The Marine Observatory of IUEM (Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer) monitors the biology, chemistry and physics of coastal and offshore marine environments and acquires data in order to understand the current state and predict the future of these ecosystems and their responses to global changes. Ongoing biological monitoring series include benthic macrofaunal communities in contrasted and regionally important habitats: sandy beaches, intertidal seagrass beds, intertidal rocky shores, subtidal sediment and subtidal maerl beds. Monitored sites cover the entirety of the regional shoreline, and series spans 15 or more years. Research wise, we use our monitoring and historical datasets to seek answers to questions about the links between environmental conditions and habitats complexity with diversity and functioning of host communities. We are also concerned with methodological issues (measuring complexity, dealing with missing data and incomplete datasets...)
The interns’ tasks will include fieldwork (sampling of intertidal communities), laboratory work (sorting core samples, identifying macrofauna), and computer work (data entry and analysis). They will thus be actively involved in the different facets of the work carried on at the observatory, but will also have the opportunity to work on a personal research project within this framework.
