CRIOBE : Centre of Island Research and Environmental Observatory

The planet’s coral reefs are receding dramatically: it is thought that 25% of them have already vanished over the last 20 years and nearly half of them are currently considered critical. Given these dramatic challenges facing the environment, research has to take the complexity of our coral reefs more effectively into account. We also need a better grasp of people’s and populations’ persistence processes so that we can gain a better understanding of stress resistance mechanisms - and all this in relation to an ecosystem that is in close contact human coastal populations.

The CRIOBE laboratory is internationally renowned for its research into coral reefs. It investigates the origins of biodiversity and the ways in which it is maintained, chemical ecology, the characterisation and biological activities of new metabolites and the way in which the ecosystem functions.

The CRIOBE laboratory manages a marine station that is recognised across the national RESOMAR network. It also runs the INS labex project, as well as the “coral reef biodiversity” GDRI* CORAIL project, the main brief of which is to encourage the international scientific community to coordinate its research into coral reefs. The CRIOBE serves as the coordinating body of the Coral Reef Institute.

Director(s)

• Annaig Le Guen (Director)

Research areas

• From genes to molecules: an integrative approach to studying coral reefs
• Biology of populations - chemical ecology and interactions within ecosystems
• Operation and governance of socio-ecosystems

Equipments

• Technology platform BIO2MAR
• Analytical and semi-preparative CLHP
• CPG/FID
• CEM Liberty 1 automated microwave peptide synthesizer
• 6 laboratories, a workshop and an aquarium room with space for nearly 30 tanks and more than 200 modular litres.
• The library has several thousand publications on coral reefs.
• Two underwater diving centres are also available: the centre has diving facilities with compressors, oxygen bottles (25 x 9-15L blocks) and a small autonomous underwater vehicle (ROV) for collecting onshore or offshore data from various small boats.
• The laboratory also has a complete array of analysis equipment.

Partnerships

Institutional partnerships

Ministère de l'Outre Mer, Ministère de l'Ecologie du Développement durable et de l'Energie, Ministère de l'Education Nationale de l'Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche, Agence des aires marines protégées, Direction régionale pour l'environnement, Agence Nationale pour la Recherche.

Industrial partnerships

• Société d'environnement polynésien, Pacific Biotec, Manutea...
• The CRIOBE is a member of the executive board for the "Tahiti Fa'ahotu” cluster of companies.

Additional information

European programmes

• European programme COCONET (EU FP7, partner, PI : Fernandino Boero)
• European programme CORAIL ( EU BEST, partner, PI : Tamatoa Bambridge)
• European programme BUFFER (ERA-Net, ANR, coordinator)

ANR programmes

• TRICETOX
• LIVE AND LET DIE
• ACROSS
• STAY OR GO
• POLYPERL