Islands as reference stations for environmental studies: the case of Calvi Bay in Corsica

Islands are subject to human activities and their impacts on land and marine ecosystems. They are also often isolated from some of the continental influences but on the other hand different kind of human activities can be concentrated in small areas. These characteristics make possible the management of many programs that use whole islands, or some of their parts, as a reference station for environmental studies.
From this perspective, the program STARE-CAPMED has begun in 2012 at STARESO, an oceanographic research station established at Calvi Bay (Corsica) since the early 70’s. It aims to create a reference station for the study of emerging local and global anthropogenic impacts on marine pristine ecosystems. Several universities are involved in this project and provide their expertise in various fields of marine sciences. This program provides a precise view of the environmental processes that occur, which are strongly linked with economic and cultural issues.