Explore the depths of the Mediterranean

As part of the 2024 Science Festival, Virginie Zajdel, an elementary school teacher and continuing education student in the Master’s program in Ecological Engineering and Biodiversity Management (IEGB) at the Faculty of Sciences ofthe University of Montpellier, has created a photography exhibition on marine biology in collaboration with the University Libraries.

Marine Biology Awareness

Through this photo exhibition, Virginie Zajdel raises students’ awareness of marine biology and, more specifically, of a particular ecosystem: sandy and/or muddy seabeds.

“I really wanted to raise students’ awareness of a substrate, a habitat, an ecosystem: soft bottoms—that is, sandy or muddy bottoms. It’s an ecosystem with an incredibly rich diversity of species that is sometimes overlooked.” 

There is an abundance of life, but to see it, you have to dive at night. During the day, the animals are afraid of humans, noise, light, and other predators, so they hide in the sediment—the mud or sand. At night, however, they come out to hunt, reproduce… And then there’s an explosion of life, diversity, and color.”

Highlighting the Richness of the Mediterranean Coast

After identifying various dive sites with different substrates and sand grain sizes, Virginie Zajdel logged about 100 hours of diving and systematically recorded all the species she encountered.

Endemic species

“I wanted to highlight little-known animals that are, in fact, sometimes endemic to our region, such as the Tethys, a 30-centimeter-long slug endemic to our Mediterranean coast, or the spotted seahorse, which may be endemic to the Thau Lagoon.”

“Some animals have the ability to mimic their surroundings, incredible ways of defending and protecting themselves, or even remarkable biological functions, such as the Elysia (Elysia chlorotica), a slug capable of eating chloroplasts—the plant cells responsible for photosynthesis—without destroying them. It incorporates them into its own cells and thus performs its own photosynthesis.”

"I thought it was so amazing that I decided I had to put together an exhibition to explain it to the students."

Non-native species

In this project, Virginie Zajdel also highlights the presence of invasive alien species (IAS) that are spreading along our coastlines and, lacking natural predators, are proliferating to the point of displacing native species.

This phenomenon, which is currently subject to very little regulation, is influenced by both global warming and globalization.

Lectures and Hands-On Workshops

This exhibition appears to have been the catalyst for numerous marine biology projects at the University of Montpellier.

In fact, in response to the students’ interest in the photo exhibition, Virginie Zajdel has organized a year-long lecture series. During these lectures, she will explore different branches of marine biology, specific groups of animals, and various habitats (seagrass beds, rocky bottoms, sandy-muddy bottoms, etc.).

In addition, and to help students feel involved and in control of their own learning, Virginie Zajdel also organized an educational workshop on photo identification.

The goal: To enable students who are unable to dive to learn how to identify and classify a wide variety of marine animals.

As a result, thanks to the accreditation of a dedicated room at the Triolet University Library, students will be able to conduct observations using a microscope and binocular magnifying glasses.

“This year, I’ve set myself the challenge of dedicating time to this project, which stems from the exhibition. The goal is to share knowledge; many students have expertise in these areas, so everyone contributes their part.”

New projects on the horizon…

The photo exhibition “Beneath the Surface” served as the initial point of contact with the students. This first project ultimately served as a test of the interest of students at the University of Montpellier in marine biology.

Seeing the enthusiasm generated by the exhibition and the students’ desire to delve deeper and learn more about these topics, Virginie Zajdel works every day to develop new projects.

“I suggested that we compile a monthly inventory of everything we see at the Thau Lagoon. That way, we can observe together whether new species appear at different times of the year or if there are changes in the species present. This is called monitoring the area’s species diversity.”

Finally, the newly founded association “Immersion Aquatique,” created at the initiative of Virginie Zajdel, will be run by students with the aim of encouraging the development of projects and ensuring that marine biology plays a significant role at the University of Montpellier.