Ander URRUTIA GARCIA

TRACMIC : « Tracing human-borne microbial contaminants from wastewater/sanitary stations in the French Antilles »

As part of the TRACMIC program - “Tracing human-borne microbial contaminants from wastewater/sanitary stations in the French Antilles”, we are in charge of: (a) searching for bacteria and other indicators of faecal pollution in natural marine environments from Guadeloupe and Martinique. (b) tracing their origins along existing gradients from the waste water treatment plants and/or anthropized watersheds, to the coral reef structures further offshore. Funded by the water offices of these two islands, our study will allow to evaluate the prevalence of different coral-affecting diseases along these gradients; in parallel, it will allow the identification and characterization of the pathogenic agents causing them. Ultimately, our end is to distinguish between natural and anthropogenic-borne degradation of coral reef organisms and ecosystems. To achieve these objectives, our work will be primarily based on molecular biology (NGS, qPCR, ISH) and ecology, with a dash of microscopy and network analysis too.