Chargée de recherche (CR1) 

Responsable de l’équipe BIOFLUX

Campus du CNRS

1919, route de Mende
34293 Montpellier 5
tel:+33 (0)4 67 61 32 43
fax:+33 (0)4 67 41 33 36

e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Mots clés : 

Macroinvertébrés du sol, Diversité, Rôle fonctionnel (Structuration des sols, Décomposition des litières), Perturbations anthropiques et changements globaux, Traits biologiques, écologiques et fonctionnels

GO DIRECTLY TO:  Who am I? / Main research projects / Publications

*****

Research areas

- evolution and diversification of animal color patterns 

- evolutionary & computational aesthetics (aesthetic theory of efficient processing applied to artworks, plants and animals)

- processing bias (sparse coding, efficient categorization)

- models of animal vision (colour vision, pattern recognition)

- proximate mechanisms of mate choice

- Methods: Artificial intelligence for neuroscience and evolutionary ecology

Who am I?

I am an evolutionary biologist, cognitive scientist and naturalist. My main objective is to understand how do evolve complex and extravagant visual signals such as the eyespots of the peacock, the danse of the birds of paradise, and some artworks in humans. My research hypothesis is beauty. Using approaches of empirical psychology, computational neuroscience, artificial intelligence and philosophy of aesthetics, my goal is to identify the biological mechanisms underlying the beauty judgment in order to develop mechanistic models that predict this judgement. I then transfer these models to other animals to understand how beauty influences behaviors and, ultimately, the evolution of communication signals in nature.

I am also working on methods to characterize visual phenotypes, with applications in community ecology, evolutionary biology and systematics. I am particularly interested in how to use artificial intellgience to describe visual phenotypes and to model animal vision.

I am also conducting or participating to several research projects in ornithology (mostly on searbirds) and ichthyology (fish, and in particular gobies, of the Northeastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean region). 

Main research projects

WildCom-AI (ANR 2020-2025) - Artificial Intelligence for Studying Communication in Wild Animals (PI: J Renoult)

Darters (NSF 2020-2025)- Preferences, information theory, and the evolution of signal design (PI: T Mendelson & J Renoult)

CBIRDS (2024-2027)-Monitoring climate change impacts on Antarctic biodiversity.  (PI: JY Barnagaud.)

POMAR (2023-) Phylogenetics and taxonomy of sand gobies Pomatoschistus spp.. (PI: E Delrieu-Trottin & J Renoult)

Publications (* equal contribution)

Visual ecology & evolution

SILVA, N.J., FERREIRA, A. C., SILVA, L. R., PERRET, S., TIEO, S., RENOULT, J. P., COVAS, R., DOUTRELANT, C. (2025).  A deep learning approach to detect and visualise sexual dimorphism in monomorphic species. Animal Behaviour. In press.

ARIAS, M., BEHRENDT, L., DRESSLER, L., RAKA, A., PERRIER, C., ELIAS, M., GOMEZ, D., RENOULT, J.P., TEDORE, C. (2024). Testing the equivalency of human “predators” and deep neural networks in the detection of cryptic moths. Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 38, 214-224. https://doi.org/10.1093/jeb/voae146

SILVA, N. J., FERREIRA, A. C., SILVA, L. R., PERRET, S., TIEO, S., RENOULT, J. P., COVAS, R., & DOUTRELANT, C. (2024). A deep learning approach to detect and visualize sexual dimorphism in monomorphic species. bioRxiv, 2024-10.

HÉJJA-BRICHARD, Y. H., RAYMOND, M., CUTHILL, I. C., MENDELSON, T. C., & RENOULT, J. P. From natural to sexual selection: Revealing a hidden preference for camouflage patterns. bioRxiv, https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.09.27.559753

HÉJJA-BRICHARD, Y., MILLION, K., RENOULT, J. P.*, & MENDELSON, T. C.* (2024). Using neural style transfer to study the evolution of animal signal design: A case study in an ornamented fish. Ecological Informatics,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2024.102881

HEJJA-BRICHARD, Y., RENOULT, J., & MENDELSON, T. (2024). Comparative analysis reveals assortative mate preferences in darters independent of sympatry and sex. Ecology & Evolution. 14(10), e11498.

TIEO, S., DEZEURE, J., CRYER, A., LEPOU, P., CHARPENTIER, M. J., & RENOULT, J. P. (2023). Social and sexual consequences of facial femininity in a non-human primate. Iscience, 26(10).

