New Projects

Study of the Quaternary Geomorphology of Mauritius and Rodrigues

During the project the islands of Mauritius and Rodrigues would be investigated for proxy signals embedded in corals, shells, wood, etc. using 14C (AMS) techniques. Similarly, the Triangulated Irregular Network (TIN) techniques would be used to construct a 3-D model of the Mascarene Basin. This would give a holistic view and the response of the islands located there-in to changes in sea-level.
Project Contact : Mr Manvendra SINGH
msingh@moi.intnet.mu

Molecular barcoding of Marine Organisms in the Republic of Mauritius

Traditionally identification of species has been based on morphological characters. Over the years, allozyme and various DNA-based techniques have been used for species identification. More recently a short DNA sequence of 648bp, the mtDNA cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) has been proposed as a DNA barcode for distinguishing species, for the identification of specimens that are incomplete, damaged or immature and for assessing biodiversity. In this study, the COI barcode will be used to genetically characterise marine organisms in Mauritius and its outer islands. During the first phase of the project, all fish species will be bar coded, starting with those of commercial importance. Subsequently, inventory and molecular barcoding effort will be focused on soft corals, sponges and major marine invertebrates. This information will be useful in fisheries management, regulation and enforcement and for conservation of biodiversity.

Project Contact: Dr. Ruby MOOTHIEN PILLAY
rubykm@moi.intnet.mu

Ongoing Projects

Continental Shelf Project

The MOI has been entrusted with the task of formulating the claim for the extended continental shelf for Mauritius. This claim is likely to further extend the maritime jurisdiction of the Republic of Mauritius, and must be submitted to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf before 2009.
Project Contact: Dr M. BHIKAJEE
bhikajee@moi.intnet.mu

African Monitoring of the Environment for Sustainable Development

The MOI is implementing a four-years’ EU-funded project entitled African Monitoring of the Environment for Sustainable Development (AMESD) in collaboration with the African Union and the Commission de l’Ocean Indien. This project will involve the reception and processing of real-time satellite images for the determination of Potential Fishing Zones and for Ocean Hazards Management (e.g. Search and Rescue Operations and determination of Oil Spill movement in the ocean). Click here for more details.
Project Contact: Dr M. BHIKAJEE
bhikajee@moi.intnet.mu

Oil and Gas Exploration

On 13th July 2006, the Mauritius Oceanography Institute, on behalf of the Mauritian Government, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Oil and Natural Gas Commission Videsh Limited of India for cooperation in the field of hydrocarbon exploration. The project also has a component of capacity building.

Modelling & mapping oceanic processes of South West Indian Ocean: a satellite-based approach

The ocean is a dynamic and fluctuating environment where numerous processes operate. Observing this ocean variability by conventional means has proved to be difficult and costly. This project on modelling and mapping the south-west Indian Ocean is effectively geared towards the study of the oceanic processes in this part of the globe. The approach will mainly consist on measuring oceanographic parameters via the medium of sensors mounted onboard satellite while its main objective is the mapping and characterisation of oceanic processes, more precisely of biological production and general circulation in the south-west of the Indian Ocean. The subsequent outputs shall constitute a pioneering effort in the setting up of operational oceanography by bridging the gap between research and operation.
Project Contact: Mr Rezah BADAL
rezahmb@moi.intnet.mu

Bioprospecting Mauritius waters

The MOI act and vision 2020 document of the Ministry of Economic development and Regional Co-operation emphasise the need to exploit natural products derived from our unique flora and fauna. In that respect and considering the fact that the use of Marine organisms towards the unveiling of new drugs is gathering much importance today, the MOI is undertaking a project entitled: "Biological activities of Marine Natural Substances from Mauritius Waters". This is a joint collaborative project involving local as well as international institutions. The objective of the project will be to assess the biological activities of the extract of certain classes of marine organisms, which have already given new drugs, in use today on some chosen bioassays.
Project Contact: Dr Daniel MARIE
depmarie@moi.intnet.mu

Ballast Water

The objective of the project is to determine the risks caused by the discharge of ballast water in Mauritius and propose mitigative measures accordingly.
Project Contact: Mr Prakash MUSSAI
pmussai@moi.intnet.mu

Bathymetric survey of the shallow lagoons of Mauritius and Rodrigues

The primary objective of the survey is to have a detailed bathymetric and bottom sediment profile of the lagoons of the islands of the Republic of Mauritius. This work will eventually be extended to cover Agalega and St Brandon. The maps (hard copy and electronic format) generated after processing will help to investigate the following-in relation to sea floor morphology and depth:

• Bottom sediment profile (distribution of coralline sand, their granulometry etc)
• Zonation patterns of lagoonal biotopes
• Preparation of inundation maps
• Current patterns and beach erosional processes

Project Contact: Mr. Javed MOSAHEB
jmosaheb@moi.intnet.mu

Genetic connectivity and its implications for the design and management of marine protected areas in the East African Ecoregion

