Analysing biodiversity in a marine ecosystem is an essential step in assessing its state of health. That is why CREOCEAN frequently carries out marine species sampling and marine
fauna and flora inventories in all types of marine environments, from coastal areas (
estuaries,
lagoons,
mangroves, etc.) to the greatest depths (
abyssal zones).
The techniques that we employ vary according to the nature and the depth of the seabed:
- Visual inventories by a scuba diver
- Species counts
- Monitoring along transects of seagrass beds or coral reefs
- Deep sea sampling using grabs or corers
- Use of remote control vehicles, etc.
These operations are carried out in the context of
environmental monitoring required under the Water Framework Directive (WFD) or Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), or in order to monitor the state of an environment before, during and after a maritime development project, on the coastline or offshore (harbour development, dredging, drilling, cable laying, MRE, etc.).
All main biological compartments are generally investigated: plankton, benthic organisms, fish, birds, turtles, marine mammals, etc.
The aim of these assessments is to identify the
ecological functions of environments, their
dynamics, their
biological and patrimonial value and their sensitivity to anthropogenic disturbance. The results can be used for initiatives aimed at
offsetting human impacts or the ecological
restoration of environments.