PaCE-SD

Staff Details:

Name: Dr. Antoine de Ramon N’Yeurt

Job Title: Associate Professor

Courses:: PC426 (Ecosystem-Based Adaptation for Climate and Disaster Resilience) & PC420 (Research Projects in Climate Change)

Email: antoine.nyeurt@usp.ac.fj

Tel: (+679) 323 2023

Job responsibilities and teaching interests:

Dr. Antoine de Ramon N’Yeurt, a marine biologist, obtained his Ph.D. in marine botany from the University of the South Pacific (USP, Suva) in 1998, and is currently an Associate Professor at the Centre for Sustainable Futures (CSF) of the University of the South Pacific in Fiji. For the past 30 years he devoted his activities to the study of marine plants of the Pacific region (Fiji, Rotuma, the Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Wallis, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Clipperton) as well as the Seychelles and Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. He is the author of numerous publications, books and floras on taxonomy and described several new genera and species of marine algae. He is the coordinator for PC426 (Ecosystem-Based Adaptation for Climate and Disaster Resilience), as well as PC420 (Research Projects in Climate Change), which are fully-online postgraduate courses at the University of the South Pacific. More recently, he has been involved in the topics of Ocean Algal Afforestation (OAA) and renewable energy, bio-fertilisers and ocean acidification and its effects on coral reefs. He is also involved in population-level climate change adaptation in the South Pacific, and manages a network of coastal observation platforms for seawater temperature and ocean acidification in Fiji (ReefTEMPS Fiji). Also, Dr. N’Yeurt has supervised or co-supervised more than 20 postgraduate students.

Research Centre or Group:

USP Research Cluster 1(Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation)

Information for prospective research students:

Dr. Antoine De Ramon N’Yeurt has supervised or co-supervised postgraduate students in the areas of marine plant systematics, issues of rising seawater temperature and ocean acidification for calcified algae, phytoplankton distribution and biodiversity in freshwater and brackish river habitats, and general issues relating to climate change and marine ecosystems.

Research, scholarly and professional interests:

  • Marine Ecosystems and Climate Change – The effect of rising seawater temperatures, higher atmospheric CO2 levels and ocean acidification on marine organisms, in particular calcified marine plants, in coral reefs, seagrass meadows and mangrove habitats.
  • Marine fertilisers and Biofuels – The conversion of marine biomass from algae and seagrass intofertilisers and biofuels such as biomethane as a sustainable source of renewable energy for local communities. Pilot project (proposal stage): “Pacific community development through fertiliser production and biofuel generation from the red seaweed Gracilariaedulis and other marine plants”.
  • Adaptation to climate change – Methods to address issues related to coastal erosion and sea-level rise at the community level in regional countries. Pilot project (proposal stage): “Severe coastal erosion of the Laucala Beach Industrial and Residential area, Fiji”.
  • Monitoring of climate data in marine habitats – Using high-accuracy sensors to monitor seawater temperature in coral reef habitats in the region.
  • Marine Botany and Taxonomy – The biodiversity and classification of marine algae and seagrasses in the Pacific region.
  • Phytobiogeography – The geographical distribution and dispersal of marine plants across the South Pacific region

Sponsors and collaborators:

  • Institut de Recherche pour le Develloppement (IRD), Nouméa, New Caledonia (marine plant biodiversity and taxonomy)
  • POD Energy Inc., California, USA (marine biofuels)
  • Government of France – SPC (seawater temperature monitoring in Fiji)

Current funded projects and major grants:

  • Monitoring of seawater temperature data for coral reefs in the Fiji Islands – Collaboration with the GOPS, SPC and IRD in New Caledonia

Awarding body (2012-2014): Government of France / Pacific Fund

Amount: 6000 Euros

  • Marine flora of the Cook Islands – Collaboration with the Bishop Museum of Hawaii
  • A revision of the red algal genus Dudresnaya in the tropical Pacific region – Collaboration with IRD, Nouméa, New Caledonia