BYBEE, S.M., FUTAHASHI, R., RENOULT, J.P., SHARKEY, C., SIMON, S., SUVOROV, A., WELLENREUTHER, M. (2023). Transcriptomic insights into Odonata ecology and evolution. In Dragonflies and Damselflies, 2nd Ed. (CORDOBA-AGUILA, A., BEALTY, C.D., BRIED, J.T.). Oxford University Press. [Book chapter] [PDF]

CHARPENTIER, M.J.E, POIROTTE, C., ROURA-TORRES, B., AMBLARD-RAMBERT, P., WILLAUME, E., KAPPELER, P.M., ROUSSET, F., RENOULT, J.P. (2022) Mandrill mothers associate with infants who look like their own offspring using phenotype matching. Elife. 11, e79417

LANGLOIS, J., GUILHAUMON, F., BALETAUD, F., CASAJUS, N., […], RENOULT, J.P., […], MOUQUET, N. (2022). Global mismatch between the aesthetic value of reef fishes and their conservation priorities. Plos Biology. 20(6):e3001640.

HULSE S.V., RENOULT, J.P., MENDELSON T.M. (2022). Using deep neural networks to model similarity between visual patterns: application to fish sexual signals. Ecological Informatics. 67:101486 [PDF]

CHARPENTIER M.J., HARTE M., POIROTTE C., DE BELLEFON J.M., LAUBI B., KAPPELER P.M., RENOULT J.P. (2020). Same father, same face: deep-learning reveals paternally-derived signalling of kinship in a wild primate. Science Advances. 6, eaba3274. [PDF]

DUFOUR P., GUERRA CARANDE J., RENAUD J., RENOULT J.P., LAVERGNE S., CROCHET P.-A. (2020). Plumage colouration in gulls responds to their non-breeding climatic niche. Global Ecology and Biogeography. 29: 1704-1715. [PDF]

JOFFARD N., LE RONCE I., LANGLOIS A., RENOULT J.P., BUATOIS B., DORMONT L., & SCHATZ B. (2020). Floral trait differentiation in Anacamptis coriophora: phenotypic selection on scents, but not on colour. Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 33: 1028-1038.

BLIARD L., PAQUET M., ROBERT A., DUFOUR P.,
 RENOULT J.P.,
 GREGOIRE A., CROCHET P.-A., COVAS R., DOUTRELANT C. (2020). Examining the link between relaxed predation and bird colouration on islands. Biology Letters. 16: 20200002.

FERREIRA A.C., SILVA L.R., RENNA F., BRANDL H.B., RENOULT J.P., FARINE D.R., COVAS R., DOUTRELANT C. (2020). Deep learning-based methods for individual recognition in small birds. Methods in Ecology & Evolution. 11: 1072-1085.

DE SOLAN T., RENOULT J.P., GENIEZ P., DAVID P., & Crochet P.A. (2020). Looking for mimicry in a snake assemblage using deep learning. The American Naturalist. 196: 74-86. [PDF]

HULSE S.V., MENDELSON T.C.*, RENOULT J.P.*. (2020). Sexual signals of fish species mimic the spatial statistics of their habitat: evidence for processing bias in animal signal evolution. Nature Communications. 11: 1-8. [

RENOULT J.P., KELBER A., SCHAEFER H.M. (2017). Colour spaces in ecology and evolutionary biology. Biological Reviews. doi: 10.1111/brv.12230 [PDF]

BINKENSTEIN J., STANG M., RENOULT J.P., SCHAEFER H.M. (2017). Weak correlation of flower color and nectar-tube depth in temperate grassland. Journal of Plant Ecology. 10 : 397-405

DOUTRELANT C., PAQUET M., RENOULT J.P., GREGOIRE A., CROCHET P.-A., COVAS R. (2016). Worldwide patterns of bird colouration on islands. Ecology Letters. 19: 537-545.

RENOULT J.P., VALEUR B. (2015). Les couleurs de la vie – Mécanismes de production, fonctions et diversité. L’Actualité Chimique. 397-398 : 12-18.

RENOULT J.P., BLÜTHGEN N., BINKENSTEIN J., WEINER C.N., WERNER M., SCHAEFER H.M. 2015. Linking community to sensory ecology: the relative importance of color signaling for plant generalization in pollination networks. Oikos. 124: 347-354. [PDF]

RENOULT J.P., VALIDO P., JORDANO P., SCHAEFER M. (2014). Adaptation of flower and fruit colours to diversified mutualists. New Phytologist. 201: 678-686. [PDF]

RENOULT J.P., THOMANN M., SCHAEFER H.M., CHEPTOU P.-O. (2013). Selection on quantitative colour variation in Centaurea cyanus: the role of the pollinator’s visual system. Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 26: 2415-2427.

RENOULT J.P., COURTIOL A., SCHAEFER H.M. (2013). A novel framework to study colour signaling to multiple species. Functional Ecology. 27: 718-729. [PDF]

BINKENSTEIN J., RENOULT J.P., SCHAEFER H.M. (2013). Increasing land-use intensity decreases floral colour diversity and changes composition of plant communities in temperate grasslands. Oecologia, 173: 461-471.

