Centre de Recherches Insulaires et Observatoire de l’Environnement (CRIOBE)

The CRIOBE - Centre for Island Research and Environmental Observatory - is one of France’s preeminent laboratories for the study of coral reef ecosystems. It is a research laboratory with more than 70 staff, including academic professors, research scientists and administrative and technical personnel from three of France’s premiere research institutions - École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE), the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the University of Perpignan Via Domitia (UPVD) – that together form the CRIOBE UAR 3278 research unit. The CRIOBE falls under the prestigious umbrella of the PSL (Paris Sciences & Letters) Research University. CRIOBE’s activities span multiple disciplines : ecology, conservation biology, genetics, chemistry and anthropology and its laboratories are spread across two main campuses : the University of Perpignan (UPVD) in the south of France and the CRIOBE research station located on the island of Moorea, French Polynesia. Specifically, scientists at the CRIOBE focus on the following three principle areas of research: 1. Molecular Genetics. An integrative approach for the study of coral reefs. 2. Biology of populations, chemical ecology and ecosystem interactions on coral reefs. 3. Function and governance of socio-ecosystems.