ALEXANDRE MEINESZ
Scientific patron of Dive.Explo360
We’re delighted to have the support of Alexandre Meinesz, a marine biologist and emeritus professor at Université Côte d’Azur, where he has worked at the CNRS-affiliated ECOSEAS laboratory.
For decades, Meinesz has studied how Mediterranean seagrass meadows change and how invasive species spread. His work on the alga Caulerpa taxifolia helped draw attention to an invasion unfolding beneath the surface. He has brought that experience to debates about how to protect Mediterranean coasts and marine life.
Meinesz has agreed to become the scientific patron of Dive.Explo360. We’re grateful that he sees value in what we do.
He has spent much of his career helping people understand the Mediterranean and what it takes to protect it. His support encourages us to bring the same care to the observations we record and share.
We come to this work as divers, naturalists and educators. Our aim is to help people notice what’s happening underwater, ask questions about what they see and learn more about the places they dive.
Writing about the sea and the origins of life
In Killer Algae, first published in France by Belin as Le Roman noir de l’Algue Tueuse, Meinesz tells the story of Caulerpa taxifolia and its spread through the Mediterranean. The book was translated into English and Italian.
In How Life Began, published in French as Comment la vie a commencé, he explores the origins and evolution of life. In Protéger la biodiversité marine (Odile Jacob, 2021), he turns to the practical question of how to protect marine life.
Meinesz also co-wrote a field guide to European algae and has spent decades developing Méditerranée Mer Vivante, a series that introduces readers to life on the Mediterranean seabed. You can explore it at www.mervivante.net.
What threatens Mediterranean marine life?
In Protéger la biodiversité marine, Meinesz draws on his experience as a marine biologist and diver to examine what puts Mediterranean species and habitats at risk. He considers which measures could make a difference and how they might work in practice.
What should conservation protect?
The book distinguishes threats to species and habitats from problems that mainly affect how people use the sea. That distinction helps clarify where conservation efforts can do the most good. Meinesz also examines where environmental law falls short and argues for changes to the rules that protect marine life.