Natural analogues of climate change are environments where present-day conditions already resemble (or exceed) those predicted under future climate change. I use these natural laboratories to study marine populations with inherent resilience to environmental extremes. My research investigates the physiological (thermal, acidification, and hypoxia tolerance) and cellular (biochemical, genetic) mechanisms underpinning climate resilience, aiming to better understand populations that are more likely to sustain ecosystems and fisheries in the future.

New Caledonia

The Bouraké Lagoon system in New Caledonia is a natural laboratory where marine life experiences significant fluctuations in temperature, carbon dioxide and oxygen, creating challenging environmental conditions for marine life. I use this system to investigate how coral reef fishes respond to environmental stress and the mechanisms that may enable them to persist under variable conditions.

In 2026, I was supported by the Embassy of France to Australia through the French-Australian Student Exchange in the Pacific program to travel to Bouraké and conduct fieldwork. Working with collaborators at the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, I collected coral reef fishes from Bouraké and nearby reference reefs and conducted experimental trials to examine their physiological responses to temperature, oxygen and pH stress. This work is helping me investigate how exposure to naturally variable environments may influence the way fishes respond when challenged by environmental stress.

By combining experimental research in Australia with fieldwork across the French Pacific, this research investigates how marine animals respond to climate change-related stress and what this may mean for marine ecosystems in the region.

See more research in New Caledonia here: mahewa website, La Première news report.