RENOULT J.P., SCHAEFER H.M., SALLE B., CHARPENTIER M.J.E. (2011). The evolution of the multicoloured face of mandrills: insights from the perceptual space of colour vision. PlosOne, 6:e29117.

SCHATZ, B., DELLE-VEDOVE, R., RENOULT, J., et al. (2011). Couleur de fleur d’orchidées et insectes. Le Courrier de la Nature. 260 : 24-36.

RENOULT J.P, COURTIOL A., KJELLBERG F. (2010). When assumptions on visual system evolution matter: nestling colouration and parental visual performance in birds. Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 23:220-226

Cognitive science/Computational neuroscience/Empirical Aesthetics

MENDELSON, T. C.*, RENOULT, J. P.*, ROSENTHAL, G., SHUKER, D. On the biological basis of beauty. Biological Review. In press.

TIEO, S., BARDIN, M., BERTIN-JOHANNET, R., DIBOT, N., MENDELSON, T. C., PUECH, W., & RENOULT, J. P. (2024). Comparing activation typicality and sparsity in a deep CNN to predict facial beauty. Computational Brain & Behavior  [PDF]

DIBOT, N. M., TIEO, S., MENDELSON, T. C., PUECH, W., & RENOULT, J. P. (2023). Sparsity in an artificial neural network predicts beauty: Towards a model of processing-based aesthetics. PLOS Computational Biology, 19(12), e1011703 [PDF]

TIEO, S., RESTREPO-ORTIZ, C. X., ROURA-TORRES, B., SAUVADET, L., HARTÉ, M., CHARPENTIER, M. J., & RENOULT, J. P. (2023). The Mandrillus Face Database: A portrait image database for individual and sex recognition, and age prediction in a non-human primate. Data in Brief, 47, 108939.

BELTZUNG, B., PELE, M., RENOULT, J.P., SUEUR, C. (2023). Deep learning for studying drawing behavior: A review. Frontiers in Psychology. 14: 992541.

BELTZUNG, B., PELE, M., RENOULT, J.P., SUEUR, C. (2022). Using artificial intelligence to analyze non-human drawings: A first step with Orangutan productions. Animals. 12(20): 2761. [PDF]

RENOULT, J.P. (2022). La Fluence, in Abécédaire de la beauté (éditeurs: ZERNIK, C. & JARICOT, J.). Editions B42. [Book chapter]

CHARPENTIER, M. J., PELÉ, M., RENOULT, J.P., SUEUR, C. (2021). Social data collection and analyses, in Demographic Methods Across the Tree of Life (ed. Salguero-Gomez, R., Gamelon, M.), pp.53-76 [Book chapter].

RENOULT J.P. (2019). Book review of "The Aesthetic Animal." Evolutionary Studies in Imaginative Culture. 3: 105-108. [PDF]

RENOULT J.P., GUYL B., MENDELSON T.C., PERCHER A., DORIGNAC J., GENIET F., MOLINO F. (2019). Modelling the Perception of Colour Patterns in Vertebrates with HMAX. bioRxiv, 552307.

HOLZLEITNER I.J., LEE A.J., HAHN A.C., KANDRIK M., BOVET J., RENOULT J.P.,... & JONES B.C. (2019). Comparing theory-driven and data-driven attractiveness models using images of real women’s faces. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance. 45: 1589.

RENOULT J.P., MENDELSON T.C. (2019). Processing bias: extending sensory drive to include efficacy and efficiency in information processing. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 286: 20190165.

KAPOULA Z., VOLLE E., RENOULT J.P., ANDREATTA M. (ed.). (2018). Exploring Transdisciplinarity in Art and Sciences. Springer [Edited book]. 

RENOULT J.P. (2016). The evolution of aesthetics: a review of models. In Aesthetics and Neuroscience: Scientific and Artistic Perspectives, (KAPOULA Z. & VERNET M, ed.). pp. 271-300. Springer International Publishing. [Book chapter].

RENOULT J.P., BOVET J., RAYMOND M. (2016). Beauty is in the efficient coding of the beholder. Royal Society Open Science. DOI: 10.1098/rsos.160027. [PDF]

CHARPENTIER M.J.E., HUCHARD E., GIMENEZ, O., SALLE, B., KAPPELER P., RENOULT J.P. (2012). Distribution of affiliative behavior across kin classes and their fitness consequences in mandrills. Ethology, 118: 1198-1207.

Marine biology

KOVAČIĆ, M., SVENSEN, R., RENOULT, J. P., PATZNER, R. (2025).  Checklist, key and latitudinal distribution of the eastern Atlantic marine gobies along the European coast (Actinopterygii: Gobiidae and Oxudercidae). Zootaxa. In press.

KOVAČIĆ, M., BERGENGER, L., RENOULT, J. P. (2024). Testing of the taxonomic diagnosis of Zebrus pallaoroi Kovačić, Šanda & Vukić, 2021 (Actinopteri: Gobiiformes: Gobiidae) on a large sample from the Western Mediterranean. Fishes. 9, 511. [PDF]

MUCCIOLO, S., DESIDERATO, A., CHRISTIDIS, G., AMMAR, I. A., & ANTIT, M.,..., RENOULT, J.P., …, GEROVASILEIOU, V. (2024). New records of introduced species in the Mediterranean (August 2024). Mediterranean Marine Science, 25(2).

DIGENIS, M., AKYOL, O., BENOIT, L., BIEL-CABANELAS, M., ÇAMLIK, Ö. Y., CHARALAMPOUS, K.,... RENOULT, J.P., & GEROVASILEIOU, V. (2024). New records of rarely reported species in the Mediterranean Sea (March 2024). Mediterranean Marine Science, 25(1), 84-115. [PDF]

KOVACIC, M., ŠANDA, R., VUKIC, J., RENOULT, J. P., & FALZON, M.-A. (2023). New records of the recently described Pomatoschistus nanus Engin & Seyhan, 2017 (Teleostei: Gobiidae) (early view). Cybium. [PDF]

RENOULT, J., MENUT, T., RUFRAY, X., LE BRIS, S., IGLESIAS, S. P., LOUISY, P.,... & PRAT, M. (2023). Les poissons cryptobenthiques de la baie d’Agay (Var). Cahiers de la Fondation Biotope, 39, 58 pages.

KOVAČIĆ, M., RENOULT, J. P., PILLON, R., BILECENOGLU, M., TIRALONGO, F., BOGORODSKY, S. V.,... & YOKES, M. B. (2023). The delimitation of geographic distributions of Gobius bucchichi and Gobius incognitus (teleostei: Gobiidae). Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 11(3), 516. [PDF]

KOVAČIĆ, M., PILLON, R., RENOULT, J.P. (2022). Identification of enigmatic Mediterranean fish Gobius ater Bellotti, 1988 (Teleostei: Gobiidae) based on morphology from underwater photographs. Journal of Fish Biology, 101: 1381-1384 [PDF]

RENOULT, J.P., PILLON, R., KOVAČIĆ, M.,  LOUISY, P. (2022). Frontiers in Fishwatching Series: Gobies of the Northestern Atlantic and the Mediterranean – Gobius and Thorogobius. Les cahiers de la fondation Biotope. 237 pages.

KOVAČIĆ, M., RENOULT, J.P., PILLON, R., SVENSEN, R., BOGORODSKY, S., ENGEN, S., LOUISY, P. (2022). Identification of Mediterranean marine gobies (Actinopterygii: Gobiidae) of continental shelf from photographs of in situ individuals. Zootaxa. 5144: 1-103.

IGLESIAS, S. P., BARICHE, M.., …, RENOULT, J.P., …, TOURNIER-BROER, R. (2021). French ichthyological records for 2019. Cybium. 45: 169-188.

SANTIN A., AGUILAR R., …, RENOULT J.P., …, TIRALONGO, F. (2021) New records of rare species in the Mediterranean Sea (March 2021). Mediterranean Marine Science, 22: 199-217.

IGLESIAS S. P., BERGOT P., …, RENOULT J.P., …, THOMAS W. (2020). French ichthyological records for 2018. Cybium. 44: 285-307.

Other (mostly phylogenetics, population genetics and natural history)

ROCHAS, P., MINOT, M., MEZIERE, N., RENOULT J.P., JUILLERAT, N., URIOT, Q., URIOT, S., FOXONET, H., CERDAN, A. (2022). Check-list of Odonata from French Guiana with notes on their distribution, ecology, and new state records. Odonatologica, 51(3/4) : 175-224.

RENOULT J.P., DELAHAIE B., DELATTRE J-C., DE FRANCESCHI C. , VEYRUNES F., LE BOT T. (2018). Chumming on multi-day sailing trip in Bay of Biscay. Dutch Birding40:96-98

CROCHET P.-A., LEBLOIS R., RENOULT J.P. (2015). New reptile records from Morocco and Western Sahara. Herpetology Notes. 8 : 583-588.

RENOULT, J.P. Arrivée de la Libellule purpurine Trithemis annulata (De Palisot de Beauvois, 1805) dans la vallée du Rhône. (2013). Sympetrum. 17: 81-82. 

DURANT, E., RENOULT, J.P.(2012). Addition à l’odonatofaune de l’Adrar mauritanien. Poiretia, 2012, 4 : 7-16.

CHARPENTIER M.J.E., FONTAINE M.C., CHEREL E., RENOULT J.P., JENKINS T., BENOIT L., BARTHES N., ALBERTS SC, TUNG J. (2012). Genetic structure in a dynamic baboon hybrid zone corroborates behavioral observations in a hybrid population. Molecular Ecology, 21:715-731.

