Juliette RAVAUX

My present research is structured around two main themes:

1. Deep-sea colonisation and adaptation to thermally variable environments: stress response in hydrothermal shrimp

The overall aim of our work is to identify the molecular mechanisms involved in thermal tolerance of deep-sea vent species, and it is included in a more global approach of the thermal tolerance processes in thermally variable environments. For the last few years, we have indeed developed comparative studies in shrimp from diverse thermal environments in order to elucidate the thermal adaptations of vent shrimp, as well as the selective role of temperature and pressure in the deep ocean colonization processes.

We are currently focused on the following aims:

• Evaluate the stress response and acclimation capacities of deep-sea shrimp upon environmental variations, which will give us clues on the ability of deep-sea shrimp to face environmental perturbations and ultimately allow us to reflect on their resilience potential.

• Assess the role of pressure in the thermal tolerance of deep-sea shrimp. Although studies have investigated the relevance of temperature and pressure independently, few experimental studies have focused on their combined effects. Our previous data on vent shrimp have lead to define the upper thermal limit of these species at their natural pressure, but the role of pressure in thermal tolerance still remains to be elucidated.

2. Sensory adaptations in hydrothermal vent shrimps: chemoreception and thermoreception

Organisms that depend on hydrothermal emissions face recognition of active hydrothermal sites throughout their life, but the processes for vent detection still remain to be elucidated. This work is focused on the chemo- and thermo-reception of the hydrothermal shrimp species, throughout their life stages, and of shallow water shrimp in order to identify the potential sensory adaptations in vent shrimp.

This topic is an emerging research subject since, except for a few model species like lobster and crayfish, sensory adaptations are still largely unknown in Crustacea.