Ph.D student 2013-2016 (thesis defended on December, 13^th 2016)

Campus du CNRS

1919, route de Mende
34293 Montpellier cedex 5
Tel: +33(0)4 67 61 33 27

Email: afargevieille[at]gmail.com

Research interests:

Evolution of communication signals

Evolution of life-history traits

Comparative methods

Ph.D project:

Sexual selection and the evolution of female ornaments:A study of female plumage colouration using comparative analyses and long-term data sets from blue tit populations

Supervisors:  Claire Doutrelant and Arnaud Grégoire

Topic: My thesis focused on understanding the contribution of sexual selection in the evolution and maintenance of conspicuous colourations in female birds. 

A first part tested how paternal care and female reproductive costs drove the evolution of female plumage colouration in songbirds, by the mean of a comparative study using spectrometry, avian visual models and life-history traits (Fargevieille et al. In prep).

In a second part, a long-term project data set onblue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) was used to test hypotheses related to the evolution of female ornamentation. Ten years of plumage colouration, from four populations were used to assess the evolution of female ornaments. Genetic correlation (Charmantier et al. 2017), relationships between colouration and survival rate or reproductive success (unpublished) were tested by the means of quantitative genetics, CMR analyses and within-study meta-analyses. Quantification of the degree of assortative mating at the population level - considering spatio-temporal variation - was also tested (Fargevieilleet al. 2017). It led to a more thorough study at the individual level trying to understand factors underlying assortative mating in ourpopulations (Fargevieille et al. In prep.). 

• Publications:
  • Fargevieille, A., A. Grégoire, A. Charmantier, Maria del Rey Granado, and C. Doutrelant. 2017. Assortative mating by colored ornaments in blue tits: space and time matter. Ecology and Evolution 7:2069-2078.(doi:10.1002/ece3.2822)
    
  • Charmantier, A., M. E. Wolak, A. Gregoire, A. Fargevieille, and C. Doutrelant. 2017. Colour ornamentation in the blue tit: quantitative genetic (co)variances across sexes. Heredity 118:125-134. (doi:10.1038/hdy.2016.70)
  • Charmantier, A., C. Doutrelant, G. Dubuc-Messier, A. Fargevieille, and M. Szulkin. 2016. Mediterranean blue tits as a case study of local adaptation. Evolutionary Applications 9:135-152. (doi:10.1111/eva.12282)
    
  • Lambrechts, M. M., J. Blondel, C. Bernard, S. P. Caro, A. Charmantier, V. Demeyrier, C. Doutrelant, G. Dubuc-Messier, A. Fargevieille, C. de Franceschi, P. Giovannini, A. Grégoire, S. Hurtrez-Boussès, A. Lucas, M. C. Mainwaring, P. Marrot, A. Mennerat, S. Perret, and P. Perret. 2016. Exploring Biotic and Abiotic Determinants of Nest Size in Mediterranean Great Tits (Parus major) and Blue Tits (Cyanistes caeruleus). Ethology 122:492:501. (doi:10.111/eth.12494)
    
  • Lambrechts, M. M., P. Marrot, A. Fargevieille, P. Giovannini, A. Lucas, V. Demeyrier, A. Midamegbe, P. Perret, A. Grégoire, A. Charmantier, and C. Doutrelant. 2016. Nest size is not closely related to breeding success in Blue Tits: A long-term nest-box study in a Mediterranean oak habitat. The Auk 133:198-204. (doi:10.1642/auk-15-214.1)
    
  • Lambrechts, M. M., V. Demeyrier, A. Fargevieille, P. Giovannini, A. Lucas, P. Marrot, A. Midamegbe, P. Perret, A. Charmantier, C. Doutrelant, and A. Grégoire. 2014. Great Tits build shallower nests than Blue Tits. Avian Biology Research 7:251-254 (doi:10.3184/175815514X14162394225987)
    
  • Fincke, O.M., A. Fargevieille, and T.D. Schultz. 2007. Lack of innate preference for morph and species identity in mate-searching Enallagma damselflies. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 61:1121-1131.(doi:10.1007/s00265-006-0345-3)

  ---

•  Oral communications in international congresses/conferences:
  • Paternal care and reproductive costs drive the evolution of female ornamentation: comparative analyses in songbirds. XVI^th Congress of the European Society of Evolutionary Biology, Groningen (The Netherlands); August 20^th-25^th 2017
    
  • Evolution of female ornaments: a role of male mate choice?16^th Congress of the International Society of Behavioral Ecology, Exeter (United Kingdom); July 28^th- August 2^nd 2016
  • Temporal and spatial variation in assortative mating: an example in Blue Tit Mediterranean populations.11^th Conference of Ecology & Behaviour, Toulouse (France); May 18^th-21^st 2015.

  ---

• Poster communications in international congresses/conferences:
  • Spatio-temporal variation in assortative mating: an example in Blue Tit Mediterranean populations. XV^th Congress of the European Society of Evolutionary Biology, Lausanne (Switzerland); August 10^th-14^th 2015.
  • Assessing the role of sexual selection in the evolution and maintenance of female ornamentation: comparative approaches in birds. 1^st Congress on Modern Phylogenetic Comparative Methods in Evolution, Sevilla (Spain); November 12^th-14^th 2014.

  ---

  (Pictures courtesy of Marie Danielsen, David Grémillet and Stéphan Tillo)

Directrice de recherche (DR1)

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

E-mail : anne.charmantier[at]cefe.cnrs.fr

Thèmes de recherche: Evolution et génétique quantitative dans les populations naturelles; sénescence; sélection sexuelle.

Maître de Conférences à l'Université de Montpellier
Faculté des Sciences, département d'enseignement Biologie Ecologie

&

CEFE/CNRS
Campus du CNRS
1919, route de Mende
34293 Montpellier cedex 5
Tél : +33/0 4 67 61 32 58
Fax : +33/0 4 67 61 33 36

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Mots clés

Discipline :Ecologie

Thématiques : Ecologie évolutive et comportementale, Interactions durables
Organismes biologiques : Oiseaux, Arthropodes
Milieu : Terrestre, Marin
Techniques : Analyse de données, Expérimentation et suivis sur le terrain, Analyses au laboratoire (immunologie), Capture-Marquage-Recapture, Spectrophotométrie
Autres mots clés : Ecologie Urbaine, Sélection sexuelle, Interactions hôte-parasite, Effets maternels,

Associate Professor in spatial ecology at the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle                                                                                                                                                        

My research focuses on movement ecology: I study the factors influencing animal movements (especially dispersal) and gene flow, with a particular emphasis on landscape composition and structure. I also study how human-triggered landscape modifications like fragmentation affect animal movements; and the consequences on population functioning and structure. My research is hence tightly linked to the management/conservation of populations, and to landscape management (e.g. connectivity restoration, french Trame Verte et Bleue policy).

Chargée de Recherche

My research interests include mechanisms that promote phenotypic variation as well as potential for and constraints on adaptation, framing those questions at the edge between evolutionary and conservation biology. 

Research Director at CNRS

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CEFE, 1919 route de Mende
F-34293 Montpellier cedex 05

Phone: +33 (0)4 67 61 32 79
Fax: +33 (0)4 67 61 33 36

My research focuses on the developmental cycle and the ecological niche of extra-tropical forest trees, both of which are currently challenged by climate change. Identifying the key traits that allow a particular species adapting to its environment and the identifying the constraints on their genetic evolution are the key motivating forces behind my research, which lies at the interface between functional ecology and evolutionary ecology.

I have initiated pioneering work on process-based species distribution models for plants, which I use to study the evolvability of the ecological niche of tree species. My work is deeply concerned by climate change and the models I develop are also used to provide accurate forecast of trees’ distribution for the upcoming centuries.

I am using a combination of modelling (PMP, PHENOFIT), experimental work in both field and controlled conditions, as well as long term monitoring of natural populations to feed my research. I have also founded a national research group on phenology whose main achievements are an open database, a national observatory and the Citizen Science program Observatoire Des Saisons.

Research interests

Adaptation – Citizen Science – Climate change – Process-based modeling – Phenology – Species distribution

 ClaireDoutrelant

Tenure CNRS research scientist (DR)

CEFE CNRS 1919 Rte de Mende, 34293 Montpellier

Tél : +33/0 4 67 61 32 60 / Cette adresse e-mail est protégée contre les robots spammeurs. Vous devez activer le JavaScript pour la visualiser.

My research is centered in the theoretical framework of evolutionary ecology, population biology and behavioural ecology. My projects aim at understanding life history variation in order to determine the adaptive and evolutionary processes that explain and maintain animal diversity. I´m particularly interested by three kinds of life history traits linked to behavior: cooperation, animal communication and maternal invesment. I'm mainly using birds as biological models. I'm mainly using empirical methods, including large-scale experiments and analyses of long-term data sets on different populations of passerine birds in the field.

I'm currently working on four main projects. 1) Evolution of colour ormentation in birds(with a special focus on female coloration and blue tits) 2) the cause and life history traits consequences of cooperation in sociable weavers ; 3) Sexual and social evolution on islands, and 4) the evolution of weaver nests. I'm also part of  the art-science project Obô.

