Since 2011, the French West Indies have been confronted with mass strandings of holopelagic algae of the genus Sargassum. The ISABIO project aims to assess the impact of Sargassum mass strandings on the biodiversity of coastal marine ecosystems (coral reefs, seagrass beds, mangroves) and littoral ecosystems (beaches, backshore storage areas). Two sampling campaigns will be carried out at the proposed study sites. Biodiversity can thus be compared before and after the passage and beaching of Sargassum rafts on the coast.
The indicators used at sea and compared before and after grounding episodes will be indices of biodiversity, abundance and biomass of organisms surveyed along transects. Benthic cover, seagrass leaf length and seagrass density will also be assessed. On land, tree height, trunk diameter and chlorophyll content will be recorded on plants located along terrestrial transects. In the littoral zone, the colonization of mangrove roots by sessile organisms and the density of crabs will also be recorded.
 

Funding: Préfecture de la Guadeloupe

 Project coordinator:Charlotte Dromard, Université des Antilles, charlotte.dromard@univ-antilles.fr