In my PhD project, I am working on the role of secondary metabolites released by sponges as chemical cues in marine ecosystems.
My experiments are focused on the ecosystem functioning of Mediterrean marine caves.

Photo : P. Chevaldonné

My main objectives are to :
– Correlate the complexity of the chemical seascape with the diversity of sponges in underwater caves
– Study the behavioral responses of swimming organisms sharing the same ecological niche than sponges, in response to the chemical seascape.

This project leads me to developp a series of interdisciplinary scientific skills including :
• Scientific diving to carry out on site experiments and observations
• The design of aquarium settings to study behavioral response of swimming organisms
• Image processing to determine the biological diversity of underwater caves communities
• Analysing and processing LC-MS based metabolomics for the analysis of marine chemical cues

Ideally, all the data collected and results gathered during this phD project will enable to progressively understand the functioning of studied Mediterranean cave ecosystems, through chemical mediation.