Reefs and herbariums under the microscope

Camille Morin, an intern at the Réserve Naturelle from November 2015 to February 2016, is completing several projects during the year as part of the curriculum from her agronomy engineering school in Bordeaux.

She contributed to treating and confirming data from a scientific study of the state of health of the reefs and herbariums, both in and outside of the Réserve. The document, created in 2008, inventories the presence of marine flora and fauna at specific locations that were studied - coral, sponges, algae, gorgons, sea urchins, fish, mollusks, herbariums - as well as the overall state of their health. This study has been refined over the years, and increased from a total of two to six stations, inside as well as outside the boundaries of the Réserve. The young student also participated in «Reef Check», the annual coral reef survey supported by the Quiksilver Foundation, which provides an international vision on their evolution. There were three new stations as part of this survey - at Caye Verte, on the underwater trail at Pinel, and at Creole Rock — in addition to the first station established in Saint Martin in April 2008 at the Galion surf spot. These sites are of particular interest as they are all managed by the Réserve Naturelle and regularly visited by the public.