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
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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)
- 2nd year Master thesis: Genetic architecture and gene expression underlying sexual antagonistics traits in Gerromorpha - IGFL (Lyon) - supervised by Abderrahman Khila
- 1st 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)