze correlations between soil composition and food quality.
3.5 Impact on Human Health: Analyze the effects of soil composition on food quality and human health.

WP4: Human Fertility and Health Analysis (Leader: Step Srl)

Objectives:
Analyze and characterize the fertility of selected sample populations.

Tasks:
4.1 Enrollment: Recruit and enroll participants.
4.2 Sampling, Clinics, and Experimental Analytics: Conduct clinical analyses and collect data.
4.3 Data Analytics and Discovery of Mechanisms: Analyze data to identify mechanisms of reproductive aging.
4.4 Modulators of Reproductive Aging: Study factors influencing healthy longevity.
4.5 Data Management: Manage and process collected data.
4.6 Data Analytics: Perform comprehensive data analysis.

WP5: Lifestyle and Longevity Analysis (Leader: Teatro S.r.l.)

Objectives:
Characterize eating habits and lifestyle to study longevity determinants.

Tasks:
5.1 Community Engagement for Insights, Data Collection, and Analysis: Engage communities and collect lifestyle data.
5.2 Advanced Data Analytics and Longevity Factor Identification: Analyze data to identify longevity factors.
5.3 Policy Development and Impact Assessment: Develop and assess policies based on collected data.

WP6: Longevity Algorithm Development (Leader: Servinte S.r.l.)

Objectives:
Develop and optimize a predictive analytics platform for marine environment quality and food safety assessment.

Tasks:
6.1 Platform Development: Develop the predictive analytics platform.
6.2 Algorithm Development: Design and implement algorithms.
6.3 Integration of Sensor Data: Integrate molecular sensor data into the platform.
6.4 Data Processing and Analysis: Process and analyze data using AI techniques.
6.5 Predictive Model Development: Develop models to forecast environmental and food safety factors.
6.6 Testing and Validation: Test and validate the platform.
6.7 Platform Optimization: Optimize the platform for efficiency.

WP7: Dissemination and Communication (Leader: University of Basilicata)

Objectives:
Communicate and disseminate project results to stakeholders and the public.

Tasks:
7.1 Adaptive Design of a Communication and Dissemination Plan: Develop and adapt a communication plan.
7.2 Organization of Seminars, Webinars, and Conferences: Organize events to share project results.
7.3 Networking with Policymakers and Other Projects: Network with relevant stakeholders and projects.
7.4 Project Promotion and Results Valorization: Promote project results through various channels.

The HOHLI project (“Healthy Oceans, Healthy Lives: When Mediterranean Diet Intelligence Enhances Fertility and Longevity”) has produced a comprehensive set of scientific, technological and socio-environmental results that advance the understanding of the links between marine ecosystem quality, food safety, dietary patterns and human health. Guided by the One Health approach, the project integrated environmental monitoring, marine quality analysis, biological assessment, digital innovation and predictive analytics to generate a multidimensional evidence base connecting ocean health with fertility, ageing and sustainable nutrition.

Given its multidisciplinary character, the results of the project may be grouped in 7 macro-areas (Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, Marine Ecosystem Health and Food Quality, Recommendations for Marine Quality Improvement, Human Health, Fertility and Ageing, Predictive Analytics and Decision Support System, Molecular Insights into Ageing, Communication, Dissemination and Governance).
 

1. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment

A complete Environmental Monitoring Plan was developed and implemented across two pilot areas, located in Southern Italy: Pollica–Pioppi (Cilento) and Taranto (Ionian Sea). The plan defined sampling strategies, key environmental parameters, monitoring technologies and data-quality procedures. High-frequency IoT platforms (BluDev® Aqua 4.0 and BluDev® Climate) were deployed to collect continuous data on the following key parameters: dissolved oxygen, pH, salinity, temperature, particulate matter, nitrogen oxides and other atmospheric indicators.

More than 15,000 validated datapoints were collected and cross-checked with ARPA regional networks and Copernicus satellite products. Results show that:

• Pollica exhibits stable oligotrophic conditions, with limited short-term variability and no signs of acute ecological stress.
• Taranto displays higher environmental instability, including rapid fluctuations in pH, salinity and dissolved oxygen, as well as elevated atmospheric pollutants (up to twice the levels of NO₂ and benzene compared to Pollica).
• Statistically significant air–sea correlations were identified, supporting the One Health interpretation of ecosystem dynamics.
• Heavy metal concentrations exceeded regulatory thresholds in selected Taranto sites, particularly for lead (Pb).

