A look back at the first BRIDGES field school in Mayotte
From November 3 to 8, 2025, BRIDGES funded and supported its very first field school, organized in Mayotte.
This initiative, which will be repeated every two years, is fully in line with the program’s focus on Capacity sharing, and supports the momentum around the creation of an Indian Ocean Regional Master’s degree led by the University of Mayotte. This innovative course, which will start in 2027, is being developed jointly by the University of Reunion Island (BEST-ALI Master’s degree) and the University of Mayotte (Bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences), with teaching, internships, and fieldwork shared between the two territories.
A collaborative educational program between the University of La Reunion (UR) and the University of Mayotte (UMay)
This first edition brought together 19 students from the BEST-ALI Master’s program (University of La Réunion) and 6 students in their third year of the Biology-Ecology track of the Life Sciences Bachelor’s program at the University of Mayotte. Scientific supervision was provided by four UR lecturers and two UMay lecturers, allowing for close monitoring and complete immersion in the field.
The educational organization differed according to the levels:
- For the Master’s students, the objective was to develop and test a scientific problem in ecology, formulated on the basis of field observations and supported by data collection.
- For the undergraduate students, the challenge was first and foremost to immerse themselves in a collective dynamic with Master’s students, in order to raise their awareness of the scientific approach and encourage them to pursue higher education. They also participated in specific work on the variation of benthic macrofauna according to different types of soft substrates, the data from which will be reused in a second-semester teaching unit.
Ecological issues rooted in Mayotte’s ecosystems
The groups worked on several major themes related to Mayotte’s coastal ecosystems, including:
- Spatial distribution and composition of N’Gouja seagrass beds, and the potential influence of disturbances
- Comparison of coral communities between the N’Gouja and Sakouli sites
- Structure of algal communities along a north-south and beach-slope gradient in N’Gouja
- Study of mangroves along a land-sea gradient, including fauna and flora
- Influence of seagrass density on associated biological communities.
Over the course of the week, thanks to the diversity of the data collected, certain issues were refined, reflecting the active and adaptive approach at the heart of field science.
At the same time, the undergraduate students group carried out dedicated work on the variation of benthic macrofauna according to habitat, allowing students to practice collecting, identifying, and interpreting data.
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Next steps: presentation and promotion of the work
The Master’s students will prepare a scientific poster summarizing their results. Their work will be presented orally on the morning of December 11 2025, which will count towards their assessment. The undergraduate students will also present their findings via videoconference, although this will not be assessed.
This first field school marks an important milestone for BRIDGES. It illustrates our ambition: to train, connect, and support future experts in the region by building bridges between territories, disciplines, and stakeholders.
Photos : Swipe left to see more pictures
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