1 - Evolution of ornementation in birds

 Photos: Claire Doutrelant

Team: Arnaud GREGOIRE(Lecturer, Univ Montpellier), Amélie FARGEVIEILLE (post Doc), David LóPEZ-IDIáQUEZ (Post doc), Lisa SANDMEYER (PhD Student)

Collaborations: Anne CHARMANTIER(CEFE),  Denis REALE(UQUAM, Canada), Céline TEPLITSKY(CEFE), Doris GOMEZ(CEFE),   Julien RENOULT (CEFE),  RIta COVAS(CIBIO Portugal, FizPatrick Institute SA); Maria DEL REY (spectrophotometric measurements), Christophe de FRANCESCHI(field work and data base management), Samuel PERRET(Field work and Patch measurements), Annick LUCAS(Field work and Patch measurements), Pablo GIOVANNINI(Field work)

* Evolution of female colour ornementation

In this project we use a combination of empirical and comparative approaches to address three fundamental questions on sexual and social selection in both monomorphic species and dimorphic species in which females present conspicuous traits. Our questions are the following (i) Are female conspicuous traits under sexual /social selection ? (ii) Do female conspicuous traits reflect female quality and which mechanisms maintain signal honesty? (iii) What are the population consequences of female signalling and mutual sexual selection.

Examples of publications (full list below)

Fargevieille, A., Grégoire, A., Gomez, D. & Doutrelant, C. 2023Evolution of female color in birds: the role of paternal care and female reproductive costs.Journal of evolutionary ecology. 36(3), 579-588

Doutrelant, C., Fargevieille, A., Grégoire, A.  2020.Evolution of female coloration: what have we learned from birds in general and blue tits in particular. Adv. Study in Behaviour PDF

 Photo Claire Doutrelant

 * Evolution of plumage ornement in space and time

Selection often varies in space and time and long-term research that spans broad spatial scales is needed to understand the factors driving phenotypic variation and to assess the links between traits and fitness.  To assess the importance of spatiotemporal variation  and its consequences on selection estimates, we collected data on two study systems: (i) the blue tit (yellow and UV-blue colorationsmeasured by spectrophotometry since 2005, 600 birds measured each year); (ii) the  size of the sociable weaver melanin patch  since 2010 (the bib patch is photographied each year on 400 individuals)

Examples of publications (full list below)

 Lopez-Idiaquez, D.; Teplitsky, C.; Grégoire, A.; Fargevieille, F.; del Rey, M.; de Franceschi, C.; Charmantier, A.; Doutrelant, C. 2022. Long-term decrease in colouration: a consequence of climate change? American Naturalist https://doi.org/10.1086/719655   

Fargevieille, A., Grégoire, A., Charmantier, A., Rey Granado, M., Doutrelant, C. 2017. Assortative mating by colored ornaments in blue tits: space and time matter Ecology Evolution.7 2069-2078  PDF

 Acker, P., Grégoire, A..,Rat, M., Spottiswoode C. N.,van Dijk, R. E., Paquet^,M., Kaden, J.C., Pradel R. , Hatchwell^,B. J. , Covas, R.*, Doutrelant^,C.* 2015. Disruptive viability selection on a black plumage trait associated with dominance Jounal of Evolutionary Biology28: 2027-2041 PDF

Dominance interaction -  Photo Franck Théron

2 -Evolution and consequences of cooperation

 *TEAM: Co Pi: Rita COVAS(http://www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za/fitz/staff/research/covas; CIBIO, Portugal), André FERREIRA (Univ. Zurich), Franck THERON (data base managmer and field), Liliana SILVA (video manager and machine Learning methods) Jorge Garcia Campa (Post doc),  Gabriel Munar(Postdoc), Babette FOURIE (PhD Student), Nicolas  SILVA(PhD Student), Marta MARMELO (PhD Student); , Fanny RYBAK(Univ Orsay, FR),

*Collaboration:  Matthieu PAQUET(Swenden), Bruno FAIVRE(Univ. Dijon, FR), François CRISCUOLO& Sandrine ZAHN(Univ Strasbourg, FR),  Julien Renoult(CEFE, FR)

           Website: https://sociableweaverproject.com/

The project aims at understanding the fitness bases of cooperation and the consequences of cooperation for population dynamics through its effects on reproductive output, survival and dispersal. Our study model is an endemic passerine bird from southern African passerine. This bird is a cooperative breeder. In cooperatively breeding species, mature individuals called ‘helpers’ assist the breeding pairs by bringing additional food to the nest. We work on the evolution of different cooperative behaviours – cooperative breeding, nest building and predator mobbing and on the relationship between cooperation, fitness, dispersal and long-term population dynamics.

Currently our project has two main aims: (i) determining whether sexual or social selection play a role in the evolution of cooperation and thus the role of partner choice ; (ii) determining  how presence / absence of co-operators affects maternal effects and parental investments

This project is suppported by the PercyFizpatric Institute of the University of Cape Town & the INEE - CNRS: Long-term Studies in Ecology and Evolution (SEE-Life)

http://www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za/fitz/research/programmes/longterm/sociableweaver

Examples of publications (full list below)

D'Amelio, P.; Ferreira, A.; Fortuna, R.; Paquet, M.; Silva, L. ; Theron, F.; Doutrelant, C.; Covas, R. 2022. Disentangling climatic and nest predator impact on reproductive output reveals adverse high temperature effects regardless of helper number in an arid-region cooperative bird Ecology Letter25(1), 151-162

Covas, R., Lardy, S.; Silva, L.; Rey, B.; Ferreira, A. C.; Théron, F.; Tognetti, A.; Faivre, B. Doutrelant, C. 2022.The oxidative cost of helping and its minimisation in a cooperative breeder Behavioural Ecology33(3), 504-517

Fortuna, R. Paquet, M., Ferreira, A.C; Silva, L Theron, F & Doutrelant, C & Covas, R 2021 Maternal allocation in relation to weather, predation and social factors in a colonial cooperative bird Journal of Animal ecology 90, 1122-1133.

Ferreira, A., Silva, L., Renna, F., Brandl, H. B., Renoult, J., Farine, D., Covas, R. & Doutelant, C.  2020 Deep learning based methods for individual recognition in small birds. Method in Ecol Evol PDF

Covas, R. & Doutrelant, C.* 2019. Testing the sexual and social benefits of cooperation in animals. Trends Ecol Evol In press. *Both authors contributed equally to the manuscript PDF

Photos: Claire Doutrelant

  3- Evolution on islands

TEAM:  Rita Covas (CIBIO, Portugal), FitzPatrick Institute, Univ Cape Town), Martim Melo(CIBIO),  Claire Loiseau ( Univ Montpellier), Ana Leitao (Post doc ); Raquel Ponti (Post doc)

             Website: https://islandbirdproject.com/

Islands are unique ecosystems sharing a distinctive set of characteristics that make them particularly interesting to study adaptation by organisms. The isolation and reduced area of islands result in simplified ecological ecosystems and an impoverished fauna that are expected to lead to convergent patterns of adaptation (the ‘insularity syndrome’). Our aim is to establish, using comparative work , whether island birds worldwide display such convergent shift for ornamentation, songs, behaviour and morphology. Then we aim at determining which factors lead to those changes and are particularly interested by the role of parasitism and interspecific competition. We worked on data collected in natural history museum and in the field (Sao Tome, Madeira, Gabon, Cameroun).

Examples of publications (full list below)

Ponti, R., Doutrelant, C., & Covas, R. (2023). Strength of the ‘island rule’in birds is positively associated with absence of avian predators.Biology Letters, 19(3), 20220536

Barthe, M., Doutrelant, C., Covas, R., Melo, M., Illera, J. C., Tilak, M. K.,... & Nabholz, B. (2022). Evolution of immune genes in island birds: reduction in population sizes can explain island syndrome. Peer Community Journal, 2.

Robert, A., Melo, M., Lengagne, T.,. Julien, S..& Doutrelant, C. 2021Patterns of bird song evolution on islands support the character release hypothesis in tropical but not in temperate latitudes. Journal of Evolutionary Biology34(10), 1580-1591

Bliard, L., Robert, A. Paquet, M, Renoult, J., Grégoire, A., Crochet, P.A. Covas, R & Doutrelant, C. 2020 Examining the link between relaxed predation and bird colouration on islands.  Biol Lett PDF

Robert, A., Lengagne, T., Melo, M., Julien, S.., Gardette, V. Covas, R. & Doutrelant, C.2019. The Theory of Island Biogeography and Soundscapes: species diversity and the organization of acoustic communities. J. Biogeography PDF

Doutrelant, C.,Paquet,Renoult, J. M. Grégoire, A., Crochet, P.A. Covas, R. 2016 Worldwide patterns of bird colouration on islands. Ecology Letter  19: 537–545 PDF

 Photos: Claire Doutrelant & Martim Melo
 

 4 - Weaver nest as an extended phenotype

Team : Rita Covas (CIBIO, Portugal), FitzPatrick Institute, Univ Cape Town), Julien Renoult (CEFE), Erwan Harscouet(phD CEFE),  Dieter Oschadleus(Univ. Cape Town) , Staffan Andersson(Univ.  Gothenburg), Fanny Rybak(Univ. Paris Sud), Doris Gomez(CEFE), Paul Dufour (Univ. Grenoble), Pietro d'Amelio (Post doc)

Our aim is to work on one of the most spectacular and diverse radiations of extended phenotypes, the intricate and complex nest architectures of weaverbirds (family Ploceidae, 117 species in 16 genera), varying from the exquisite lace-like Malimbusnests to the rough thatch of the communally built sociable weaver nests . Our central aim is to investigate the role of sexual selection on the evolution and diversification of i) nest architecture (the extended phenotype) and ii) nest building behaviour (a potential associated display) and, for both traits, to determine how they relate to the classic ornaments in this group – striking colours, songs, and flight displays.

5-Long term monitoring of blue tit (worked initiated by Jacques Blondel in 1976)

Researchers: Jacques Blondel, Samuel Caro,Anne Charmantier, Claire Doutrelant,,Christophe de Francheschi,  Pablo Giovannini, Arnaud Grégoire, Marcel Lambrechts, Annick Lucas, Samuel Perret,  Philippe Perret,Denis Réale(Canada),Céline Téplltsky

This program  is supported but the INEE - CNRS: Long-term Studies in Ecology and  Evolution (SEE-Life)

https://data.oreme.org/tit/home   & https://oreme.org/observation/ecopop/mesanges/

Photos Claire Doutrelant

 6 - Obô, an art science projet

An art science project with Claire Loiseau, Martim Melo, Hélène Fromen & Maya Cylarem

Project funded by Biopolis with the help of the CNRS, CEFE. A first sponsor: Ornithomedia

Poster by Maya Cyclarem & Ayline Le Sourd

7- Short CV

8 - Publications

update list: https://scholar.google.fr/citations?hl=fr&user=Fap-wf0AAAAJ

Do not hesitate to ask for reprint !

9 - Funding

Investigatrice principale (PI)

* 2020-2024        ANR Extended phenotype.The evolution of extended phenotypes and associated signals in animals: weaverbirds’ nests and sexual selection as a case study?  With R Covas (CIBIO, Univ Porto, F Rybak (Univ Paris Sud), Julien Renoult

* 2018-2019        CEMEB Montpellier Explanatory Research Project Relaxed selection at immunity genes in insular populations ? A test using a population genomics approach With B Naboltz R Covas, M Melo, C. Loiseau

* 2018- ..             OSU OREME Suivi de la phénologie de reproduction du Républicain Social.

* 2015-2019       ANR défis de tous les savoir Can cooperation be under social or sexual selection?  With R Covas (CIBIO, Univ Porto, B Faivre (Univ Dijon), F Rybak (Univ Paris Sud)

* 2016-2018                 PEPS CNRS INEE Paysage Rôle de la compétition interspécifique dans la structuration des paysages acoustiques .  With A Robert (Phd), M Melo (Univ Porto), T Lengagne (CNRS, Lyon).

* 2012-2015         Bourse chercheur d'avenir Région Languedoc Roussillon Sélection sexuelle femelle chez les oiseaux : réalité, origine et conséquences populationnelles - With Arnaud Grégoire, Doris Gomez, Anne Charmantier

*2009-2013         ANR JCJCSélection sexuelle, sociale et évolution des ornements femelles. WithArnaud Grégoire, Doris Gomez, Anne Charmantier, B. Doligez

Co Pi

* 2020-2025        ERC Consolidator COOPERATIVE PARTNER. Pi R Covas

* 2016-2018         Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT)- Direct benefits of cooperation.PI Rita Covas

*2013-2016         Programme Européen Marie Curie-IRSES Cooperation. Pi Rita Covas. coPI C. Doutrelant, B. Hatchwell,

*2013-2015         FCT + National geographic:Parasite pressure, immunity and sexual ornaments in island and mainland birds.

* 2010-2013         FCT Maternal effects and cooperation Pi Rita Covas,

* 2010- ..             OSU OREME. Suivi de la phénologie de reproduction de la mésange bleue. co Pi A. Charmantier C. Doutrelant, A. Grégoire, M. Lambrechts, C. Téplitsky

*2008 – …         Centre of Excellence FitzPatrick Institute (Af du Sud): Cooperative breeding in sociable weavers Co Pi Rita Covas C. Doutrelant

 I'm always looking for motivated students and post doc to build / work on project! Do not hesitate to contact me with a CV to share your interest!

Maitre de Conférences (EPHE)

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

 tél : 33 (0)4 67 61 33 04
 fax: 33 (0)4 67 41 21 38

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 THEMES DE RECHERCHE

Mes thèmes de recherche concernent la phylogénie, la phylogéographie et l'évolution moléculaire à partir de l'analyse des séquences de gènes mitochondriaux et nucléaires. L’objectif est de répondre, à l’aide de l’outil moléculaire, à des questions de biodiversité et systématique évolutive à l’échelle des vertébrés (mammifères, amphibiens et reptiles). Je m’intéresse aussi à l’échelle temporelle (datations moléculaires) des différents niveaux de diversifications ce qui permet de confronter les inférences moléculaires avec les données morphologiques, paléontologiques et biogéographiques.

Directeur de recherche CNRS

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

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A l’interface entre écologie fonctionnelle et écologie des communautés, je cherche à comprendre les causes de variation de la biodiversité, aussi bien à l’échelle locale que continentale, et l’effet de changements de la biodiversité sur la dynamique et le fonctionnement des écosystèmes.

CNRS Researcher

Address:

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

Phone : +33/0 4 67 61 32 60

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I study visual communication at various scales: color perception, role of coloration in communication/camouflage, informative content of signals, evolution of signal design at large evolutionary scale. At the frontier between biology and physics, I study complex optical phenomena in birds and butterflies.

Poste actuel
Professeur à l’Université de Montpellier depuis 1995 (émérite depuis 2017) – Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (UMR 5175 CEFE), Montpellier, Equipe Interactions et Adaptations Bioculturelles

Mots Clés
Pays : Bolivie/Colombie/Congo/Zambie/Thaïlande/Chine
Mots clés : écologie évolutive, écologie tropicale, écologie historique, domestication, mutualismes, savanes inondables, construction culturelle de niche

Current position
Professor at the University of Montpellier since 1995 (emeritus since 2017) – Center for Functional and Evolutionary Ecology (CEFE, UMR 5175), Montpellier, Biocultural Interactions and Adaptation team

Key words
Countries : Bolivia/Colombia/Congo/Zambia/Thailand/China
Key words : evolutionary ecology, tropical ecology, historical ecology, domestication, mutualisms, floodplain savannas, cultural niche construction

Ma définition préférée de l’écologie est celle donnée par l’écologue américain renommé, G. Evelyn Hutchinson, au début de son cours séminaire en écologie à l’Université de Yale : « Aux fins de ce cours, nous pouvons considérer l'écologie comme l'étude de l'univers. » Formé d’abord à l’étude des interactions entre plantes et animaux dans les écosystèmes tropicaux, j’applique maintenant l’écologie évolutive à des systèmes couplés humains/nature. J’étudie comment l’évolution des plantes sous la domestication est façonnée par les pratiques agricoles en interaction avec la sélection naturelle, utilisant le manioc et d’autres plantes propagées par voie clonale comme systèmes modèles. J’étudie aussi les interactions entre humains et écosystèmes, particulièrement dans les savanes tropicales saisonnièrement inondées, comparant des systèmes de subsistance en Afrique (systèmes actuels) et en Amérique du Sud (vestiges de systèmes précolombiens) pour étudier des convergences dans la construction culturelle de la niche. Ces études comparatives enrichissent réciproquement l’archéologie et l’ethnoécologie.

Mes intérêts variés et ma volonté de traverser les frontières disciplinaires pour trouver des réponses à des questions aux multiples facettes m'ont amené à collaborer avec des spécialistes dans de nombreux domaines différents, notamment la phytochimie, la génétique, la géographie, l'agronomie, les sciences du sol, l'ethnobiologie, l'archéologie et l’anthropologie. J'ai publié dans des revues de premier plan dans tous ces domaines. Mon travail a été reconnu par plusieurs prix, dont le Grand Prix Recherche (la plus haute distinction décernée par la Société Française d'Ecologie et d'Evolution), la reconnaissance en tant qu'Ethnobotaniste Distingué par le Royal Botanic Garden (Kew, Royaume-Uni) et un prix Cozzarelli décerné par l’Académie National des Sciences des États-Unis pour un article exceptionnel publié dans la revue PNAS.

En plus de leur diversité thématique, mes recherches ont également privilégié la diversité géographique à la spécialisation régionale. J'ai mené des recherches dans 15 pays différents en Afrique tropicale, en Asie et en Amérique du Sud et j'ai donné des cours sur le terrain dans six pays supplémentaires. J'utilise cette expérience dans les études comparatives sur le terrain et les synthèses qui ont été parmi mes contributions de recherche les plus importantes.

***

My favorite definition of ecology is that given by the distinguished American ecologist G. Evelyn Hutchinson at the beginning of his ecology seminar course at Yale : « For the purposes of this course, we may consider ecology to be the study of the universe. » Trained in the study of plant/animal interactions in tropical ecosystems, I now apply an evolutionary-ecological approach to coupled human and natural systems. I study how plant evolution under domestication is shaped by human agricultural practices and natural selection, using manioc and other clonally propagated crops as model systems. I also study interactions between humans and ecosystems, particularly in seasonal tropical wetlands, comparing subsistence systems in Africa (present-day) and South America (pre-Columbian vestiges) to study convergent patterns in cultural niche construction. These comparative studies cross-fertilize both archaeology and ethnoecology.

My broad-ranging interests, and a willingness to cross disciplinary boundaries to seek answers to many-faceted questions, have led me to collaborate with specialists in many different fields, including phytochemistry, genetics, geography, agronomy, soil science, ethnobiology, archaeology and anthropology. I have published in top-tier journals in all these fields. My work has been recognized by several awards, including the Grand Prix Recherche (the highest honor conferred by the French Society for Ecology and Evolution), recognition as Distinguished Ethnobotanist by the Royal Botanic Garden (Kew, UK) and a Cozzarelli Prize awarded by the US National Academy of Sciences for an outstanding paper published in the journal PNAS.

In addition to its thematic diversity, my research has also favored geographic diversity over regional specialization. I have conducted research in 15 different countries in tropical Africa, Asia and South America and have taught field courses in six additional countries. I use this experience in the comparative field studies and syntheses that have been among my most important research contributions.

