Master – Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution (BEE) | Biodiversity and Tropical – Terrestrial Ecosystems (BEST-T)

The BEE Master is organized into two courses:

• BEST-ALI, focused on aquatic, coastal and island ecosystems
• BEST-T, focused on terrestrial, natural and cultivated ecosystems.

The objective of the Master in Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution (BEE) is to train students at baccalaureate +5 level capable of carrying out fundamental or applied research work, expert work or environmental assessment in the fields of ecology and tropical biodiversity.

Depending on the course chosen and the internships completed in Master 1 and Master 2, students will specialize in the field of aquatic, coastal and island ecosystems or in that of terrestrial, natural and cultivated ecosystems. 

The training is carried out through classic academic approaches offering theoretical background, but also through applied field studies in Reunion or in the Indian Ocean zone. Its aim is the assimilation of operational techniques of terrestrial and marine ecology, via project-based approaches to develop skills in terms of organization and collaboration in French and English.

For the BEST-T course, the training takes place over two years, on the Tampon campus with two internship periods. The second semester, shared with the Erasmus Mundus Tropimundo International Master, is taught entirely in English. The BEST-T course is supported by theTraining and Research Unit of human and environmental sciences, the Terrestrial Ecology (ET) department and theJoint Research Unit (UMR) Plant Populations and Pests in Tropical Environments (PVBMT) from the International Cooperation Center in Agricultural Research for Development (CIRAD).

The BEST-T course has a network of partnerships specific to the terrestrial domain, whether in the field of the natural terrestrial environment or in the field of the cultivated environment in Reunion and in the Region. The presence of the UMR PVBMT at the heart of the 3P platform allows students to interact with the partners present and to benefit from access to various collections and experimental stations.

The objective of the BEE Master's in Tropical Terrestrial Ecosystems (BEST-T) is to train students at baccalaureate +5 level capable of carrying out fundamental or applied research, expert work or environmental assessment in the fields of ecology and terrestrial tropical biodiversity.

The educational, scientific and professional objectives are:

• Understanding the mechanisms governing the dynamics of terrestrial biodiversity
• Expertise in tropical terrestrial ecology, conservation biology and agronomy
• Expertise in genetics applied to biodiversity conservation problems
• Acquisition of independent work skills

The BEST-T course offers both solid training in ecology and evolutionary biology, but also a specialization in tropical terrestrial ecosystems.
Many lessons take place in the field.

The training is carried out via classic academic approaches aimed at offering serious theoretical background to students, but also via applied field studies in Reunion or in the Indian Ocean zone, aiming to assimilate the operational techniques used during studies in terrestrial ecology, and via project-based approaches to develop organizational and collaborative skills.

The BEE BEST-T Master being shared in semester 2 with the Erasmus Mundus TROPIMUNDO international Master degree, all courses in semester 2 of Master 1 are carried out entirely in English.

Educational innovations:

• Through the realization of transversal research projects involving independent work (population genomic analysis project in Master 2, collaborative PlantRunDNA teaching-research project in Master 1, etc.)
• Seminar at the Saline Les Bains common to the BEST T and BEST ALI courses (Master 1)
• Logistical and scientific co-organization of a seminar with the Réunion National Park (Master 2)
• Setting up and presenting workshops during the Science Festival (Master 2)
• Numerous field trips (discovery of Reunion Island environments, tropical epidemiology, agroecology, terrestrial ecology, conservation, ecological restoration, etc.)
• A field school is offered and takes place both in Reunion and in the Indian Ocean zone.

Professionalization:

• Thirty-nine day internships in Master 1 and six months in Master 2
• Intervention of numerous professionals (80 hours out of the 750 of the Master).

Organisational skills :

• Work independently (know how to set priorities and manage your time)
• Use of communication and information technologies
• Information search and critical restitution

Social skills :

• Communicate: write, prepare and comment on a report using communication support, communicate in a foreign language (English), speak in
  audience…
• Working as a team: integrating, positioning yourself and collaborating
• Integrate into a professional environment

Scientific skills:

• Complex situation analysis via a multidisciplinary approach
• Knowledge of regulations and implementation of an experimental approach

Specific disciplinary skills:

• Acquisition of a scientific culture allowing integration into the scientific environment and adaptation to future developments in techniques relating to the fields.

Sheet of the National Directory of Professional Certifications  (RNCP n°39185)

Master 1

BEST-T specific lessons:

• Discovery of the professional world and internationalization
• Digital ecology
• Evolution of populations
• Terrestrial tropical evolutionary ecology in an island environment
• Genetics and genomics of plant breeding

Common lessons BEST-T and Tropimundo:

• Tropical forest ecosystems of Reunion island and the SWIO islands
• Geomatics
• Ecological data analysis
•  Tropical plant health ecology and management
• Molecular evolution

Master 2

BEST-T specific lessons:

• Communication and scientific writing
• Biostatistical tools in ecology
• Macroecology and biogeography
• Agroecology practices
• Tropical epidemiology
• Conservation and management of terrestrial ecosystems
• Molecular ecology and conservation genetics

Thirty-nine day internship in Master 1 and six months in Master 2

Not concerned

On file, baccalaureate + 3 or equivalent

Doctorate

• Experts in terrestrial tropical ecology and biodiversity for design offices, local authorities, protected area management organizations
• Experts in tropical agronomy, control of crop pests, biological invasions, management of genetic resources, etc.