IRP EcoHealth4Sea

EcoHealth4Sea is an « International Research Project » for 2025-2029.

IRPs are collaborative research projects established between one or more CNRS laboratories and laboratories from one or two foreign countries. They allow for the consolidation of already established collaborations through short- or medium-term scientific exchanges. Their purpose is to organize working meetings or seminars, develop joint research activities including field research, and supervise students. French and foreign teams must have already demonstrated their ability to collaborate together (for example, through one or more joint publications). These programs last 5 years.

EcoHealth promotes health through systemic and pluridisciplinary approaches. Surprisingly this crucial approach is not used for mitigating coastal health risks, where diseases emerge due to intense human activity and heavy environmental pressures. Bivalves, which inhabit coastal marine systems, serve as indicators, vital for ecosystem health. They are an important aquaculture resource in France, Brazil and Chile.
The international research project Ecohealth4 Sea builds on over 20 years of collaboration between 3 laboratories with complementary expertise on the biology and ecology of marine invertebrates, and their interactions with the biotic and abiotic environment. It focuses on two main research axes covering the following themes: (i) Anticipating and preventing infectious risks in coastal environments. We will consider the emergence and circulation of pathogens, the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and the influence of the environment and human activities on these processes. (ii) Exploring mollusk immunity and developing solutions for sustainable aquaculture. We will study immune diversification and adaptability of molluscs to environmental changes, and explore immune priming and microbial education to protect them from infections according to national contexts.
For each of these axes, we aim to engage in a research-action approach with local stakeholders on (i) the assessment of infectious risk and surveillance, and (ii) solutions for sustainable aquaculture.

Coordinators
(left to right : Rafael Da Rosa, BR – Paulina Schmitt, CL – Delphine Destoumieux-Garzon, FR)

French members (all from IHPE laboratory)

Elyna BOUCHEREAU IHPE Lab	Viviane BOULO IHPE Lab	Cristian CHAPARRO IHPE Lab	Guillaume CHARRIERE IHPE Lab	Céline COSSEAU IHPE Lab
Gaëlle COURTAY IHPE Lab	Delphine DESTOUMIEUX- GARZON IHPE Lab	Samira EL KALAI IHPE Lab	Jean-Michel ESCOUBAS IHPE Lab	Richard GALINIER IHPE Lab
Yannick LABREUCHE IHPE Lab	Arnaud LAGORCE IHPE Lab	Agathe MAROT IHPE Lab	Diane MERCERON IHPE Lab	Anne MODAT IHPE Lab
Caroline MONTAGNANI IHPE Lab	Julia MOUGIN IHPE Lab	Océane ROMATIF IHPE Lab	Marie-Agnès TRAVERS IHPE Lab	Emmanuel VIGNAL IHPE Lab

Brazilian members

Nicolas ARGENTA LaBIOMARIS-UFSC	Afonso BAINY LABCAI-UFSC	Luana BOENO LABIOMARIS-UFSC	Theo BRASCHER LABCAI-UFSC	Sabrina CARVALHO LVA-UFSC
Maria Alcina DE CASTRO AQI-UFSC	Gilsaine FONGARO LVA-UFSC	Carlos GOMES LMM-UFSC	Juliane GOULART PROTO-UFSC	Cassio HERVE LaBIOMARIS-UFSC
Juan JETHRO LMM-UFSC	Antonia JORQUERA LaBIOMARIS-UFSC	Kailane MARTINS LABIOMARIS-UFSC	Ana Paula MATEI CCB-UFSC	Claudio MELO LMM-UFSC
Marilia MIOTTO LABCAL-UFSC	Jussara PALMEIRO MIMA-UFSC	Guilherme RAZZERA LABCAI-UFSC	Rafael DA ROSA LaBIOMARIS-UFSC	Beatriz SAVI LaBIOMARIS-UFSC
Patricia SCARDUA LABIPI-UFPB	Thaís SINCERO MIMA-UFSC	Doris SOBRAL LaBIOMARIS-UFSC	Patricia STOCO PROTO-UFSC	Giustino TRIBUZI LABCAL-UFSC
Glauber WAGNER PROTO-UFSC	Flavia ZACCHI LMM-UFSC

Chilean & Ecuador members

Roxana GONZALEZ CEAZA	Katherina BROKORDT UCN	Daniel OYANEDEL LGIM-PUCV	Paulina SCHMITT LGIM-PUCV

In Brazil:
Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC),
LaBIOMARIS,
LMM,
LABCAI,
LVA,
MiMA,
LABCAL,
PROTO

In Chili:
Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso (PUCV),
Grupo de Biomarcadores de Holobiontes Marinos Acuícolas (BIHOMA) from the GIM Lab,
Universidad Catolica del Norte (UCN),
Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas Áridas (CEAZA)

You can get the photo size by clicking on the thumbnail

• • Kickoff meeting (2025 May) in hybrid from Florianopolis BR
    43 participants (in hybrid from France and Ecuador) in Brazil with french collaborators (Agnès Travers, Delphine Destoumieux-Garzon, Richard Galinier) and chilian collaborator (Paulina Schmitt)
    
  • Annual meeting
    2026 Sept, Montpellier FR
  • Infrastructure visits
    Oyster farms in Florianopolis, BR (2025-05 and 2025-10)
     
    Technical visit to the Marine Mollusks Laboratory from UFSC Federal University Santa Catarina, BR (2025-05 and 2025-10)
     
    Science contest, University of Montpellier, FR (2025-10)
    
    Oyster farms in the Thau basin, FR (2025-10)
    
    Mesocosm from Ifremer, FR (2025-10)
    

• Training
  Courses « Vibrio in marine systems: from oyster diseases to antibiotic resistance » in BR by Julia Mougin (2025-10)
  
  Post-doctoral fellow Nicolas Argenta in France (2025-11 to 2026-08)
• Exchanges
  2025 september, brazilian researchers in France (Flavia Zacchi & Guilherme Razzera)
  2025 october, french researcher and Post-Doct in Brazil (Viviane Boulo & Julia Mougin)
  2025 october, chilean collaborator in Brazil (Felipe Navarro)
  2025 november, brazilian collaborator for 3 months in France (Thaís Sincero)
  2025 december, brazilian Post-Doct for 10 months in France (Nicolas Argenta Da Conceicao)
  2026 april, french engineer in Brazil (Cristian Chaparro)
  2026 june, brazilian researchers for 10 days in France (Doris Sobral & Gyslaine Fongaro) AND brazilian student for X months in France (Beatriz Savi)
  2026 july, brazilian collaborator for X months in France (Beatriz Munoz)

• video report that explains oyster farming and its challenges in Brazil. Vinicius de Paraiso da Ostras, who appears in it, is part of our consortium (2026 feb)
• Article « UFSC leads unprecedented international network to improve oyster health » (2025 jul)
• Article « Professor Paulina Schmitt participates in an international research project on coastal ecological health » (2025 june)
• French CNRS South America website

See HAL collection link or listing bellow