ORCID number : 0000-0002-7271-901X

TEXTE DETAILLE SUR MES RECHERCHES

Dans un nouveau projet, je reviens à des questions de recherche qui m'ont intriguée durant mon travail de doctorat et qui n'ont toujours pas trouvé de réponses : comment les défenses chimiques contre les herbivores et les pathogènes sont-elles réparties dans les graines des plantes tropicales, et comment les défenses changent-elles au cours de la transition de la graine à la plantule ? Une graine n'est pas une « partie d’une plante » mais une plante embryonnaire dont les différentes parties ont des exigences de défense différentes et des contraintes différentes dans le déploiement des défenses. Cependant, la distribution des défenses dans différentes parties des graines a rarement été étudiée. De plus, la théorie suggère que les défenses mobiles devraient jouer des rôles importants dans la défense des graines, mais celles-ci ont été négligées dans les études comparatives multi-espèces, par rapport aux défenses immobiles telles que les tanins et les défenses mécaniques (fibres, etc.), car leur diversité entre les espèces fait que ces études comparatives sont difficiles. Enfin, la façon dont les défenses chimiques changent au cours de l'ontogenèse végétale est une frontière active dans la recherche sur l'écologie évolutive de la défense des plantes, mais une transition ontogénétique cruciale, celle de la graine à la plantule, a été peu étudiée. Grâce à une bourse Talent de l'Académie des sciences de la Chine, j'étudierai ces questions en collaboration avec un chimiste (Gregory Genta-Jouve, Univ. Paris Descartes) et avec des collègues du Jardin botanique tropical de Xishuangbanna (Yunnan, Chine), où les installations (serre et laboratoire) permettront d'étudier un grand nombre d'espèces.

Auparavant, j'ai étudié les interactions interspécifiques dans les écosystèmes tropicaux, à la fois antagonistes (défenses chimiques des plantes, interactions des plantes avec les herbivores mammifères et insectes, théorie de la défense optimale, écologie chimique) et mutualistes (la pollinisation et la dispersion et des graines par les animaux, mutualismes symbiotiques plantes / fourmis), utilisant mes systèmes d'étude pour étudier un large éventail de questions générales en écologie et évolution. Le travail de mon équipe sur les mutualismes symbiotiques entre plantes et fourmis a développé une perspective comparative sur l'écologie évolutive de ces mutualismes, et nos revues à ce sujet (Davidson & McKey, 1993, Journal of Hymenoptera Research; Heil & McKey 2003 ; Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution and Systematics; Blatrix et al. 2014, New Phytologist) sont les articles de synthèse les plus cités dans le domaine. Bien qu'une grande partie de mon travail actuel se concentre sur les interactions entre les humains et les environnements qu'ils occupent, je continue d'être fermement ancré dans l'écologie évolutive fondamentale de pointe, une source importante de nouvelles idées à appliquer pour étudier les interactions entre les humains, d'autres organismes et les environnements qu'ils partagent.

Mon travail sur la domestication des plantes, axé sur les plantes domestiquées à propagation clonale, a inclus l'écologie, la biologie évolutive (génétique, phylogéographie, phylogénie), l'anthropologie et l'agronomie. Le travail de mon équipe sur l'écologie évolutive de la domestication du manioc a transformé notre vision de l'évolution sous domestication dans les cultures à propagation clonale, montrant comment les pratiques agricoles des agriculteurs qui ont domestiqué ces cultures conduisent à des systèmes reproducteurs mixtes clonaux / sexués dont la dynamique est beaucoup plus complexe qu’a été pensé auparavant (McKey et al. 2010, New Phytologist).

Dans nos travaux sur l'écologie culturelle des plaines inondables des savanes tropicales, dans le passé et le présent, je collabore avec des archéologues, des archéobotanistes, des géographes, des pédologues, des écologues et des spécialistes de la télédétection. Ces études ont montré comment les humains et les animaux ingénieurs du sol co-construisent des paysages (McKey et al. 2010, PNAS) et comment les comparaisons intercontinentales révèlent à la fois la convergence et la singularité dans la construction de niches culturelles (McKey et al.2016, PNAS ; Blatrix et al. 2018 , Scientific Reports). Ces travaux jettent un nouvel éclairage sur l'écologie historique de l'Amazonie, sur l'agriculture actuelle des zones humides en Afrique et sur l'écologie dans les environnements des plaines inondables tropicales. Nous étudions actuellement la diversité des systèmes agricoles des prairies dans les régions tropicales actuelles de l'Ancien Monde pour comprendre comment l'agriculture sur champs surélevés –et d'autres types possibles d'agriculture—dans les savanes néotropicales peut avoir fonctionné à l’époque précolombienne.

DETAILED TEXT ON MY RESEARCH

In a new project, I am returning to research questions that intrigued me during my PhD work and that still have not found answers: How are chemical defenses against herbivores and pathogens distributed in the seeds of tropical plants, and how do defenses change in the transition from seed to seedling? A seed is not a ‘plant part’ but an embryonic plant whose different parts have different defense requirements and different constraints in deploying defences. However, distribution of defences in different parts of seeds has rarely been studied. Furthermore, theory suggests that mobile defenses should play important roles in seed defense, but these have been neglected in multi-species comparative studies, compared to immobile defences such as tannins and mechanical defences (fiber,..), because their diversity among species makes such comparative studies difficult. Finally, how chemical defenses change over plant ontogeny is an active frontier in research on the evolutionary ecology of plant defense, but a crucial ontogenetic transition, that from seed to seedling, has been little studied. With a Talent grant from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, I will study these questions in collaboration with a chemist (Gregory Genta-Jouve, Univ. Paris Descartes) and with colleagues at Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (Yunnan, China), where greenhouse and laboratory facilities will allow study of a large number of species.

Previously, I have studied interspecies interactions in tropical ecosystems, both antagonistic (plant chemical defenses, interactions of plants with mammalian and insect herbivores, optimal defense theory, chemical ecology) and mutualistic (seed dispersal and pollination by animals, symbiotic ant/plant mutualisms), using my study systems to investigate a wide range of general questions in ecology and evolution. The work of my team on symbiotic ant-plant mutualisms has developed a comparative perspective on the evolutionary ecology of these mutualisms, and our reviews of this subject (Davidson & McKey, 1993, Journal of Hymenoptera Research; Heil & McKey 2003, Annual Revew of Ecology, Evolution and Systematic ; Blatrix et al. 2014, New Phytologist) are the most widely cited review articles in the field. Although much of my current work is focused on interactions between humans and the environments they occupy, I continue to be firmly grounded in state-of-the-art fundamental evolutionary ecology, an important source of new insights to apply in studying the interactions among humans, other organisms and the environments they share.

My work on plant domestication, focusing on clonally propagated domesticated plants, has included ecology, evolutionary biology (genetics, phylogeography, phylogeny), anthropology and agronomy. My team’s work on the evolutionary ecology of domestication of manioc has transformed our views of evolution under domestication in clonally propagated crops, showing how agricultural practices of the farmers who domesticated these crops leads to mixed clonal/sexual reproductive systems whose dynamics are much more complex than was previously thought (McKey et al. 2010, New Phytologist).

In our work on the cultural ecology of tropical savanna floodplains, past and present, I collaborate with archaeologists, archaeobotanists, geographers, soil scientists, ecologists and specialists in remote sensing. These studies have shown how humans and soil engineer animals co-construct landscapes (McKey et al. 2010, PNAS) and how intercontinental comparisons reveal both convergence and singularity in cultural niche construction (McKey et al. 2016, PNAS ; Blatrix et al. 2018, Scientific Reports). This work is shedding new light on the historical ecology of Amazonia, on present-day wetland agriculture in Africa, and on ecology in floodplain savanna environments throughout the tropics. We are currently studying the diversity of grassland-farming systems in the present-day Old-World tropics to understand how raised-field agriculture in Neotropical floodplain savannas—and possible other kinds of agriculture in upland savannas of South America—may have functioned in pre-Columbian times.

LISTE DES PUBLICATIONS

1. Publications in international peer-reviewed journals

1. MCKEY D. (1974). Adaptive patterns in alkaloid physiology. American Naturalist 108: 305-320.

2. MCKEY D. (1974). Ant-plants: selective eating of an unoccupied Barteria by a Colobus Biotropica 6: 269-270.

3. STRUHSAKER T. & D. MCKEY. (1975). Two cusimanse mongooses attack a black cobra. Journal of Mammalogy 56: 721-722.

4. JANZEN D. H.& D. MCKEY. (1975).What the tropical trappers leave behind. Biotropica 7: 7.

5. JANZEN D. H. & D. MCKEY. (1977). Musanga cecropioides is a Cecropia without its ants. Biotropica 9: 57.

6. MCKEY D., P. G. WATERMAN, C. N. MBI, J. S. GARTLAN, & T. T. STRUHSAKER. (1978). Phenolic content of vegetation in two African rainforests: ecological implications. Science 202: 61-64.

7. MCKEY D. (1980).The evolution of novel alkaloid types: a mechanism for the rapid phenotypic evolution of plant secondary compounds. American Naturalist 115: 754-759.

8. GARTLAN J. S., D. B. MCKEY, P. G. WATERMAN, C. N. MBI, & T. T. STRUHSAKER. (1980) A comparative study of the phytochemistry of two African rainforests. Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 8: 401-422.

9. WATERMAN P. G., C. N. MBI, D. MCKEY, & J. S. GARTLAN. (1980). African rainforest vegetation and rumen microbes: phenolic compounds and nutrients as correlates of digestibility. Oecologia 47: 22-33.

10. MCKEY D., J. S. GARTLAN, P. G. WATERMAN, & G. M. CHOO. (1981). Food selection by black colobus monkeys (Colobus satanas) in relation to plant chemistry. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 16: 115-146.

11. CHOO G. M., P. G. WATERMAN, D. MCKEY, & J. S. GARTLAN. (1981). A simple enzyme assay for dry matter digestibility and its value in studying food selection by generalist herbivores. Oecologia 49: 170-178.