RENOULT J.P., GENIEZ P., BEDDEK M., CROCHET P.-A. (2010). An isolated population of Podarcis vaucheri (Sauria: Lacertidae) in south-eastern Spain: genetic data suggest human-mediated range expansion. Amphibia-Reptilia, 31:287-296.

KJELLEBERG F., BAKOLIMALALA R., EDMOND R., RAFIDISON V., RABEVOHITRA R., RENOULT J., et. al. (2010). Corridors de végétation et conservation d'un groupe clé de voûte de la biodiversité au centre d'un réseau d'interactions: le cas des Ficus et des communautés associées. in Connaissance et Gestion des Milieux Tropicaux. p80-91. CNRS Edition. [Chapitre de livre].

RENOULT J.P., GENIEZ P, BACQUET P., GUILLAUME C. P., CROCHET P.-A. (2010). Systematics of the Podarcis hispanicus-complex (Sauria, Lacertidae) II: the valid name of the north-eastern Spanish form. Zootaxa, 2500:58-68

RENOULT J. (2009). The Sooty Gull, Larus hemprichii (Aves; Laridae), on Nosy Ve: first records for Madagascar. Malagasy Nature, 2:174-176.

RENOULT J.P., GENIEZ P, BACQUET P., BENOIT L., CROCHET P.-A. (2009). Morphology and nuclear markers reveal extensive mitochondrial introgressions in the Iberian Wall Lizard species complex. Molecular Ecology. 18:4298-4315.

RENOULT J.P., KJELLBERG F., SANTONI S., KHADARI B. (2009). Cyto-nuclear discordance in the phylogeny of Ficus section Galoglychia and host shifts in plant-pollinator associations. BMC Evolutionary Biology. 9:248.

RENOULT J.P. & RASELIMANANA A.P. (2009). A new species of Malagasy blind snake of the genus Typhlops Oppel (Serpentes: Typhlopidae). Zootaxa,2290:65-68

CROCHET P.-A., RENOULT J. (2008). Tarentola annularis annularis (Geoffroy de Saint-Hilaire, 1827) preying on a mammal. Herpetology Notes, 1:58-59.

PhD student – University of Montpellier

I’m a PhD student interested in animal behaviour and cognition, and how they translate into the spatial and demographic dynamics of populations. During my PhD, I focus on the interplay between individual movements and the dynamics of population networks through two case studies: 1) migratory connectivity and its relationship with the demography of migratory populations; 2) informed dispersal and its implications for the structuring and the stability of larid colonies. Linking individual and population-level processes leads me to draw on methods from both behavioural ecology and population biology.

Supervisors: Pierre-André CROCHET (DR, CNRS), Aurélien BESNARD (DE, EPHE).

Contact information

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0316-5041
CEFE, 2ème étage aile C, bureau 202A

Laurine Mathieu - PhD Student 2023/2026

Supervised by Anne Charmantier (CEFE-CNRS) and Samuel Caro (CEFE-CNRS)

Contact

CNRS - CEFE UMR5175, 1919 Route de Mende, 34283 Montpellier

Aile B Etage 2 Office 206

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Project

The objective of this PhD project is to better understand how wild populations of great tits and blue tits are affected by urbanization and what mechanisms are involved in the observed phenotypic differences between urban and forest populations. This study will rely on the long-term population monitoring in urban and forest habitats established in Montpellier (CEFE TIT PROJECT) , as well as on comparative analyses with the city of Paris. The thesis will particularly explore physiological aspects that have not been studied thus far. Given the characteristics of the urban environment, which is more stressful and has higher temperatures, physiological adaptations to urban life are expected to be observed. Variations in the endocrine system between urban and forest environments will be studied, focusing on stress and reproductive hormones. Additionally, aspects of respirometry will be investigated, with the primary question being: do urban birds have a metabolism pre-adapted to high temperatures due to living in an urban heat island effect environment? In a second part, the project aims to dissect how urban phenotypic shifts are driven by genetic change or plasticity. To study this aspect, common garden experiments have been set up. Data from individuals raised under similar environmental conditions can be compared to wild individuals, thus observing whether phenotypic differences between urban and forest habitats are maintained or not.

