News | THALASSA Marine research & Environmental awareness

French & Italian adaptations of the PAVIS e-comic!

The THALASSA team is glad to have participated in the French and the Italian adaptations of the comics imagined by Dr. Sylvaine Giakoumi & Co (Lab. ECOSEAS, Nice University, France).

European projet ABC2 : Study fo benthic assemblages at Natura 2000 network of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat (France)

The European project ABC2 (Amelioration by benthic habitat-fomers under climate change) aims to establish a network with a goal of filling gaps in our collective knowledge on the extent to which habitat-formers reduce environmental stress and of the general mechanisms regulating the assembly and maintenance of associated benthic assemblages across latitudinal gradients...

Experiential educational workshop at Îles de Lérins, Cannes, France – discover of marine habitats through hands-on experience

THALASSA dedicated the first week of April to develop an experiential education workshop with middle school students coming from Paris region. In collaboration with F93 (www.f93.fr), an association for scientific and technical culture, we prepared a workshop at Îles de Lérins, Cannes, south of France entitled “the discover of marine habitats through hands on experience”…

Small scale fisheries landing in the marine protected area of Torre Guaceto (Italy)

THALASSA was entrusted by the CoNISMa (on FEAMP funds) to analyse data relating to small scale fisheries landings through photo-sampling. We analysed the landings inside and outside the marine protected area (MPA) of Torre Guaceto, South of Italy, for a total number of 200 fishing operations…

Laboratory and practical class: “discover Cnidaria” at the Lycée Massena (Nice , France)

THALASSA prepared a laboratory and practical class for approximately fifty students at the Lycée Massena of Nice following a request from the SVT teacher Mr Langouet. Students were introduced to cnidarians, their role and ecological importance but also to the environmental challenges this organisms face..

Identification and sampling of marine sponges

The theme of the group’s Natural Marine Products of the Institute of Chemistry of Nice (CNRS UMR7272) is focused on different aspects of the chemistry of natural substances with, mainly, the characterization and the production of small natural molecules identified among the secondary metabolites of invertebrates and marine microorganisms. Many marine organisms, particularly invertebrates…

TARA Pacific Expedition – supported and coordinated by the Tara Expeditions Foundation

Dr. Alexis PEY, member of THALASSA, participated from July to September 2018 in the TARA Pacific expedition supported and coordinated by the Tara Expeditions Foundation. The mission of this expedition is to study coral reef biodiversity and their evolution in the face of climate change and anthropogenic pressures…

Analysis of small scale fisheries landings data collected through photo-sampling

The FishMPAblue 2 European project is the follow up of the FishMPAblue project which aimed at determine a set of attributes present in an Marine Protected Area (MPA) crucial for the successful management of small scale fisheries. The aim of FishMPAblue 2 is to test a governance toolkit on 11 Pilot MPAs, and to assess and quantify its effectiveness in terms of MPA ecological effectiveness,

Underwater video production on the dives carried out as part of the PAVIS project within the Protected Marine Area of Kaş Kekova in Turkey

The PAVIS project, funded by the National Research Agency (ARN), aims at assessing the relationship between Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and invasive species in the Mediterranean Sea. Since hte beginning of the project in 2016, 11 MPAs from 6 different countries have been studied:

Monitoring of algal and ichthyological communities on 3D artificial reefs in Monaco

In November 2017, the Association Monegasque pour la Préservation de la Nature (AMPN) submerged artificial reefs made with a 3D printer at more than 20m depth. The 3D printing of the artifical reefs allowed to choose a design reflecting the complexity of the natural environment, a design developed by Prof. Patrice Francour of the ECOMERS laboratory, Nice University.

Education workshop at Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat

On May 29^th, THALASSA joined the initiative of the ECOMERS laboratory (CNRS; University of Nice Sophia-Antipolis) to organize an educational day for 2 primary classes of a school in Nice. A class of CM1 and a class of CM2 gathering 52 children between the age of 9 and 11 had the opportunity to discover the fauna and flora of the Mediterranean Sea through a series of activities at the “anse des fossettes” of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat...