The aim of the department is to understand and to predict the dynamics of ecological systems and of biodiversity, in relation with human activities. Our work covers multiple levels of organisation (from individuals to socio-ecosystems), at a diversity of spatial scales (from local to global), aiming to produce interdisciplinary and pluridisciplinary studies at the interface between ecology and social and human sciences, and often applied to the management and conservation of species and ecosystems. Our research often builds from long-term projects, with a strong investment in modeling and field experimentation.

The department is headed by Ana RODRIGUES and structured into five teams:

•    Vertebrate Biogeography and Ecology (BEV) – headed by Stéphanie MANEL
•    Ecology of Anthropised Soils (ESA) – headed by Pierre JAY-ROBERT
•    Humain-Animal InteRactions (HAIR) – headed by Olivier GIMENEZ
•    Movement, Abundance, Distribution (MAD) – headed by Marion VALEIX
•    Nature, Conservation and Societies (NCS) – headed by Virginie MARIS

If the teams are the functional units of the department, most of our research goes beyond the perimeter of each team, as evidenced by a good number of collaborations across teams. The subjects that keep us busy can be grouped into four thematic transversal axes: protected areas, anthropized ecosystems, individual movement, and the relationships between humans and nature.

List of the students, postodcs, visitors and other young members of the department, with their photo and research theme.

MONTHLY DEPARTMENTAL MEETINGS

Next meeting (Grande Salle - 13h):

• Tuesday 12/11/2024 - Ecology of Anthropised Soils - Ninon Delcourt
  

Our meetings include:

• 15 mins – introduction of new members
• 30 - 45 mins – scientific presentation (each month by one of the teams in the department) + discussion
• 30 - 45 mins – discussion, mainly administrative, about the life of the lab and the department

Future meetings : Tuesday - 13h-14h30 - Grande Salle

• Monday 9/12/2024 - 9h - discussion about the Departments' project
• 21/01/2025 - Humain-Animal InteRactions
• 11/02/2025 - Nature, Conservation and Societies
• 04/03/2025 - Vertebrate Biogeography and Ecology
• 08/04/2025 - Movement, Abundance, Distribution
• 13/05/2025 - Ecology of Anthropised Soils
• 17/06/2025 - Humain-Animal InteRactions
• 16/09/2025 - Nature, Conservation and Societies
• 14/10/2025 - Vertebrate Biogeography and Ecology
• 18/11/1025 - Movement, Abundance, Distribution
• 16/12/2025 - Ecology of Anthropised Soils

Scientific presentations and discussions in past meetings:

2024

• 15 october - Movement, Abundance, Distribution - Simon Benhamou - Investigating movements and spatial distributions: a little poetry in a brutal word
• 17 september - Nature, Conservation and Societies - Samson Acoca-Pidolle - When being the least worst isn’t enough: hard and soft selection, demographic and evolutive consequences
• 11 June - Vertebrate Biogeography and Ecology - Maurine Vilcot - Influence of marine connectivity and dispersal capacity on the intra and interspecific diversity of reef fishes.
• 7 May - Humain-Animal InteRactions - Charlène Gemard - Causes of bird mortality in windfarms: what risk factors?
• 2 April - Anthropised Systems Ecology - Théo Oriol - Automatic identification of collembola through deep learning.
• 5 March - Annual Departmental Day
• 6 February - Movement, Abundance, Distribution - Marion VALEIX - Unsuccessful hunts: a crucial piece of the puzzle for understanding the hunting success of large carnivores and the impacts of global changes on their foraging
• 9 January - Nature, Conservation and Societies - John THOMPSON - celebrating the 50 years of the French National Parks

2023

• 12 December - discussion of the scientific project of the department and of the CEFE + departmental “Surprise Santa” + gouter
• 11 November - Vertebrate Biogeography and Ecology - Julia Dayon - Modelling the niche of a declining amphibian, and consequences of climate change on its future distribution
  
• 10 October - Humain-Animal InteRactions - Maud Queroué - Assessing the comparability of different aerial monitoring methods of marine megafauna + discussion of supervision practices
• 12 September - Anthropised Systems Ecology - Pierre Jay-Robert - Placenett, a programme to better understand the impact of the use of antiparasitic products on dung beetle populations
  
• 9 May - Movement, Abundance, Distribution - Paul DUFOUR - How important is vagrancy in ecology and evolution?"
• 11 April - Nature, Conservation and Societies - Hanna BACAVE - Using semi-Markov hiden chains to understand the dynamics of metapopulations with partially observed populations.
• 21 March - Annual Departmental Day
• 14 March - Humain-Animal InteRactions - Jan PERRET - Plants stand still and wait to be counted: comparing in situ measurements and numerical simulations to improve methods for monitoring plant populations 
• 14 February - Discussion regarding workplace welbeing
• 10 January - Anthropised Systems Ecology - Ambre MAUTUIT - Canopy cover and soil texture rather than urban landscape shape ant communities in urban Mediterranean woodlands