More information: ACACIA Project

 Bio

• 2021-2023 Master in Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution, Ecology, Evolution and Genomics (Lyon 1)
  • 2^nd year Master thesis: Genetic architecture and gene expression underlying sexual antagonistics traits in Gerromorpha - IGFL (Lyon) - supervised by Abderrahman Khila
  • 1^st year Master thesis: Cognitive abilities in relation to the reproductive success of great tits and ringed flycatchers - LBBE (Lyon)/ Gotland (Sweden) - supervised by Blandine Doligez & Laure Cauchard
• 2020-2021 Licence in Biodiversity (Lyon 1)
• 2018-2020 CPGE BCPST (Lyon)

PhD candidate - Macroecology

I am a PhD candidate working on macroecology, using citizen science data. Specifically, my PhD project aims to understand the sensitivity of birds to habitat changes.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

PhD student

I am a PhD student in evolutionary ecology using great and blue
tits to compare coloured signals of forest, urban and corsican
birds to assess the impacts of urbanisation and climate
change on these traits and selection associated.

Contact:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ORCID - Twitter

Supervisors: Claire Doutrelant (CEFE - CNRS, Montpellier) & Arnaud Grégoire (CEFE - University of Montpellier).
Project in collaboration with David López Idiáquez.

Thesis project: Climatic, anthropic and intrinsic determinants of ornaments expression and their association to fitness.

Urbanisation and climate change are two major factors driving ongoign environmental changes in wirld populations worldwide. Research has revealed plastic and genetic responses to these anthropogenic changes. A shift in environmental conditions are expected to impose novel slective forces that can shape phenotypic variation of populations living in urban environments. Ornaments such as conspicuous colourations play a crucial role shaping interactions between individuals in inter and intra-sexual contexts. Ornamentals surch as feathers, with carotenoid-based (yellow to red), structural (blue) and melanic colours, are expected to be associated with variation in environmental conditions. Phenotypic divergences are known in urban environments, however understanding the underlying mechanisms driving colour variation are not investigated.

This projects uses a long time dataset from the following of four blue tits populations, three in Corsica and one near Montpellier, and two great tits populations from the city of Montpellier and a nearby forest. Overall it covers 10 to nearly 20 years of colouration data. This dataset results from the work of numerous researchers and students from the CEFE TIT PROJECT.

This thesis aims to:

• Unravel the effects of urbanisation and climate change on carotenoid colouration in the great tits, and investigate whether phenotypic divergence has a temporal pattern.
• Understand which urban characteristic is causing changes in bird colouration using
  1/ common garden experiments to see whether there is plastic or genetic changes.
  2/ metabarcoding data to see what urban and forest birds are eating while they renew their feathers.
• Investigate selection by survival on coloured ornaments for both blue and great tits and compare it between environments.

Bio:

• 2022: Master's degree in evolutionnary ecology, Sorbonne Université, France.
        - 2nd year Master thesis: Sublethal effects of pesticides on passerine's health and behaviour. Under the supervision of Jerome Moreau (CEBC - La Rochelle Université, France).
        - 1st year Master thesis: Adaptive effects of rock pigeon (Columbia livia)beak's morphology on the regulation of feather's ectoparasites. Under the supervision of Julien Gasparini (Sorbonne Université, France).
• 2019: Bachelor degree in Life Sciences, Sorbonne Université, France.

Publications: More to come soon

• Jeantet A.,Sandmeyer L., Campech C., Audebert F., Agostini S., Pellerin A., Gasparini J. 2023. The “parasite detoxification hypothesis” : lead exposure potentially changes the ecological interaction from parasitism to mutualism. Ecotoxicology 32(5):666-673.

Grants:

• 2000€ ESEB Hewitt Mobility Award 2024 to visit another laboratory - NTNU, Norway
• 2000€ SQUID Student Fellowship in 2023 to visit another laboratoty - NTNU, Norway
• 300£ BOU Member conference attendance grant in 2023

Chargée de recherche CNRS

CEFE/CNRS
1919, route de Mende
34293 Montpellier cedex 5, France
Tél : +33/0 4 67 61 xx xx

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Google scholar : https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=yyjumocAAAAJ&hl=fr

Orcid : https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6715-9898

Doctorant EPHE - PSL / Beauval Nature

Étage 1 - Aile C - Bureau 114

Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Supervisor : Stéphanie Manel (CEFE, EPHE - PSL)

PhD STUDENT
Behavioural Ecology

My PhD project, which began in December 2024, is in the field of behavioral ecology. More specifically, I am studying the impact of personality on the reproductive behavior of Corsican blue tits Cyanistes caeruleus ogliastrae in the face of biotic (predation, parasitism) and abiotic (climate change) constraints.

Aside from my thesis, my main research topics of interest include reproductive behaviour, in particular sexual selection, host-parasite interactions, and the links between anthropogenic factors and behaviour. I have a preference for birds as a study model, but have also worked on fish and mammals.

I am also a member of the Comité pour l'Equité.

