Expertise & skills

Exploring opportunities for the diversification of seaweed uses

  • diversity assessment and potential for valorization

  • regional seaweed taxonomic inventories

  • tropical species, extensive experience of working with Sargassum

  • ecology, phylogenetics, biogeography, taxonomic revisions

  • scientific watch

  • literature reviews (opportunities and scientific advances)

  • regional databases of potential


Field studies

  • sampling, identifications, inventories

  • transects, quadrats, photos, sediment cores, ...

  • scientific scuba diving

  • ...


My background:

My primary expertise is systematics (incl. phylogenetic diversity) and biogeography of brown macroalgae in the Indo-Pacific. I focussed a lot of my research on the genus Sargassum, I also worked on the taxonomic revision of other groups of marine macroalgae and often joined scientific expeditions for the inventory of biodiversity, mainly tropical macroalgae (e.g. Scattered Islands, Mozambique, Mayotte, Maldives, Madagascar, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, French Polynesia).

I am interested in multidisciplinary approaches to understand and explain the diversity and distribution of species: Phylogenetic diversity, phylogeography, molecular clock, niche modelling, paleoclimate, evolution dynamics, connectivity, hydrodynamic models...

In Australia, I also worked on projects which aims were to understand the functioning of tropical benthic ecosystems. Using measures of diversity and abundance, we explained the structure of benthic communities in relation to biotic and abiotic environmental factors.

More recently I became involved with exploring the potential of seaweeds for valorization and reviewed the opportunities for further development of the seaweed industry in Australia. I also participated in a Blue Carbon workshop and symposium (IORA). I am particularly interested in exploring the potential of diversifying the tropical seaweed productions for the production of high-value products.

Some keywords I am interested in:

Aquaculture, Blue Economy, Blue Carbon, Biodiversity, Biogeography, Connectivity, Conservation, Coastal ecosystems, Dispersion, Diversification, Ecology, Ecological niche, Evolution, Hotspots of biodiversity, Marine macroalgae, Niche modelling, Molecular clock, Paleoclimates, Paleodistribution, Paleoniche, Paleoscenario, Phylogeography, Phylogenetic diversity, Seaweeds, Speciation, Systematics, Taxonomic revision, Tropical species, ...