Lucas Terrana

About me

Dr. Lucas Terrana is collection manager at the Natural History Museum of Tournai in Belgium.  He has been working in Madagascar since 2013. He carried out a PhD thesis focusing on the biology and ecology of black corals from SW Madagascar, then a FNRS PDR post-doctoral project related to the conservation biology of black corals (COBICO) in collaboration with the University of Toliara (Madagascar), the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB, Belgium) and the University of Liège (Belgium).

After his FNRS post-doc, he obtained a 2-years Marie-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship (project PANDORA) about mesophotic black corals of the Canary Islands, in collaboration between ULB and the University of Las Palmas in Gran Canaria. He was involved in the European project “B-CHARMED” related to mesophotic black corals from the Canary Islands, funded through the LIFE4BEST programme. He is also involved in meetings and scientific expeditions organised by Under the Pole (French Expeditions) as a specialist in black coral research in mesophotic environments and marine animal forests. He is specialised in taxonomy, a key competence to assess biodiversity. He also has experience in assessing associated fauna of coral reefs and genetics.

He is an experienced scientific and technical diver using rebreather and mixed gas at mesophotic depths (down to 150m). He is familiar with field work as he already participated in 15 scientific expeditions and can manage teams, financial budgets, fieldwork, work plans and schedules. He is familiar with science communication with a teaching experience at university and knowledge dissemination in international scientific conferences or in mass media.

Dr. Terrana is closely collaborating with BIOMAR, which aims to specialise in underwater activities in extreme environments and develop the expertise to work in mesophotic habitats. During the last TANGO Expedition in Antarctica (Feb 2024), he was the leader of the scientific diving activities.

Projects

COBICO

Position

Scientific Collaborator

Expertise

Antipatharians

Conservation Biology

Tropical Ecology

Systematics

Genetics

More…

To find out more about me, you can take a look at my profiles on Researchgate