Contact :

CEFE - CNRS
1919, route de Mende
34293 Montpellier Cedex 5

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Bluesky : @radicalmoineau.bsky.social

ORCID : 0009-0006-2079-7362

Supervisors :

• Anne Charmantier (Researcher, CEFE - CNRS)
• Claire Doutrelant (Researcher, CEFE - CNRS)
• Denis Réale (Researcher, UQAM)

PhD title: Links between personality and reproductive strategy in a context of biotic (predation, parasitism) and abiotic (climate) environmental variability

In a context of rapid global warming and increasingly frequent extreme weather events, numerous studies have shown the impact of these changes on the life-history traits of wild organisms, in particular the advancement of reproduction phenology for plants and animals. In the case of birds, we know that many populations respond to global warming by adjusting individual egg-laying dates. However, much less is known about the functional reasons for individual differences in this plasticity, and very little about the implications of inter-individual behavioural (personalities) or demographic (e.g.  longevity) differences in the phenotypic plasticity of reproductive decisions.

In this thesis:

• We will exploit a database resulting from long-term monitoring of blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) initiated in 1976 and now providing 47 years of data on bird reproduction, and 13 years of behavioural data (docility, exploration score) on breeding birds in four populations occupying white oak and holm oak forests.
• We will test whether the differences in bird personalities  (proactive/reactive, i.e. highly or less aggressive and fast or meticulous explorers) between populations and individuals, are linked to the plasticity of life-history traits in the face of global warming. In particular, we predict that because of their different reactivity to environmental signals, proactive individuals will be less plastic than reactive individuals in their reproductive decisions.
• We will also study the effects of environmental pressures (climate, predation, parasitism) and personality on the pairing of individuals approximated by homogamy and the propensity to divorce. In particular, we will use repeated observation data collected over several decades to test the hypothesis that proactive individuals are more likely to change partners over the breeding seasons, particularly following failure events such as the predation of their brood or an extreme
  climatic event.

The overall aim of this project is to integrate animal personalities in the study of phenotypic plasticity in the face of environmental constraints, in the context of a study of wild birds initiated almost half a century ago.

 Education:

• 2016 - 2018   CPGE BCPST
                      Lycée Joffre, Montpellier
• 2018 - 2023   Interface programme in Biology, Health, and Physiopathology
                      Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay
  
• 2019 - 2023   Veterinary studies (double degree with ENS)
                      Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort
  
• 2022 - 2023   M2 BEE specialised in Evolutionary Ecology
                      Université Paris-Saclay - Sorbonne Universités
  
• 2023 - 2024   Wildlife rehabilitator                                                                                                        Centre de Sauvegarde de la Faune Sauvage à Chambéry

Internships :

• 2019  Center for Biological Diversity - St-Andrews, UK
  
  • Supervised by Helen Spence-Jones and Mike Webster
• 2020  CEBC - Chizé, France
  
  • Supervised by Sydney Hope and Frédéric Angelier
• 2022  Cornell University (Leadership Program) - Ithaca, NY, USA
  
  • Supervised by Michael Sheehan
• 2023  Helsinki Institute of Life Sciences - Helsinki, Finland
  
  • Supervised by Rose Thorogood

Publications :

Vogt, C. C.; Zipple, M. N.; Sprockett, D. D.; Miller, C. H.; Hardy, S. X.; Arthur, M. K.; Greenstein, A. M.; Colvin, M. S.; Michel, L. M.; Moeller, A. H.; Sheehan, M. J. Female Behavior Drives the Formation of Distinct Social Structures in C57BL/6J versus Wild-Derived Outbred Mice in Field Enclosures. BMC Biol. 2024, 22 (1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-024-01809-0.

Conferences :

• 2023                        Animal Behaviour Live: Annual Online Conference - Presentation   
• 2022                        National Veterinary Scholars Symposium (Minneapolis) - Poster              
• 2022                        Forum de la Formation Vétérinaire (Maisons-Alfort) - Conférence "Vétérinaire dans la Recherche"
• 2021                        Forum de la Formation Vétérinaire (Maisons-Alfort) - Conférence "Vétérinaire dans la Recherche"
• 2020                        Soirée recherche de l'ENVA - Presentation

Directeur de Recherche CNRS

luis-miguel.chevin[at]cefe.cnrs.fr

I am interested in adaptive evolution in response to changing environments: its ecological causes, phenotypic and genetic underpinnings, and demographic consequences. 

PhD candidate – Université de Montpellier

Doctorante en écologie statistique, j’étudie l’apport des méthodes de suivi non-invasif, de l’intégration de données et de la modélisation statistique à la compréhension de l’écologie des populations de carnivores en France. Je travaille en particulier sur les questions de connectivité.

I’m a PhD student in statistical ecology. I study the contribution of non-invasive monitoring, data integration and statistical modelling to study the ecology of carnivore populations in France. I work in particular on connectivity issues.