12. MCKEY D. & P. G. WATERMAN. (1982). Ranging behaviour of a group of black colobus (Colobus satanas) in the Douala-Edea Reserve, Cameroon. Folia Primatologica 39: 264-304.

13. DILLON P., S. LOWRIE, & D. MCKEY. (1983). Disarming the "mala mujer": prevention of latex flow by a sphingid larva. Biotropica 15: 112-116.

14. MCKEY D. (1984). Interaction of the ant-plant Leonardoxa africana (Caesalpiniaceae) with its obligate inhabitants in rainforests in Cameroon. Biotropica 16: 81-99.

15. WATERMAN, J. ROSS, & D. MCKEY. (1984). Factors affecting levels of some phenolic compounds, digestibility, and nitrogen content of the nature leaves of Barteria fistulosa Passifloraceae). Journal of Chemical Ecology 10: 387-401.

16. NEWBERY D., J. S. GARTLAN, D. MCKEY, & P. G. WATERMAN. (1986). The influence of drainage and soil phosphorus on the vegetation of Douala-Edea Forest Reserve, Cameroon. Vegetatio 65: 149-162.

17. MCKEY D. (1988). Cecropia peltata, an introduced neotropical pioneer tree, is replacing Musanga cecropioides in southwestern Cameroon, Biotropica 20: 262-264.

18. MCKEY D. (1989). Population biology of figs: applications for conservation. Experientia 45: 661-673.

19. BRONSTEIN J. & D. MCKEY. (1989). The fig/pollinator mutualism: A model system for comparative biology. Experientia 45: 601-604.

20. BRONSTEIN J. & D. MCKEY (eds.). (1989). The comparative biology of figs. Multi-author review. Experientia 45(7): 601-680.

21. FREY, T. LATSCHA & D. MCKEY. (1990). Genetic differentiation and speciation in leaf mining flies of the genus Phytomyza. Entomologia experimentalis et applicata 57: 191-200.

22. BAHUCHET S., D. MCKEY, & I. DE GARINE. (1991). Wild yams revisited: Can hunter-gatherers subsist independently of agriculture in tropical rain forest? Human Ecology 19: 213-243.

23. KAUFMANN S., D. MCKEY, M. HOSSAERT, & C. HORVITZ (1991). Fruits of Ficus microcarpa (Moraceae): Adaptations for a two-phase seed dispersal system involving vertebrates and ants in a hemiepiphytic fig. American Journal of Botany 78: 971-977.

24. DAVIDSON D. & D. MCKEY. (1993). The evolutionary ecology of symbiotic ant-plant relationships. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 2: 13-83.

25. DAVIDSON D. & D. MCKEY. (1993). Ant-plant symbioses: Stalking the Chuyachaqui. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 8: 326-332.

26. PATEL A., M. HOSSAERT-MCKEY, & D. MCKEY. (1993). Ficus-pollinator research in India: Past, present and future. Current Science 65: 243-253.

27. JARRY M., M. KHALADI, M. HOSSAERT-MCKEY, & D. MCKEY. (1995). Modelling the population dynamics of annual plants with seed bank and density dependent effects. Acta Biotheoretica 43: 53-65.

28. CHENUIL, A., & D. MCKEY. (1996). Molecular phylogenetic study of a myrmecophyte symbiosis: did Leonardoxa / ant associations diversify via cospeciation? Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 6: 270-286.

29. ANSTETT, M.C., M. HOSSAERT-MCKEY, & D. MCKEY. (1997). Modeling the persistence of small populations of strongly interdependent species: figs and fig wasps. Conservation Biology 11: 204-213.

30. GAUME, L., M.C. ANSTETT, & D. MCKEY. (1997). Benefits conferred by "timid" ants: active anti-herbivore protection of the rainforest tree Leonardoxa africana by the minute ant Petalomyrmex phylax. Oecologia 112: 209-216.

31. BROUAT, C., M. GIBERNAU, L. AMSELLEM, & D. MCKEY. (1998). Corner’s rules revisited : ontogenetic and interspecific patterns in leaf-stem allometry. New Phytologist 139: 459-470.

32. CEBALLOS, L., M. HOSSAERT-MCKEY, D. MCKEY, & C. ANDARY. (1998). Rapid deployment of allelochemicals in exudates of germinating seeds of Sesbania (Fabaceae) : roles of seed anatomy and histolocalization of polyphenolic compounds in anti-pathogen defense of seedlings. Chemoecology 8: 141-151.

33. GAUME, L. & D. MCKEY. (1998). Protection against herbivores of the myrmecophyte Leonardoxa africana (Baill.) Aubrèv. T3 by its principal ant inhabitant Aphomomyrmex afer Comptes Rendus de l’Académie des Sciences de Paris, Sciences de la Vie / Life Sciences 321: 593-601.

34. GAUME, L., D. MCKEY, & S. TERRIN. (1998). Ant-plant-homopteran mutualism: how the third partner affects the interaction between a plant-specialist ant and its myrmecophyte host. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, B 265: 569-575.

35. PATEL, A., & D. MCKEY. (1998). Sexual specialisation in two tropical dioecious figs. Oecologia 115: 391-400.

36. GAUME, L., & D. MCKEY. (1999). An ant-plant mutualism and its host-specific parasite: activity rhythms, young leaf patrolling, and effects on herbivores of two specialist plant-ants inhabiting the same myrmecophyte. Oikos 84:130-144.

37. MEUNIER, L., A. DALECKY, C. BERTICAT, L. GAUME, & D. MCKEY. (1999). Worker size variation and the evolution of an ant-plant mutualism : comparative morphometrics of workers of two closely related plant-ants, Petalomyrmex phylax and Aphomomyrmex afer (Formicinae). Insectes Sociaux 46:171-178.

38. MCKEY, D., L. GAUME, & A. DALECKY. (1999). Les symbioses entre plantes et fourmis arboricoles. Année Biologique 38: 169-194.

39. GAUME, L., D. MATILE-FERRERO, & D. MCKEY. (2000). Colony foundation and acquisition of coccoid trophobionts by Aphomomyrmex afer (Formicinae) : co-dispersal of queens and phoretic mealybugs in an ant-plant-homopteran mutualism ? Insectes Sociaux 47: 84-91.

40. PASCAL, L.M., E.F. MOTTE-FLORAC, & D. MCKEY. (2000). Secretory structures on the leaf rachis of Caesalpinieae and Mimosoideae (Leguminosae) : implications for the evolution of nectary glands. American Journal of Botany 87: 327-338.

41. MCKEY, D. (2000). Leonardoxa africana (Leguminosae: Caesalpinioideae): a complex of mostly allopatric subspecies. Adansonia 22: 71-109.

42. ELIAS, M., & D. MCKEY. (2000). The unmanaged reproductive ecology of domesticated plants in traditional agroecosystems: an example involving cassava and a call for data. Acta Oecologica 21: 223-230.

43. DEJEAN, A., D. MCKEY, M. GIBERNAU, & M. BELIN. (2000). The arboreal ant mosaic in a Cameroonian rainforest. Sociobiology 35: 403-423.

44. HEIL, M., C. STAEHELIN, & D. MCKEY. (2000). Low chitinase activity in Acacia myrmecophytes: a potential trade-off between biotic and chemical defences? Naturwissenschaften 87: 555-558.

45. BROUAT, C., D. MCKEY, J.-M.BESSIERE, L. PASCAL, & M. HOSSAERT-MCKEY. (2000). Leaf volatile compounds and the distribution of ant patrolling in an ant-plant protection mutualism: preliminary results on Leonardoxa (Fabaceae: Caesalpinioideae) and Petalomyrmex (Formicidae: Formicinae). Acta Oecologica 21: 349-357.

46. BROUAT, C., & D. MCKEY. (2000). Origin of caulinary ant-domatia and timing of their onset in plant ontogeny : evolution of a key trait in horizontally transmitted ant-plant symbioses. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 71: 801-819.

47. ELIAS, M., L. RIVAL, & D. MCKEY. (2000). Perception and management of cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) diversity among Makushi Amerindians of Guyana (South America). Journal of Ethnobiology 20: 239-265.

48. BROUAT, C., L. GIELLY, & D. MCKEY. (2001). Phylogenetic relationships in the genus Leonardoxa (Leguminosae: Caesalpinioideae) inferred from chloroplast trnLand trnL- trnF intergeneric spacer sequences. American Journal of Botany 88: 143-149.

49. ELIAS, M., MCKEY, D., PANAUD, O., ANSTETT, M.C., ROBERT, T. (2001). Traditional management of cassava morphological and genetic diversity by the Makushi Amerindians (Guyana, South America) : perspectives for on-farm conservation of crop genetic resources. Euphytica 120: 143-157.

50. BROUAT, C., & D. MCKEY. (2001). Leaf-stem allometry, hollow stems, and the evolution of caulinary domatia in myrmecophytes. New Phytologist 151: 391-406.

51. ELIAS M., L. PENET, P. VINDRY, D. MCKEY, O. PANAUD, & T. ROBERT. (2001). Unmanaged sexual reproduction and the dynamics of genetic diversity of a vegetatively propagated crop plant, cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz), in a traditional farming system. Molecular Ecology 10: 1895-1907.

52. BROUAT, C., N. GARCIA, C. ANDARY, & D. MCKEY. (2001). Plant lock and ant key: pairwise coevolution of an exclusion filter in an ant-plant mutualism. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 268: 2131-2141.

53. MCKEY, D., L. EMPERAIRE, M. ELIAS, F. PINTON, T. ROBERT, S. DESMOULIERE, & L. RIVAL. (2001). Gestions locales et dynamiques régionales de la diversité variétale du manioc en Amazonie. Génétique, Sélection et Evolution 33 (supplement 1): S465-S490.

