Improved scientific understanding

Background

It should be noted that CRISP is a development programme and, as such, does not treat research as a major priority. Research is carried out, however, whenever it appears useful to do so with one of the following aims in mind:

• Aim 1 – : improving our understanding of coral ecosystem biodiversity, the underlying rationale being that a heritage can be better protected if it is properly understood;

• Aim 2 – : improving our understanding of how coral ecosystems function, which is the sine qua non for developing appropriate and efficient management tools;

• Aim 3 – : improving our understanding of the nature and renewal mechanisms of and access pathways to particular ecosystem resources so as to identify sustainable economic applications for them.

The Programme receives support from two world-class scientific advisers, ie Professor Bernard Salvat of EPHE (Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, an advanced institute for applied tertiary studies), France and Dr Clive Wilkinson working at the Reef and Rainforest Research Centre (RRRC), Townsville, Australia. These experts assist in selecting the areas to be researched, monitor research quality and contribute to promoting the Programme’s research work at international level. They provided a detailed scientific report for the Programme’s mid-term review during the first half of 2008.

Latest Progress

Whilst another article appeared in the second half of the year on the biological settlement of reef fish larvae following on from the previous article (Lechini et al 2007a), this period also saw several articles being produced under Aims 1 and 3 on algal taxonomy and the isolation of active marine substances (AMSs). Knowledge of algal taxonomy was enriched by an article on genus Turbinaria algae description (Lann et al 2007) and two articles on Rodophytes (N’Yeurt et al 2007a, N’Yeurt et al 2007b). A further article dealt with isolating two AMSs using a sponge species (Vergne et al 2007). Programme sub-component 2C went even further and published a chapter on legal protection measures for marine biodiversity by Prof Jean-Pierre Beurrier (Beurrier 2007). This contribution ties in with efforts to improve the legal framework in two Pacific countries involved in marketing AMSs through CRISP, namely Fiji and the Solomon Islands (cf section on reef resource marketing).

Brief Review

Publication in a peer-reviewed journal is usually achieved after three years of experimentation, writing and publishing. As the Programme could at best be said to have started in mid-2005, the number of scientific products that had to go through this process, particularly a peer review prior to publication, was naturally almost nil until mid-2007. In the first half of 2007, however, a bibliography synopsis relating to Aim 1 and two articles relating to Aims 2 and 3 were published. The bibliography summary covered validated scientific knowledge on the specific diversity of New Caledonia’s hard coral. These scientific achievements are particularly relevant against the backdrop of the UNESCO World Heritage listing application. The first article dealt with improving our biological understanding of reef fish larvae (Lechini et al 2007b) which can be applied to selective capturing of high value-added species, particularly in terms of PCC (Postlarval Capture and Cultivation) development for supplying the aquarium market (cf section on reef resource marketing). The second article was published in the prestigious Science journal (Almany et al 2007) and dealt with improving our biological understanding of reef fish reproduction, particularly the self-recruitment rate, which can have direct applications, particularly with regard to the sizing of marine protected areas, on which it has a major bearing.

Future Prospects

Contributions to the three main scientific aims should both continue and increase over the next few months, whether in terms of marine invertebrate taxonomy through Programme sub-component 2C, ecosystem functioning and management with indicator validation through sub-component 2A (Aim 2) or sustainable management of particular reef resources through sub-components 2A (postlarval) and 2C (AMSs) under Aim 3.