IUCN welcomes ECOMAR as a new partner to the Seamounts Project
02 October 2009 | News story The Marine Ecology Laboratory of
the University of Reunion (ECOMAR) has formally become a partner
of the “UNDP/GEF Seamounts Project” led by IUCN, providing
additional expertise and knowledge on seabirds ecology in the
open ocean and areas of potential interest for future marine
protected areas. Dr. Matthieu Le Corre, Professor and researcher
at ECOMAR, is one of the five 2009 Pew fellows in marine
conservation. He was granted the prestigious Pew Fellowship for
his work on the identification of oceanic hotspots of
biodiversity in the Indian Ocean using seabirds as indicators.
This research aims to help identify potential candidates for
future marine protected areas in the open ocean. “My project is
the first in the tropics to study seabird foraging patterns on
such a large scale”, says Dr Le Corre. “My hope is that it will
help to establish some marine protected areas and to improve the
conservation status of many enda