Supervisor: Olivier Gimenez (CEFE-CNRS)
Co-supervisor: Cyril Milleret (NMBU, University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway)

Contact information

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Twitter / X: @MaelisKervellec
Bureau 202, 2ème étage aile C

Directeur de recherche au CNRS

CEFE/CNRS
Campus du CNRS
1919, route de Mende
34293 Montpellier cedex 5

Tél : +33/0 4 67 61 33 10
Fax : +33/0 4 67 61 33 36
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Mots clés

Discipline : Ecologie évolutive, Ecologie comportementale, Ecophysiologie
Thématiques : Biologie des populations, Traits d’histoire de vie, Changements environnementaux, Hétérogénéité de l’habitat
Organismes biologiques : Aves, Parus (Mésanges)
Milieux : Région méditerranéenne, Milieux forestiers
Techniques :  Suivi d’individus marqués dans le cadre d’un programme à long terme
Autres mots clés : Interactions entre espèces, Ressources, Climat

PhD Candidate – Marine ecology and conservation 

I am a PhD candidate, working at the interface between movement ecology and marine conservation. My PhD project aims to deliver science-based, conservation-oriented evidence to inform the conservation of highly mobile seabirds in the Atlantic. It is a partnership between the CEFE, the University of Lisbon, BirdLife International and the UN Evironment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC).

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4915-7191

Ingénieure d'études - Projet BIRDMOVE

CEFE, CNRS
1919, Route de Mende
34293 Montpellier cedex 5
France

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Le projet BIRDMOVE porte sur l'évaluation des déplacements de populations d'oiseaux marins induits par les parcs éoliens en mer sur les façades Manche et Atlantique. Ce projet s'inscrit dans le cadre des travaux du GT ECUME piloté par le ministère de la transition écologique.

En tant qu'ingénieure d'études du projet, je travaille entre autres sur le développement d'un modèle d'évaluation des effets "déplacement" (perte d'habitat fonctionnel) et "barrière" (création d'obstacles au mouvement) des parcs éoliens en mer sur les populations d'oiseaux marins.

PhD candidate – Université de Montpellier

I’m a PhD student interested in evolutionary demography and population dynamics of wild populations. I’m currently working on the demography of Svalbard polar bears. I’m relying on 30+ years of data including mark-recapture data, tracking data, and more. I’m mainly using linear models, mark-recapture models and path analysis models in a Bayesian framework to study the determinants of reproductive output, trade-offs between traits, and such.

Supervisors: Sarah Cubaynes (EPHE, CEFE-CNRS), Jon Aars (Norwegian Polar Institute)

Contact information

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Orcid: 0000-0003-1489-9363
GitHub: MarwanNaciri

Directeur de Recherche / Senior scientist

I study the evolution of adaptive diversity, using colour patterns in butterflies as a model. In my group, we integrate many different approaches, including ecology, genetics, and modelling, to try and untangle how multiple factors influence the evolution and maintenance of diversity and polymorphisms.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Doctorant EPHE - PSL / Beauval Nature

Étage 1 - Aile C - Bureau 114

Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Google Scholar – ResearchGate – ORCID

Supervisor : Stéphanie Manel (CEFE, EPHE - PSL)

Thesis project: Genetic diversity and conservation of threatened marine species: exploring innovative solutions

 The main objectives of this thesis are: (1) to develop genomic tools adapted to the monitoring of threatened populations and (2) to improve existing genetic diversity indicators in order to provide relevant and accessible information to conservation stakeholders. This second point will seek to valorise the intra-specific genetic component, which is still neglected when assessing the status of IUCN species and guiding conservation decisions. These approaches will be applied specifically to two marine species on the IUCN Red List in the Mediterranean: the angelshark (Squatina squatina) and the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). Genomic analysis of angelshark populations will be based on tissue samples from individuals caught accidentally by fishers, given the difficulty of sampling genetic material from this rare shark. For bottlenose dolphin populations, we will develop an eDNA capture-hybridization method to generate Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) genomic data from eDNA sampled behind dolphin pods by seawater filtration. This latest approach, still at the proof-of-concept stage, will allow us to examine the performance of this non-invasive technique for obtaining intra-specific genetic information. It could replace traditional sampling methods that require tissue collection from living organisms, which runs counter to efforts to conserve imperiled species.

Publications

Faure, N., Manel, S., Macé, B., Arnal, V., Guellati, N., Holon, F., Barroil, A., Pichot, F., Riutort, J-J., Insacco, G., Zava, B., Mouillot, D., Deter, J. (2023). An environmental DNA assay for the detection of Critically Endangered angel sharks (Squatina spp.). Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 33(10), 1088-1097. https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.3954

Mathon, L., Marques, V., Manel, S., Albouy, C., Andrello, M., Boulanger, E.,... Faure, N., … & Mouillot, D. (2023). The distribution of coastal fish eDNA sequences in the Anthropocene. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 32(8), 1336-1352. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13698