54. DI GIUSTO, B., M.C. ANSTETT, E. DOUNIAS, & D. MCKEY. (2001). Variation in the effectiveness of biotic defense: the case of an opportunistic ant-plant protection mutualism. Oecologia 129: 367-375.

55. GAUME, L., & D. MCKEY. (2002). How identity of the homopteran trophobiont affects sex allocation in a symbiotic plant-ant: the proximate role of food. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 51: 197-205.

56. CARRIERE, S.M., M. ANDRE, P. LETOURMY, I. OLIVIER, & D. MCKEY. (2002). Seed rain beneath remnant trees in a slash-and-burn agricultural system in southern Cameroon. Journal of Tropical Ecology 18 : 353-374.

57. CARRIERE, S.M., P. LETOURMY, & D. MCKEY. (2002). Effects of remnant trees in fallows on diversity and structure of forest regrowth in a slash-and-burn agricultural system in southern Cameroon. Journal of Tropical Ecology 18: 375-396.

58. CEBALLOS, L., C. ANDARY, M. DELESCLUSE, M. GIBERNAU, D. MCKEY & M. HOSSAERT-MCKEY. (2002). Effects of sublethal attack by a sucking insect, Hyalymenus tarsatus, on Sesbania drummondii seeds: Impact on some seed traits related to fitness. Ecoscience 9: 28-36.

59. HEIL, M., T. DELSINNE, A. HILPERT, S. SCHÜRKENS, C. ANDARY, K.E. LINSENMAIR, S.M. SOUSA, & D. MCKEY. (2002). Reduced chemical defence in ant-plants? A critical re-evaluation of a widely accepted hypothesis. Oikos 99 : 457-468.

60. HEIL, M., B. BAUMANN, C. ANDARY, K.E. LINSENMAIR, & D. MCKEY. (2002). Extraction and quantification of "condensed tannins" as a measure of plant anti-herbivore defence? Revisiting an old problem. Naturwissenschaften 89 : 519-524.

61. PUJOL, B., G. GIGOT, G. LAURENT, M. PINHEIRO-KLUPPEL, M. ELIAS, M. HOSSAERT-MCKEY, & D. MCKEY. (2002). Germination ecology of Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz, Euphorbiaceae) in traditional agroecosystems : seed and seedling biology of a vegetatively propagated domesticated plant. Economic Botany 56: 366-379.

62. DEBOUT, G., E. PROVOST, M. RENUCCI, A. TIRARD, B. SCHATZ, & D. MCKEY. (2003). Colony structure in a plant-ant: behavioural, chemical and genetic study of polydomy in Cataulacus mckeyi (Myrmicinae). Oecologia 137 : 195-204.

63. HEIL, M., & D. MCKEY. (2003). Protective ant-plant interactions as model systems in ecological and evolutionary research. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 34: 425-453.

64. BROUAT, C., D. MCKEY, & E. DOUZERY (2004). Differentiation and gene flow in a geographic mosaic of plants coevolving with ants: phylogeny of the Leonardoxa africana complex (Leguminosae: Caesalpinioideae) using AFLP markers. Molecular Ecology 13: 1157-1171.

65. ELIAS, M., G.S. MUHLEN, D. MCKEY, A.C. ROA, & J. TOHME. (2004). Genetic diversity of traditional South American landraces of cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz): an analysis using microsatellites. Economic Botany 58: 242-256.

66. DJIETO-LORDON, C., A. DEJEAN, M. GIBERNAU, M. HOSSAERT-MCKEY, & D. MCKEY. (2004). Symbiotic mutualism with a community of opportunistic ants: protection, competition, and ant occupancy of the myrmecophyte Barteria nigritana (Passifloraceae). Acta Oecologica 26: 109-116.

67. ALVAREZ, N., E. GARINE, C. KHASAH, E. DOUNIAS, M. HOSSAERT-MCKEY, & D. MCKEY. (2005). Farmers’ practices, metapopulation dynamics, and conservation of agricultural biodiversity on-farm: a case study of sorghum among the Duupa in sub-sahelian Cameroon. Biological Conservation 121: 533-543.

68. DJIETO-LORDON, C., A. DEJEAN, R.A. RING, J. LAUGA, A. NKONGMENECK, & D. MCKEY. (2005). Ecology of an improbable association: the pseudomyrmecine plant-ant Tetraponera tessmanni and the myrmecophytic vine Vitex thyrsiflora (Lamiaceae) in Cameroon. Biotropica 37: 421-430.

69. PUJOL, B., P. DAVID, & D. MCKEY. (2005). Microevolution in agricultural environments: how a traditional Amerindian farming practice favours heterozygosity in cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz, Euphorbiaceae). Ecology Letters 8: 138-147.

70. PUJOL B., Mühlen, N. Garwood, Y. Horoszowski, E. DOUZERY, & D. McKey. (2005). Evolution under domestication: contrasting functional morphology of seedlings in domesticated cassava and its closest wild relatives. New Phytologist 166: 305-318.

71. DEBOUT, G., A. SALTMARSH, D. MCKEY, & A.-M. RISTERUCCI. (2005). Characterization of polymorphic microsatellite loci in the tropical ant-plant Leonardoxa africana (Fabaceae: Caesalpinioideae). Molecular Ecology Notes 5: 35-38.

72. DALECKY, , L. Gaume, B. Schatz, D. McKey, & F. Kjellberg. (2005). Facultative polygyny in the plant–ant Petalomyrmex phylax: assessment of genetic and ecological determinants of queen number. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 86: 133-151.

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73. GHIMIRE, S., D. MCKEY, & Y. AUMEERUDDY-THOMAS. (2004). Heterogeneity in ethnoecological knowledge and management of medicinal plants in Nepal Himalaya: implications for conservation. Ecology and Society 9(3): 6. [online] : http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol9/iss3/art6/.

74. ALVAREZ, N., D. MCKEY, M. HOSSAERT-MCKEY, C. BORN, L. MERCIER, & B. BENREY. (2005). Ancient and recent evolutionary history of the bruchid beetle Acanthoscelides obtectus Say, a cosmopolitan pest of beans. Molecular Ecology 14: 1015-1024.

75. ALVAREZ, N., HOSSAERT-MCKEY, J.-Y. RASPLUS, D. MCKEY, L. MERCIER, L. SOLDATI, A. AEBI, & B. BENREY. (2005). Sibling species of bean bruchids: morphological and phylogenetic studies among Acanthoscelides obtectusSay and A. obvelatusBridwell. J. Zool. Syst. Evol. Res.43: 29-37.

76. DEBOUT, G., B. SCHATZ, & D. MCKEY. (2005). Comparison of foraging behaviour in two plant-ants, the mutualist Petalomyrmex phylax and a parasite of a mutualism, Cataulacus mckeyi. Insectes Sociaux 52: 205-211.

77. GHIMIRE, S.K., D. MCKEY, & Y. AUMEERUDDY-THOMAS. (2005). Conservation of Himalayan medicinal plants: harvesting patterns and ecology of two threatened species, Nardostachys grandiflora And Neopicrorhiza scrophulariiflora (Pennell) Hong. Biological Conservation 124: 463-475.

78. PUJOL, B. & D. MCKEY. (2006). Size asymmetry in intraspecific competition and the density-dependence of inbreeding depression in a natural plant population: a case study in cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz, Euphorbiaceae). Journal of Evolutionary Biology 19: 85-96.
79. ELIAS, M., H. LENOIR, & D. MCKEY. (2007). Propagule quantity and quality in traditional Makushi farming of cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz): a case study for understanding evolution under domestication in vegetatively propagated crops. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 54: 99-115.
80. DEBOUT, G., B. SCHATZ, M. ELIAS & D. MCKEY. (2007). Polydomy in ants: what we know, what we think we know, and what remains to be done. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 90: 319-348.
81. GHIMIRE, S.K., Y. A. THOMAS, & D. MCKEY. (2006). Himalayan medicinal plant diversity in an ecologically complex high altitude anthropogenic landscape, Dolpo, Nepal. Environmental Conservation 33: 128-140.

