Research interest

Warning colour patterns are a compelling example of a trait involved in both ecological adaptation and mate choice. Thus, shifts in warning colour patterns should promote reproductive isolation between subpopulations via pre- and post-zygotic barriers. Polymorphism in warning colour pattern can therefore have implications on evolutionary processes such as speciation or clade diversification, both because of its `magic trait' properties and its effect on populations' geographical distribution.

My PhD thesis is supervised by Mathieu Joron (CEFE, Montpellier) and Marianne Elias (ISYEB, Paris). I am constructing a theoretical framework to tackle the following questions: How do constraints on species range imposed by Müllerian mimicry affect the speciation process? How can male mate choice evolve and how does it affect progress toward speciation? How do mimetic interactions shape the phylogenetic tree resulting from the diversification of a clade.

Publications

Aubier TG, Elias M, Llaurens V & Chazot N (2017). Mutualistic mimicry enhances species diversification through spatial segregation and extension of the ecological niche space. Evolution. doi: 10.1111/evo.13182

Aubier TG, Joron M & Sherratt TN (2017). Mimicry among unequally defended prey should be mutualistic when predators sample optimally. The American Naturalist, 189(3):267-282. doi: 10.1086/690121

Aubier TG & Sherratt TN (2015). Diversity in Müllerian mimicry: The optimal predator sampling strategy explains both local and regional polymorphism in prey. Evolution, 69(11):2831-2845. doi: 10.1111/evo.12790

Ali AA, Medlyn BE, Aubier TG, Crous KY & Reich PB (2015). Elevated carbon dioxide is predicted to promote coexistence among competing species in a trait-based model. Ecology and Evolution, 5(20):4717-4733

Liens

Personal website: http://www.normalesup.org/~taubier/

Google scholar: here