BIOPAC - Biodiversity, Plasticity, Adaptation and Conservation

Description, origin and evolution of biodiversity

Our team is working on the origin of the establishment of current aquatic fauna following post-glacial recolonization and the persistence of refuge areas; the exploration of island biodiversity and assemblage diversity; and the biogeographic study of Southern Ocean diversity at meso- and macro-scale on pelagos and plateaux scale for benthic and demersal organisms.

Plasticity and adaptations during development

Aquatic organisms often have complex life cycles, alternating between planktonic larval life phases and various juvenile and adult life phases. It is often through these larval phases that species are dispersed before adults settle. In this context, the team is studying the diversity and plasticity of shellfish life traits and adaptive responses.

Dispersal and migrations

Our team is studying these migratory aquatic species that have developed specific life traits that allow them to colonize particular environments and or to shift habitats during their life cycle. Dispersal strategies are a key driver of community structure and persistence, ranging from the local scale of a river, island or archipelago to the regional scale. Diadromy, which is a life strategy with migrations between marine and freshwater habitats, is one of the most studied model in our team.

Macroecology and conservation

Our work seeks to (i) describe biodiversity patterns and their dynamics at several spatial scales and levels of organization of living organisms; (ii) link these patterns not only to the processes underlying them, but also to search for direct or indirect forcing drivers such as global or anthropogenic changes; (iii) use this knowledge to produce indicators of status and predictive trends to better guide conservation policies and programs.