82. ALVAREZ, N., B. BENREY, M. HOSSAERT-MCKEY, A. GRILL, D. MCKEY & N. GALTIER. (2006). Phylogeographic support for horizontal gene transfer involving sympatric bruchid species. Biology Direct1: 21. http://www.biology-direct.com/content/pdf/1745-6150-1-21.
83. DALECKY, A.., G. DEBOUT, A. ESTOUP, D.B. MCKEY & F. KJELLBERG. (2007). Changes in mating system and social structure of the ant Petalomyrmex phylax are associated with range expansion in Cameroon. Evolution 61: 579-595.
84. DORMONT, L., S. RAPIOR, D. MCKEY & J.-P. LUMARET. (2007). Influence of dung volatiles on the process of resource selection by coprophagous beetles. Chemoecology 17: 23-30.
85. AMSELLEM, L. & D. MCKEY. (2006). Integrating phenological, chemical and biotic defences in ant-plant protection mutualisms: a case study of two myrmecophyte lineages. Chemoecology 16: 223-234.
86. BARNAUD, A., M. DEU, E. GARINE, D. MCKEY &I. JOLY. (2007). Local genetic diversity of sorghum in a village in northern Cameroon: structure and dynamics of landraces. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 114: 237-248.
87. PUJOL, B., F. RENOUX, M. ELIAS, L. RIVAL & D. MCKEY. (2007). The unappreciated ecology of landrace populations: conservation consequences of soil seed banks in cassava. Biological Conservation 136: 541-551.
88. DUPUTIE, A., P. DAVID, C. DEBAIN & D. MCKEY. (2007). Natural hybridization between a clonally propagated crop, cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) and a wild relative in French Guiana. Molecular Ecology 16: 3025-3038.
89. GHIMIRE, S.K., O. GIMENEZ, R. PRADEL, D. MCKEY & Y. Aumeeruddy-Thomas. (2008). Demographic variation and population viability in a threatened Himalayan medicinal and aromatic herb (Nardostachys grandiflora): matrix modelling of harvesting effects in two contrasting habitats. Journal of Applied Ecology 45: 41-51.
90. PUJOL, B., J.-L. SALAGER, M. BELTRAN, S. BOUSQUET & D. MCKEY. (2008). Photosynthesis and leaf structure in domesticated cassava (Euphorbiaceae) and a close wild relative: have leaf photosynthetic parameters evolved under domestication? Biotropica 40: 305-312.
91. DIALLO, B.O., H.I. JOLY, D. MCKEY, M. HOSSAERT-MCKEY & M.-H. CHEVALLIER. (2007). Genetic diversity of Tamarindus indica populations: Any clues on the origin from its current distribution? African Journal of Biotechnology 6: 853-860.
92. DIALLO, B.O., D. MCKEY, M.-H. CHEVALLIER, H.I. JOLY & M. HOSSAERT-MCKEY. (2008). Breeding system and pollination biology of the semi-domesticated fruit tree, Tamarindus indica (Leguminosae: Caesalpinioideae): Implications for fruit production, selective breeding, and conservation of genetic resources. African Journal of Biotechnology 7: 4068-4075.
93. Léotard, G., A. Saltmarsh, F. Kjellberg & D. McKey. (2008). Mutualism, hybrid inviability and speciation in a tropical ant-plant. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 21: 1133-1143.
94. Léotard, G., E. Defossez, C. Debain, D. MCKEY, f. kjellberg & R. blatrix. (2008). Local genetic co-structuring of the ant Petalomyrmex phylax and its host plant Leonardoxa a. africana: no role for a sixty-meter wide river in separating social forms. Sociobiology 51: 363-371.
95. BARNAUD, A., H.I. JOLY, D. MCKEY, M. DEU, C. KHASAH, S. MONNE & E. GARINE. (2008). Gestion in situ des ressources génétiques du sorgho (Sorghum bicolor bicolor) chez les Duupa du Nord Cameroun : sélection et échange de semences. Cahiers Agricultures 17: 178-182.
96. MONDOLOT, L., A. MARLAS, D. BARBEAU, A. GARGADENNEC, B. PUJOL & D. MCKEY. (2008). Domestication and defence: foliar tannins and C/N ratios in cassava and a close wild relative. Acta Oecologica 34: 147-154.
97. HOSSAERT-MCKEY, M., D. MCKEY & L. DORMONT. (2008). Fungal sex as a private matter: odour signals in a specialized pollination-like insect-fungus mutualism. New Phytologist 178: 225-227. (commentary)
98. BARNAUD, A., G. TRIGUEROS, D. MCKEY & HI JOLY. (2008). High outcrossing rates in fields with mixed sorghum landraces : how are landraces maintained ? Heredity 101: 445-452.
99. SARDOS J, D MCKEY, R. MALAPA, J.-L. NOYER & V. LEBOT. (2008). Evolution of cassava (Manihot esculentaCrantz) after recent introduction into a South Pacific island system: the contribution of sex to the diversification of a clonally propagated crop. Genome 51: 912-921.
100. RIVAL L & D MCKEY (2008) Domestication and diversity in manioc (Manihot esculenta Crantz ssp. esculenta, Euphorbiaceae). Current Anthropology 49: 1119-1128.
101. DEBOUT, G.D.G., A. DALECKY, A. NGOMI NGOMI & D.B. MCKEY. (2009). Dynamics of species coexistence: maintenance of a plant-ant competitive metacommunity. Oikos 118: 873-884.
102. DEFOSSEZ, E., M.-A. SELOSSE, M.-P. DUBOIS, L. MONDOLOT, A. FACCIO, C. DJIETO-LORDON, D. MCKEY & R. BLATRIX. (2009). Ant-plants and fungi: a new threesome symbiosis. New Phytologist182: 942-949.
103. MENARD, L., D. MCKEY, N. ROWE (2009). Developmental plasticity and biomechanics of treelets and lianas in Manihot quinquepartita (Euphorbiaceae): a branch-angle climber of French Guiana. Annals of Botany 103: 1249-1259.
104. WEBBER, B. D. MCKEY (2009). Cyanogenic myrmecophytes, redundant defence mechanisms and complementary defence syndromes: revisiting the neotropical ant-acacias. New Phytologist 182: 792-794.
105. SCHATZ, B., C. DJIETO-LORDON, L. DORMONT, J.-M. BESSIERE, D. MCKEY & R. BLATRIX (2009). A simple non-specific chemical signal mediates defense behaviour in a specialized ant-plant mutualism. Current Biology 19 (9): R361-R362.
106. LEOTARD, G., G. DEBOUT, S. GUILLOT, L. GAUME, D. MCKEY, F. KJELLBERG & A. DALECKY. (2009) Range expansion drives dispersal evolution in an equatorial three-species symbiosis. PLoS ONE 4(4): e5377 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0005377.
107. BARNAUD, A., M. DEU, E. GARINE, J. CHANTEREAU, J. BOLTEU, E. OUIN-KOIDA, D. MCKEY & H.I. JOLY (2009). A weed-crop complex in sorghum: the fate of new genetic combinations in a traditional farming system. American Journal of Botany 96: 1869-1879.
108. DUPUTIE, A., M. DELETRE, J.-J. DE GRANVILLE & D. MCKEY (2009). Population genetics of Manihot esculenta flabellifolia gives insight into past distribution of xeric vegetation in a postulated forest refugium area in northern Amazonia. Molecular Ecology 18 : 2897-2907.
109. LEOTARD, G., A. DUPUTIE, F. KJELLBERG, E.J.P. DOUZERY, C. DEBAIN, J.-J. DE GRANVILLE & D. MCKEY (2009). Phylogeography and the origin of cassava: new insights from the northern rim of the Amazonian basin. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 53: 329-334.
110. DUPUTIE, A., F MASSOL, P. DAVID, C. HAXAIRE & D. MCKEY. (2009) Traditional Amerindian cultivators combine directional and ideotypic selection for sustainable management of cassava genetic diversity. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 22: 1317-1325.
111. MCKEY, D., ROSTAIN, J. IRIARTE, B. GLASER, J.J. BIRK, I. HOLST & D. RENARD (2010) Pre-Columbian agricultural landscapes, ecosystem engineers and self-organized patchiness in Amazonia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 107: 7823-7828. This article was selected by two different members of the “Faculty of 1000 Biology” as a “Must Read” paper in ecology.
112. MCKEY, D., M. ELIAS, B. PUJOL & A. DUPUTIE (2010) The evolutionary ecology of clonally propagated domesticated plants. New Phytologist 186: 318-332. This paper was selected by a member of the “Faculty of 1000 Biology” as an “Exceptional” paper in ecology.
113. MCKEY, D., T. CAVAGNARO, J. CLIFF & R. GLEADOW (2010) Chemical ecology in coupled human and natural systems: people, manioc, multitrophic interactions and global change. Chemoecology 20: 109-133. (DOI 10.1007/s00049-010-0047-1)
114. RENARD, D., B. SCHATZ & D. MCKEY (2010) Ant nest architecture and seed burial depth: implications for seed fate and germination success in a myrmecochorous savanna shrub. Ecoscience 17: 194-202.
115. DIALLO, B.O., H.I. JOLY, D. MCKEY, M. HOSSAERT-MCKEY & M.H. CHEVALLIER (2010) Changes in biometric characters of seeds and seedlings of nine provenances of Tamarindus indica (Caesalpinioideae). Fruits 65: 153-167.
116. IRIARTE, J., B. GLASER, J. WATLING, A. WAINWRIGHT, J.J. BIRK, D. RENARD, S. ROSTAIN & D. MCKEY (2010) Late Holocene Neotropical agricultural landscapes: phytolith and stable carbon isotope analysis of raised fields from French Guianan coastal savannahs. Journal of Archaeological Science 37: 2984-2994.
117. BORN, C., N. ALVAREZ, D. MCKEY, S. OSSARI, E.J. WICKINGS, M. HOSSAERT-MCKEY & M.-H. CHEVALLIER (2011) Insights into the biogeographical history of the Lower Guinea Forest Domain: evidence for the role of refugia in the intraspecific differentiation of Aucoumea klaineana. Molecular Ecology 20: 131-142.
118. DEFOSSEZ, E., C. DJIETO-LORDON, D. MCKEY, M.-A. SELOSSE & R. BLATRIX (2011). Plant-ants feed their host plant, but above all a fungal symbiont to recycle nitrogen. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, B 278: 1419-1426.
119. DUPUTIE, A., J. SALICK, D. MCKEY (2011). Evolutionary biogeography of Manihot, a rapidly radiating Neotropical genus restricted to dry environments. Journal of Biogeography 38: 1033-1043.
120. RENARD, D., J. IRIARTE, J.J. BIRK, S. ROSTAIN, B. GLASER, D. MCKEY (2012). Ecological engineers ahead of their time: the functioning of pre-Columbian raised-field agriculture and its potential contributions to sustainability today. Ecological Engineering 45: 30-44. Doi: 10.1016/J.ecoleng.2011.03.007.
121. VITTECOQ, M., C. DJIETO-LORDON, B. BUATOIS, L. DORMONT, D. MCKEY, R. BLATRIX (2011). The evolution of communication in two ant-plant mutualisms. Evolutionary Biology 38: 360-369. DOI 10.1007/S11692-011-9125-8.
122. RASPLUS, J.-Y., J. LASALLE, G. DELVARE, D. MCKEY, B.L. WEBBER (2011). A new Afrotropical genus and species of Tetrastichinae (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) inducing galls on Bikinia (Fabaceae: Caesalpinioideae) and a new species of Ormyrus (Hymenoptera: Ormyridae) associated with the gall. Zootaxa 2907: 51-59.  
123. GONMADJE, C.F., C. DOUMENGE, D. McKEY, G.P.M. TCHOUTO, T.C.H. SUNDERLAND, M.P.B. BALINGA, B. SONKE (2011). Tree diversity and conservation value of Ngovayang’s lowland forest, Cameroon. Biodiversity and Conservation 20: 2627-2648.
124. ROULLIER, C., G. ROSSEL, D. TAY, D. MCKEY, V. LEBOT (2011). Combining chloroplast and nuclear microsatellites to investigate origin and dispersal of New World sweet potato landraces. Molecular Ecology 20: 3963-3977. Doi: 10.1111/j.1365é294X.2011.05229x.
125. RENARD, D., J.J. BIRK, B. GLASER, J. IRIARTE, G. GRISARD, J. KARL, D. MCKEY (2012). Origin of mound-field landscapes: a multi-proxy approach combining contemporary vegetation, carbon stable isotopes and phytoliths. Plant and Soil 351: 337-353.
126. VITTECOQ, M., C. DJIETO-LORDON, D. MCKEY, R. BLATRIX (2012). Range expansion induces variation in a behavioural trait in an ant-plant mutualism. Acta Oecologica 38: 84-88.
127. DELETRE, M., D. MCKEY, T.R. HODKINSON (2011). Marriage exchanges, seed exchanges and the dynamics of manioc diversity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America108: 18249-18254.
128. IRIARTE, J., M.J. POWER, S. ROSTAIN, F.E. MAYLE, H. JONES, J. WATLING, B.S. WHITNEY, D.B. MCKEY (2012). Fire-free land use in pre-1492 Amazonian savannas. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America109: 6473-6478.
129. Molecular Ecology Resources Primer Development Consortium, A'Hara S.W., Amouroux P., Argo E.E., Avand-Faghih A., Barat A., Barbieri L., Bert T.M., Blatrix R., Blin A., Bouktila D., Broome A., Burban C., Capdevielle-Dulac C., Casse N., Chandra S., Cho K.J., Cottrell J.E., Crawford C.R., Davis M.C., Delatte H., Desneux N., Djiéto-Lordon C., Dubois M.-P., El-Mergawy R.A.A.M., Gallardo-Escarate C., Garcia M., Gardiner M.M., Guillemaud T., Haye P.A., Hellemans B., Hinrichsen P., Jeon J.H., Kerdelhue C., Kharrat I., Kim K.H., Kim Y.Y., Kwan Y.S., Labbe E.M., Lahood E., Lee K.M., Lee W.O., Lee Y.H., Legoff I., Li H., Lin C.P., Liu S.S., Liu Y.G., Long D., Maes G.E., Magnoux E., Mahanta P.C., Makni H., Makni M., Malausa T., Matura R., McKey D., McMillen-Jackson A.L., Mendez M.A., Mezghani-Khemakhem M., Michel A.P., Paul M., Muriel-Cunha J., Nibouche S., Normand F., Palkovacs E.P., Pande V., Parmentier K., Peccoud J., Piatscheck F., Puchulutegui C., Ramos R., Ravest G., Richner H., Robbens J., Rochat D., Rousselet J., Saladin V., Sauve M., Schlei O., Schultz T.F., Scobie A.R., Segovia N.I., Seyoum S., Silvain J.F., Tabone E., Van Houdt J.K.J., Vandamme S.G., Volckaert F.A.M., Wenburg J., Willis T.V., Won Y.J., Ye N.H., Zhang W., Zhang Y.X. (2012). Permanent genetic resources added to molecular ecology resources database 1 August 2011-30 September 2011. Molecular Ecology Resources 12: 185-189.