2022

• 13 December - Movement Abundance Distribution - David GREMILLET - Decolonizing Arctic science to reinforce pan-Arctic seabird monitoring
• 8 November - Vertebrate Biogeography and Ecology - Claudine MONTGELARD - Diversification and evolutionary history of the African laminated-toothed rats (Rodentia, Otomyini) 
• 11 October - Nature, Conservation and Societies - Samson ACOCA-PIDOLLE - Back to the past: rapid adaptation in the context of pollinator decline?
• 13 September - Humain-Animal InteRactions - Oksana GRENTE - Estimating the distribution of the great hamster (Cricetus cricetus) in Alsace based on spring burrow surveys
• 14 June - Anthropised Systems Ecology- Camila LEANDRO - Entomological inventory in a literary territory
• 10 May - Movement, Abundance, Distribution - Yohan SASSI - Do vultures avoid windfarms?
• 12 April - Vertebrate Biogeography and Ecology - Stephanie MANEL - Genetic response of species to climate change
• 14 March - Nature, Conservation and Societies - Virginie MARIS - Ecofeminist perspectives on wilderness: critiques and ressources
• 8 February - Humain-Animal InteRactions - Matthew SILK - How social structure and plasticity shape the ecology of infectious disease
• 12 January - Anthropised Systems Ecology - Sandra BARANTAL -  Methodology for the development of the Participatory Soil Biological Quality Observatory (QUBS)

2021

• 14 December - Discussion of the CEFE's carbon budget
• 9 Nov - Movement, Abundance, Distribution - João LOPES GUILHERME - Mapping important areas for the conservation of African-Eurasian migratory landbirds
• 12 Oct - Vertebrate Biogeography and Ecology - Erwan DELRIEU-TROTTIN - Origin and dynamics of biodiversity: genomic approaches for its conservation
• 14 Sept - Nature, Conservation, Societies - Charline LEGRAND - Development of a floristic observatory by analysis of the pollen collected in hives
• 08 June - Human-Animal InteRactions - A. Corbeau, T. Chambert, A. Besnard - The MAPE project : avian mortality in wind farms, a multi-partner research-action project
• 11 May - Anthropised Systems Ecology - Julia Centanni - Effect of urbanization on the ants Tapinoma nigerrimum complex in the greater Montpellier area and study of genetic structuring through landscape genetics
  
• 13 April - Movement, Abundance, Distribution - Gustave Fradin - Resting behaviour in anthropised landscapes - wild boar as a case study
• 9 March - Vertebrate Biogeography and Ecology- Jean-Pierre Vacher - Diversification and evolution of reproductive traits within an endemic frog genus of the Guiana Shield
• 9 February - Nature, Conservation, Societies - Clara Poirier - Advantages of the concept of otherness as a tool for nature conservation in times of crisis 
• 12 January - Human-Animal InteRactions - Patricia Rodrigues  - Prospects for tropical forest biodiversity in the landscapes of southwestern Ethiopia

2020

• 8 December - Anthropised Systems Ecology - Jonathan BONFANTI - Ecomorphosis in Collembola: an indicator of climate change?
• 3 novembre - Movement Abundance Distribution. Etienne Boncourt - Three-dimensional tracking of a Mediterranean seabird and collision risk with offshore wind farms
• 6 October - Vertebrate Biogeography and Ecology. Emilie Boulanger. Environmental DNA reveals and unpacks a biodiversity conservation paradox in marine reserves
• 8 September - Nature, Conservation, Societies. Virginie Maris. Maintaining evolutionary potential - an ambiguous objective to the conservation of biodiversity. 
• 2 June - Human-Animal InteRactions. Olivier Gimenez. Statistics for ecology and large carnivores.
• 5 May - Anthropised Systems Ecology. Agnès Mechin. Operationalising tools based on scientific knowledge: the example of methods to evaluate compensatory measures. 
• 2 April - Movement, Abundance, Distribution. Victor Cazalis. Assessing protected areas effectiveness in conserving bird diversity in tropical forests using eBird data
  
• 6 March - Vertebrate Biogeography and Ecology - Laura Benestan: Genomics and management of the fisheries of the American lobster (Homarus americanus) in Eastern Canada
• 6 February - Nature, Conservation, Societies - Marine Fauche: To tame a scientific object. Philosophical view on a population reinforcement.
• 14 January - Human-Animal InteRactions - Thibaut Couturier: Methodological support to the development of scientific operations within natural protected areas: a fruitful cooperation OFB-CEFE.