The topic of “Chaire Professeur Junior” I was awarded to work at the UMR Entropie, IRD in New Caledonia is on the study of the resilience of corals to climate change and anthropogenic stressors.

Understanding coral reef resilience in the face of climate and anthropogenic pressures is crucial for developing mitigation and adaptation strategies. Certain coral species and reefs demonstrate enhanced resilience, even under extreme conditions. A multidisciplinary research approach will be explored to understand and strengthen reef resilience:

  • Examining, from microscopic to lagoon scales, how hydrodynamics—combined with the genetic and phenotypic diversity of corals—influences their resilience.
  • Exploring the coral microbiome, particularly the symbiotic microbial communities in their digestive systems, to understand their role in stress resistance. This research, combining field including natural laboratories and laboratory work, will serve as a foundation for developing interventions such as probiotic use, assisted evolution, and gene transfer, as well as identifying priority protection areas.