The overall aim of this MASMA-funded regional three-year project is to assess the population genetic structure of reef-associated fish species and reef-building hard corals along the Eastern seaboard of Africa and islands of the Western Indian ocean with the purpose of providing reliable background data pertaining to the level of connectivity across the region and between protected and unprotected reefs. This project will generate data which will be used for investigating the connectivity between MPA and non-MPA for an efficient design and management of the proposed Marine Protected Areas network for national and regional initiatives. In addition, it will provide data on commercially important fish species to be used by National Fisheries departments as a starting point for sustainable fish stock management through identification of local breeding populations.
Project Contact: Dr. Ruby MOOTHIEN-PILLAY
rubykm@moi.intnet.mu

Development of a pilot project for coral farming for tourism, export, education, research and conservation

The main aim of this two-year pilot project is to investigate optimal nursery conditions for growth and propagation of corals in land-based nurseries. The farmed corals will be used for the marine aquarium trade, for the establishment of a coral aquarium, for the propagation of rare/threatened/endangered species and for coral conservation initiatives.
Project Contact: Dr. Ruby MOOTHIEN-PILLAY
rubykm@moi.intnet.mu

Feasibility of Pearl Oyster Culture in Mauritius

After preliminary studies, a pilot farm will be set up as a demonstration of a full-fledged farm in Mauritius. The environmental, biological, financial and operational conditions for the set up of a farm will be studied. Positive results of the feasibility study will lead to the selection of a site for the establishment of a farm, and to attract investors to undertake pearl culture in Mauritius.
Project Contact: Oocheetsing SADASING
osadasing@moi.intnet.mu

Completed Projects

Geo-spatial Information system for Habitat Mapping of South Eastern coast of Mauritius

The geo-spatial information and mapping project initiated by MOI through the funding of the Commision de L'Ocean Indien aims at the construction of a series of maps that will classify major coastal habitats and eventually assess their relative ecological richness. The study involved both actual field surveys together with state of the art remote sensing technique. An atlas-type document has been published.
Project Contact : Mr Rezah BADAL
rezahmb@moi.intnet.mu

Inventory of the Coral Fauna of Mauritius

It is important to know the number of coral species as it may be used as a bioindicator to assess the state of the ecosystems since anthropogenic activities may have profound effects on the abundance and distribution of species. The latest study on the reefs of Mauritius details the presence of 139 species of scleractinian corals. The present study, undertaken in collaboration with AFRC/JICA, has so far revealed the presence of 159 species. The search is ongoing for the rare and cryptic species.
Project Contact: Dr. Ruby MOOTHIEN PILLAY
rubykm@moi.intnet.mu

Coral Recruitment

Coral recruitment has important consequences for coral population size and structure. Numerous short and long-term studies have shown recruitment to vary both spatially and temporally by several orders of magnitude. Present studies in collaboration with AFRC/JICA will examine the spatial and temporal variation in coral recruits on settlement panels, which have been initially deployed off Albion.
Project Contact: Dr. Ruby MOOTHIEN-PILLAY
rubykm@moi.intnet.mu

Bioprospecting

Information regarding the medicinal properties or traditional uses of marine organisms hardly exists in the world as well as in Mauritius. The validation of the known medicinal virtues of land-plants or marine molluscs is a manner to start bioprospecting the sea. This research involves the pharmacological testing of extracts for bioassays relevant to their medicinal properties and ultimately purification and isolation of the bioactive compound(s).
Project Contact: Dr Daniel MARIE
depmarie@moi.intnet.mu

Database of marine organisms of Mauritius

The correct identification and naming of living organisms is the basis of research in the field of diversity of living organisms and their management. This project aims at producing a database of marine species in Mauritian waters, which will be linked to the existing databases on marine organisms such as Marine Species Database for Eastern Africa (MASDEA) and Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS). The Mauritian marine species database will use the World Wide Web for access and networking. The product will also be published in the form of a CD-ROM and will be made available to a wide range of end-users. This database of marine organisms will be a standard reference for research management and training in the field of marine species diversity in Mauritian waters.
Project Contact: Dr Asha POONYTH
ashadp@moi.intnet.mu

Evolutionary and population genetics of scleractinian corals

The main aims of this project are to examine molecular relationships across a wide range of scleractinian corals and to investigate larval connectivity among reefs locally and regionally using DNA based techniques. As a first phase of the project, we are examining the species boundaries between the sympatric Pavona spp of Mauritius and Japan. In addition, we are comparing the population structure of Pavona spp between the Indian Ocean (Mauritius, Thailand) and Western Pacific .(Japan, Taiwan). This project is being undertaken in collaboration with Kitasato University, Japan and Academia Sinica, Taiwan.
Project Contact: Dr. Ruby MOOTHIEN-PILLAY
rubykm@moi.intnet.mu