BIOPAC - Biodiversity, Plasticity, Adaptation and Conservation

General topics

The Knowledge of the mechanisms that regulate the structure, the dynamics, the functioning and the future of the aquatic populations is essential for the development of models and is a prerequisite for proposing management tools for species and habitats of ecological, heritage and/or fisheries interest. It is therefore necessary to study the diversity of these taxonomic groups and their life history traits in order to understand the relationships between the biodiversity and the ecosystem. Our team developed expertise in the study of communities in particular environments such as the southern seas, tropical island systems and temperate coastal and freshwater environments, based on extensive databases and reference collections it has built up. These environments are subject to strong climatic perturbations (cyclonic depressions, frost...), hydraulic (high rainfall, devastating floods, forced marine currents...), hydrodynamic (fronts, tides, retention processes,...) or mechanical (erosion,...) disturbances that lead to a particular adaptation of the organisms that live there, both on the colonization and settlement process and dispersion. In this context, our research is developed in 4 major themes: (i) Description, origin and evolution of biodiversity, (ii) Plasticity and adaptations during development, (iii) Dispersal and migrations, and (iv) Macroecology and conservation.

Research axis

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.

Latest scientific articles

2024

2023

Gallery

Cascade à Kolobangara Salomon. Photo P Keith
Eleotris, Polynésie. Photo Philippe Keith
Atyopsis sp. Photo C. Lord
Caridina variabilirostris sp. nov. dans son milieu naturel. Photo P. Keith
Ile de Choiseul Salomon. Photo Philippe  Keith
Stiphodon rutilaureus. Photo C. Lord
Stenogobius sp. Photo C. Lord
Pêche électrique. Photo Clara Lord
Rivière à Ranongga/Ranongga river. Photo P. Keith
Microphis argulus. Photo Clara Lord
Macrobrachium latimanus. Photo Clara Lord
C. brevidactyla. Photo Valentin de Mazencourt
Protogobius attiti. Photo Clara Lord
Stenogobius sp. Photo C. Lord
Bichique. Photo Céline Ellien
Programme de marquage légine auteur Bertrand
Photo Alexis Martin
Photo Alexis Martin
Photo Alexis Martin
Langouste. Photo Alexis Martin
Esox aquitanicus. Photo G Denys
Planète revisitée, Nouvelle-Calédonie. Marécage permanent. Photo Nicolas Rabet
Planète revisitée, Nouvelle-Calédonie. Mare temporaire à sec. Photo Nicolas Rabet
Planète revisitée, Nouvelle-Calédobie. Mare permanente très riche. Photo Nicolas Rabet
Planète revisitée, Nouvelle-Calédonie. Centre du marais Temrock. Photo Nicolas Rabet
Planète revisitée. Mare, région de Nouméa, Nouvelle-Calédonie,  où vivent 3 grands branchiopodes. Photo Nicolas Rabet
Planète revisitée. Exemple d'un habitat de Lynceus insularis espèce endémique du sud, Nouvelle-Calédonie. Photo Nicolas Rabet
Observation en plongée du fond d'une mare où vit Lynceus insularis, Nouvelle-Calédonie. Photo Nicolas Rabet
Pêche a vue dans une mare de la plaine des lacs, Nouvelle-Calédonie. Photo Nicolas Rabet
Leader(s)

PhD Thesis

Programs

2020 to 2026 POEPA
2023 to 2026 ESPOIRS
2022 to 2024 BichiCAM
2024 ddB-ADNe
2024 ComSac2
2024 REGAL2
2024 FishBoM
2024 BibRéfMol
2024 NGSDISPER24
2018 to 2023 MARINEFF
2023 NGSDISPER23
2021 to 2023 TAXO-NC
2023 BOCA
2020 to 2023 CRIJEST
2023 REGAL
2023 MitoPlancton
2022 DynaPart
2022 SOLFish
2022 EcoBoeckella
2022 DROMTAX
2022 NGSDISPER22
2021 to 2022 Inaa
2014 to 2022 FEAMP-EOS
2019 to 2022 DiadES
2022 ElasTique
2021 to 2022 PNGFish
2019 to 2021 BENDICAM
2018 to 2021 ORCADEPRED
2019 to 2021 SELUNE AMPHI
2019 to 2020 REZORD – MAY
2020 Impact écosystémique des efflorescences d'espèces toxiques en lien avec les changements environnementaux et climatiques : détection de ruptures dans des séries temporelles multivariées
2020 SynOtLi
2018 to 2020 FRESHBIO
2020 DIDILAC
2020 DIASYN
2017 to 2020 REPCCOAI
2017 to 2019 TDSB
2019 MigGoby
2017 to 2019 ODYSSEUS
2019 TRICHO
2019 CRUSTCAL
2017 to 2019 HEDGE LEDGE
2016 to 2019 Evo-Oeuf
2019 STENO
2019 ComSaccu
2016 to 2018 BIF
2013 to 2018 Révision de la taxonomie ichtyologique en métropole
2018 Bichique
2016 to 2018 ATLASESOX
2016 to 2018 ANR TROPHIK
2015 to 2017 Project Melanesia-Hotspot
2013 to 2017 CaCHE
2017 POKER 4
2012 to 2016 CHLORINDIC
2012 to 2016 ANR MYCTO 3D
2015 to 2016 PIGE
2014 EcoGob