Nadia Améziane has stepped down as director of the Concarneau Marine Station to return to her first love: research and teaching. After 10 years at the helm of the oldest station in the world still in operation, the taxonomist wants to devote herself to scientific outreach.
“Women oceanographers” (12/12). They have made the ocean their object of study, sometimes even their main concern. Physicists, chemists, geologists or biologists, they all contribute to improving our knowledge of the marine environment. océans connectés sets out to meet them all over France.
by Marion Durand
Cover photo © Marion Durand
The first woman to head a marine station in France, Nadia Améziane is one of those people who leave a lasting impression. Her infectious good humour and passion for marine science make her the ideal person to talk to. In particular, we had to meet her for the final episode of this series dedicated to women oceanographers.
At 63, Nadia Améziane’s career is far from over, and last year she took a new turn when she stepped down as director of the Concarneau Marine Station (Finistère) in December 2023. After ten years at the helm of the world’s oldest working marine station, Nadia Améziane has decided to return to her first passion: research. Ten years of management is enough,” she explains. My job is still to be a teacher-researcher. Being a director gave me the opportunity to discover a whole new world. It was really exciting to set up a whole range of projects. She extols the virtues of Brittany, where the environment is very favourable to research: “We have a lot of support from the local authorities: the city, the agglomerations, the department and the region. There’s a real interest in research and innovation and a real willingness to listen. We also have a direct relationship with the media, the Academy and the Rectorate. We can get our messages across even better if we talk directly to the various players involved.
Nadia Améziane has not left Concarneau or the resort. She has even stayed in the same office, which she shares with the new director, Guillaume Massé. A biologist and professor at the Muséum national d’histoire naturelle, she is now in charge of training and actively involved in the scientific work carried out within the station or in partnership with it.
Describing new species: a major challenge
A mineralogist by training, Nadia Améziane is a taxonomist (a biologist specialising in the classification of living things). She is interested in the phylum of echinoderms (sea urchins, starfish, sea cucumbers, sea cucumbers, etc.) and specifically the crinoids, historically known as sea lilies. “They have a kind of stem with a crown of arms, they look like flowers,” describes the specialist. “They also have an internal skeleton and the ability to contract and relax very quickly, rather like a muscle”.
His work consists of making an inventory of these species, describing new ones and studying their environment and behaviour. “My other hobby is looking at variations in skeletal development during growth. We analyse the relationships between the skeleton, the joint and the environment. It’s not easy because these organisms live in the depths, but we’re lucky enough to have juveniles brought back during oceanographic campaigns.”
Nadia Améziane has just returned from an expedition to New Caledonia to explore the little-known seabed off the Pacific island. Marine biologists often bring back new species from these expeditions, which specialists like Nadia then set about describing.
Of the ten million species that live on the planet, scientists only know about a quarter of them. Every year, almost 20,000 new specimens are discovered around the world, 80% of them in the French overseas territories. Although taxonomists, both professional and amateur, are becoming increasingly rare, this science of describing and classifying living things is essential for understanding ecosystems and the impact of human activities. “We can only protect what we know well, says Nadia Améziane. The more we know about species, the closer the relationship between organisms and humans. To protect, we need to know the whole picture: the animal, the habitats and therefore the ecosystems”.
Support for children concerned about the environment
In her scientific outreach activities, the taxonomist also reminds us that nature has much to teach us. Unknown species remain a source of untapped potential, as organisms on land or in the sea are a source of inspiration for sustainable innovation in many fields.
Nadia Améziane has been teaching at design schools in Nantes and Paris for a number of years and is amazed each year by the imagination of her students: “It is important to bring research into these environments because tomorrow’s designers will have to be sensitive to the environment, carry out projects without depleting natural resources and draw inspiration from living things to find solutions that consume less energy.”
Nadia Améziane © Marion Durand
The oceanographer also trains companies, lectures at universities and goes into schools to meet young children. “Teachers tell me that these discussions about solutions help children to become less concerned about the environment. Today’s young people are very aware of the problem, but by and large we tell them that we’re heading for disaster. It’s a reality, but it’s difficult for them because we don’t give them much hope.”
Nadia Améziane is an advocate of reconnecting with life, for young and old alike. The former director of the Concarneau marine station is a firm believer in the metaphor of the hummingbird. “We have to get involved. As voters, citizens and consumers, it starts with us. It’s true that there is always a certain amount of inertia, but when politicians and industrialists see that attitudes are changing on a large scale, they will be forced to adapt”. A “great optimist”, as she puts it, she wants to believe that humanity will act on behalf of the planet before it’s too late. “The ocean is in our DNA, so we can’t help but care. We’re all very connected to the ocean, even if I still get seasick,” she laughs.
Make a living from your passion
The daughter of a nurse and a father who worked in transport, Nadia Améziane was never exposed to the world of research. In fact, she grew up far from the sea, in Lyon, and was initially interested in the mountains. “Even as a child, I collected all sorts of minerals and fossils, much to the chagrin of my parents. I loved flowers, nature and walking“. School wasn’t “her thing”, she says. Even as a student, she preferred experimental projects to theoretical courses. “I didn’t really enjoy what I was doing until my thesis, when I was able to go out into the field,” she recalls.
A mother of three, Nadia Améziane has always managed to combine her professional and family life. “I wasn’t there when the children left school, I couldn’t pick them up at the end of the day and sometimes I was away for several weeks at a time,” she admits.
“One day, after returning from an expedition to Antarctica, I gave a talk at my daughter’s school. I had prepared photos and films to show them my work. After the presentation, my daughter’s behaviour changed because her friends told her that she was lucky that her mother had a great job,” says the oceanographer with emotion. She used to feel disadvantaged because I wasn’t with her on school trips, but suddenly she felt very proud.
Today, her talks in schools are an opportunity for her to encourage young girls to pursue careers in research and to show them that “being a woman has never been an obstacle“. She always tells them: “The most important thing is to make a living from your passion!”
TO READ IN THE SAME SERIES
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Karina von Schuckmann : « the ocean is a sentinel for global warming »
Marie-Anne Cambon, head and heart in the abyss
Marie-Noëlle Houssais : « the oceanographer and polar physicist is disappearing »
Elodie Martinez at the bedside of phytoplankton, the lungs of the planet
Emina Mamaca, chemist and Ifremer’s spokesperson at the highest level of government
Sabrina Speich, oceanographer : ” I’m not afraid to fight for the climate”
Sophie Cravatte, a professional life dedicated to the Pacific Ocean
From Marseille to Nouméa, Sophie Bonnet unravels the mysteries of underwater deserts