These findings provide a robust environmental baseline for subsequent biological and predictive analyses.
 

2. Marine Ecosystem Health and Food Quality

The Sea Sampling and Analysis Report and the Sea Health Assessment integrated chemical, physical and microbiological data to evaluate the ecological status of the two marine areas. The combined analysis revealed:

• Cilento waters maintain good chemical status and ecological resilience, making them a suitable reference baseline.
• Taranto waters show episodic vulnerability, including short hypoxic events, thermal anomalies and increased turbidity.
• Variability in Taranto’s marine environment may influence fish habitat quality, trophic dynamics and the nutritional profile of seafood products.

These insights support the project’s broader objective of linking environmental quality to food safety and human health outcomes.
 

3. Recommendations for Marine Quality Improvement

Based on the environmental evidence, the project formulated a set of actionable recommendations:

• Ecological interventions: reduction of chemical contaminants, improved control of industrial discharges, nature-based solutions such as artificial wetlands and biofiltration systems.
• Technological enhancements: expansion of IoT sensor networks, automated calibration protocols, integration of Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-3 satellite data, and AI-based anomaly detection.
• Governance and community engagement: alignment with the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive, sustainable fisheries practices, traceability systems linked to environmental indicators, and citizen-science monitoring initiatives.

These recommendations aim to strengthen the resilience of coastal ecosystems and promote sustainable seafood supply chains.
 

4. Human Health, Fertility and Ageing

The project designed and implemented a digital framework for collecting and analysing data from two population cohorts (young adults and older adults). Although biomedical data collection is pending ethical approval, the project achieved:

• Development of digital questionnaires assessing Mediterranean diet adherence, lifestyle factors, sleep quality, physical and mental stress, and exposure to toxic substances.
• Definition of analytical pipelines for environmental, lifestyle and biomedical assets, enabling risk classification and population profiling.

These tools lay the groundwork for future analyses on how environmental exposures and dietary patterns influence fertility and longevity.
 

5. Predictive Analytics and Decision Support System

A major achievement of HOHLI is the development of an integrated Predictive Analytics Platform, capable of merging environmental, biological, nutritional and behavioural data. The system includes:

• A multidimensional data lake combining marine parameters, atmospheric indicators, fish quality metrics, lifestyle data and socio-territorial variables.
• An AI engine using Random Forest, neural networks, SVM, ARIMA models and clustering techniques to generate predictions on environmental risks, fish quality, fertility and longevity.
• A Decision Support System (DSS) providing interactive dashboards, risk maps and predictive alerts.

Validation tests confirmed:

• Sensor accuracy above 94%
• Predictive performance of 87.4% for environmental risks, 83.1% for fish quality, 79.5% for fertility and 76.2% for longevity

The platform is ready for deployment and represents a significant innovation in One Health-oriented environmental governance.
 

6. Molecular Insights into Ageing

Using Caenorhabditis elegans as a model organism, the project identified molecular pathways linking marine pollutants and dietary components to ageing processes. Key findings include:

• Persistent pollutants (PFAS, BPA) accelerate ageing phenotypes, increasing oxidative stress, genomic damage and mitochondrial dysfunction.
• Mediterranean diet components—particularly oleic acid—extend lifespan, improve fertility and enhance lipid metabolism and peroxisomal function.
• These biological markers have been translated into variables for the Predictive Analytics Platform.

This work provides mechanistic evidence supporting the project’s central hypothesis: healthy oceans contribute to healthy lives, the health of the environment is closely linked to human health.
 

7. Communication, Dissemination and Governance

The project established a complete communication ecosystem:

• Official website and social media channels;
• A dynamic Communication and Dissemination Master Plan concerning both internal and external communication;
• Workshops and disseminations events in Pollica, engaging several stakeholders (academia, policy makers, scientific community, civil society organisations);
• Branding guidelines, press templates and monitoring tools.

In parallel, a comprehensive Project Management Plan, risk assessment framework and financial reporting system ensured effective governance and compliance.
 

Conclusion

The HOHLI project successfully demonstrated the close link existing among marine ecosystem quality, food safety, dietary patterns and human health. Through advanced monitoring technologies, predictive analytics, molecular biology and community engagement, the project produced a multidimensional evidence base and practical tools to support sustainable coastal management, healthier diets and improved public-health strategies. The results position HOHLI as a pioneering initiative in the Mediterranean region, offering a replicable model for One Health-oriented research and innovation.