As part of the MaHeWa Project, a team from the Louis Malardé Institute (ILM) is currently conducting fieldwork in the Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.
This mission takes place within Work Package 2 – Task 2.2, dedicated to studying the impacts of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs), and more specifically ciguatera, a marine food poisoning caused by microalgae of the genus Gambierdiscus.
The goal: to understand how marine heatwaves influence the presence, growth, and toxicity of these microalgae in Polynesian lagoons. This work contributes to the assessment of the costs of thermal tolerance and affected physiological functions.
On site, researchers are monitoring the genetic composition of natural Gambierdiscus populations as well as their toxicity levels. Two environmental monitoring stations have been installed:
in Rikitea Bay
in Gatavake Bay
These instruments will help to better understand how temperature, light, and salinity influence the dynamics of these toxic microorganisms. The data collected will improve the anticipation of ciguatera risks, which represent a major issue for public health and ecosystem resilience in the Pacific.
This mission is led by Dr. Mireille Chinain (ILM, EIO).
The Municipality of the Gambier Islands kindly asks residents not to handle the monitoring devices, as the data collected will be of great value for all the islands and will contribute to the preservation of Polynesian lagoons in the face of climate change.
Māuruuru to the ILM team for their continued commitment to science and the protection of marine life.
