Céline LE BOHEC

: Published: 11 January 2024

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Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien (IPHC)
UMR 7178 CNRS-Unistra
Département Ecologie, Physiologie et Ethologie (DEPE)
23, rue Becquerel
67087 Strasbourg cedex 2 FRANCE
Phone: +33 388 10 69 47
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Centre Scientifique de Monaco (CSM)
Département de Biologie Polaire (5ème étage)
8, quai Antoine 1er
MC 98000 MONACO
Phone: +377 97 77 44 56
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Nathalie ESPUNO

: Published: 05 January 2022

Research engineer

As a behavior modification specialist, my primary focus is on developing olfactory detection tools designed to help ecologists gather data on elusive animal and plant species. Using animal training techniques grounded in learning principles and predominantly relying on positive reinforcement, one can train macrosmatic animals to behave as mobile, intelligent biological sensors - identifying the particular odor profile of a species or group of species by generalizing information contained in samples from a limited number of different individuals, searching for it using the most appropriate search technique, locating the source of the odor, and translating the olfactory information into a visual output signal through the display of a specific, non-ambiguous trained behaviour.

Domestic dogs are obvious candidates due to their wide availability, appropriate size range for most detection tasks, ease of care, and, for some individuals, strong motivation based on inherent drives. Although an approach relying on living organisms has unavoidable limitations, dogs have excellent capabilities for learning and remembering large numbers of different odors (Waggoner et al. 2022), and thoroughly trained high-drive dogs can potentially conduct lengthy searches for rare targets with a high level of reliability.

I use adaptive protocols, precise criteria and clear communication methods to train dogs to detect specific biological odors and indicate their perceived sources. The alert behavior that I train is a "passive indication": in response to the conditioned olfactory stimulus, the dog sits with its nose pointing towards the perceived source of the odor and freezes until receiving a new cue. Because this behaviour - thoroughly trained in various contexts until it is stable - is incompatible with touching or interfering in any way with the targets, it ensures that the approach used is minimally invasive.

Depending on the objective and on feasibility concerns (e.g., dog safety, availability of training samples in quality/quantity commensurate with the objective), various types of odor sources can be targeted for each species or group of species - live individuals, dead individuals, or signs of presence (such as faeces, urine, hair, feathers, molts, tracks, nests...).

Past and current target species include amphibians (Lanza's alpine salamander Salamandra lanzai, common spadefoot toad Pelobates fuscus), reptiles (ocellated lizard Timon lepidus, European pond turtle Emys orbicularis, Loggerhead sea turtle Caretta caretta), insects (Crau plain grasshopper Prionotropis rhodanica), birds (calandra lark Melanocorypha calandra), mammals (carnivores) and fungi (black truffle Tuber melanosporum).

Paul Waggoner, Lucia Lazarowski, Bethany Hutchings, Craig Angle, Fay Porritt. Effects of learning an increasing number of odors on olfactory learning, memory and generalization in detection dogs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, Volume 247, 2022.

Passive indication of a Lanza's alpine salamander, Pian del Re, Italy

Samuel CARO

: Published: 19 September 2014

CNRS Researcher

Head of the Behavioural Ecology team

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

Tél : +33/0 4 67 61 33 08

Fax : +33/0 4 67 61 33 36
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Bureau 208

Jean-Yves BARNAGAUD

: Published: 17 June 2015

CEFE- RDC, Aile B, bureau 3

33(0)467633265

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RESEARCH

My research is framed around a comparative exploration of the role of multiple environmental drivers in shaping species distributions and diversity at multiple spatial and temporal scales. Most of my research is structured on the combined use of ecoinformatics methods (statistical analysis of large data sets) and naturalist expertise to understand empirical patterns of community composition in space and time. My main active axes of research include :

- functional biogeography of seabirds in the Southern ocean. I try to explain and predict the composition of seabird assemblages with spatial models calibrated with environmental factors, trophic interactions and species traits. The project relies on a large-scale bird counts protocol from ships and statistical model of multiple data types. See the C-BIRDS project and thesis.

- understanding spatial patterns of vertebrates distributions and assemblage compositions. Relying on various opportunistic or protocoled data sources at multiple spatial scales, I investigate the determinants of spatial patterns in vertebrate distributions and assemblage composition through spatial models based on proxies of historical and contemporary processes. See for instance he MALPOLON database.

- Ecoacoustics and community ecology. Several active projects focus on the relationship between bird community composition and the characteristics of soundscapes at multiple spatial and temporal scales, in order to explore the acoustic environment in which species interact and its changes with current land-use and climatic dynamics. See the ACOUCENE project (2022 - 2025, FRB/CESAB)

COLLABORATIVE WORK

Most of my interactions with biodiversity stakeholders are focused on data analysis to answer questions relative to the monitoring of human impacts on biodiversity at a regional or landscape scale.

- Ecological data analysis. I am involved in initiatives to foster interactions between scientific and non scientific stakeholders with respect to data-based ecological monitoring and expertise. See the website of the CISSTAT network.

- Analysis of land use influences on common bird assemblages in southern France. I investigate the impact of land use and habitats on the temporal dynamics of local bird assemblages with opportunistic and protocoled data (collaborations with the Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux - PACA).

- Wildlife road casualties. I work with the Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux and the CEREMA to explain and predict spatial patterns in road casualites. We exploit jointly multiple sources of protocoled, non-protocoled and citizen science data to identify mortality hotspots and explanatory factors, with the final aim to inform public policies on the mitigation of traffic impact on vertebrates. See the final report of the COCPITT project (2020-2023).

- Interacting imprints of climate change and land use on biodiversity. Using multiple taxa and scales, I investigate how species' responses to historical and present land use change interact with their responses to climate change. See the LANDBIO project (2022 - 2023, OFB - french ministry of ecology)

TEACHING

Most of my teaching activity is embedded within the program of the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes.

- Data analysis for ecologist : a three-weeks course dedicated to biodiversity stakeholders, framed on the practical use of statistical methods and the R software in ecological monitoring.

- Environmental law and policy : I drive a one-week course to introduce environmental public policies to scientific ecologists, involving speakers from various authorities and decision levels and practical training to improve students' written and verbal interactions with non-scientific stakeholders.

- Methods for ecological monitoring : a two-weeks course with Aurélien Besnard, mainly dedicated to master students and biodiversity stakeholders, to improve their skills and critical thinking in advanced numerical methods for ecology, including species distribution modeling, population dynamics, sampling design and analysis of diversity indices.

- Environmental changes and ecological science : I contribute to several courses on global changes and environmental monitoring. My teaching is focused on the interactions between science and society through several lenses including epistemology and governance / spatial planning.