130. Molecular Ecology Resources Primer Development Consortium, Arias M.C., Arnoux E., Bell J.J., Bernadou A., Bino G., Blatrix R., Bourguet D., Carrea C., Clamens A.L., Cunha H.A., d'Alencon E., Ding Y., Djiéto-Lordon C., Dubois M.-P., Dumas P., Eraud C., Faivre B., Francisco F.O., Francoso E., Garcia M., Gardner J.P.A., Garnier S., Gimenez S., Gold J.R., Harris D.J., He G.C., Hellemans B., Hollenbeck C.M., Jing S.L., Kergoat G.J., Liu B.F., McDowell J.R., McKey D., Miller T.L., Newton E., Lohan K.M.P., Papetti C., Paterson I., Peccoud J., Peng X.X., Piatscheck F., Ponsard S., Reece K.S., Reisser C.M.O., Renshaw M.A., Ruzzante D.E., Sauve M., Shields J.D., Sole-Cava A., Souche E.L., Van Houdt J.K.J., Vasconcellos A., Volckaert F.A.M., Wang S.Z., Xiao J., Yu H.J., Zane L., Zannato B., Zemlak T.S., Zhang C.X., Zhao Y., Zhou X., Zhu L.L. (2012). Permanent Genetic Resources added to Molecular Ecology Resources Database 1 December 2011-31 January 2012. Molecular Ecology Resources 12: 570-572.

131. Pautasso M., G. Aistara, A. Barnaud, S. Caillon, P. Clouvel, O.T. Coomes, M. Delêtre, E. Demeulenaere, P. De Santis, T. Döring, L. Eloy, L. Emperaire, E. Garine, I. Goldringer, D. Jarvis, H.I. Joly, C. Leclerc, S. Louafi, P. Martin, F. Massol, S. McGuire, D. McKey, C. Padoch, C. Soler, M. Thomas, S. Tramontini (2013). Seed exchange networks for agrobiodiversity conservation. A review. Agronomy for Sustainable Development 33: 151-175.

132. Meekijjaroenroj Kidyoo A., D. McKey (2012) Flowering phenology and mimicry of the rattan Calamus castaneus (Arecaceae) in southern Thailand. Botany 90: 856-865.

133. Blatrix, R., D. Renard, C. Djiéto-Lordon, D. McKey (2012) The cost of myrmecophytism: insights from allometry of stem secondary growth. Annals of Botany 110: 943-951. DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcs164.

134. Blatrix, R., C. Djiéto-Lordon, L. Mondolot, P. La Fisca, H. Voglmayr, D. McKey (2012) Plant-ants use symbiotic fungi as a food source: new insight into the nutritional ecology of ant-plant interactions. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, B 279: 3940-3947.

135. Peccoud, J., F. Piatscheck, R. Yockteng, M. Garcia, M. Sauve, C. Djiéto-Lordon, D. J. Harris, J.J. Wieringa, F. J. Breteler, C. Born, D. McKey, R. Blatrix (2013). Multi-locus phylogenies of the genus Barteria (Passifloraceae) portray complex patterns in the evolution of myrmecophytism. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 66: 824-832.

136. Roullier, C., L. Benoît, D. McKey, V. Lebot (2013). Historical collections reveal patterns of diffusion of sweet potato in Oceania obscured by modern plant movements and recombination. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 110: 2205-2210. Winner of the 2013 Cozzarelli Prize in Class V.

137. Roullier, C., R. Kambouo, J. Paofa, D. McKey, V. Lebot (2013). On the origin of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam) genetic diversity in New Guinea, a secondary centre of diversity. Heredity 110: 594-604.

138. Bradbury, E. J., A. Duputié, M. Delêtre, C. Roullier, A. Narváez-Trujillo, J. A. Manu-Aduening, E. Emshwiller, D. McKey (2013). Geographic differences in patterns of genetic differentiation among bitter and sweet manioc (Manihot esculenta esculenta: Euphorbiaceae). American Journal of Botany 100: 857-866.

139. Renard, D., J. J. Birk, A. Zangerlé, P. Lavelle, B. Glaser, R. Blatrix, D. McKey (2013). Ancient human agricultural practices can promote activities of contemporary non-human soil ecosystem engineers: a case study in coastal savannas of French Guiana. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 62: 46-56.

140. Benoît, L., R. Blatrix, C. Djiéto-Lordon, C. Atteke, J. Mezui-M’Eko, M.-P. Dubois, D. McKey, C. Born (2013). Characterization of microsatellite loci for a fungal symbiont (Ascomycota, Chaetothyriales) in an ant-plant-fungus symbiosis. Molecular Ecology Resources 13: 760-762.

141. Dormont, L., J.-M. Bessière, D. McKey, A. Cohuet (2013). New methods for field collection of human skin volatiles and perspectives for their application in the chemical ecology of human/pathogen/vector interactions. Journal of Experimental Biology 216: 2783-2788.

142. Roullier, C., A. Duputié, P. Wennekes, L. Benoît, V. M. Fernández Bringas, G. Rossel, D. Tay, D. McKey, V. Lebot (2013). Disentangling the origins of cultivated sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.). PLOS ONE 8(5): e62707. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0062707.

143. McKey, D., M. Elias, B. Pujol, A. Duputié, M. Delêtre, D. Renard (2012). Maintien du potentiel adaptatif chez les plantes domestiquées à propagation clonale. Revue d’ethnoécologie [En ligne], 1 | 2012, mis en ligne le 29 novembre 2012. URL : http://ethnoecologie.revues.org/741 ; DOI : 10.4000/ethnoecologie.741

144. Blatrix, R., S. Debaud, A. Salas-Lopez, C. Born, L. Benoit, D. McKey, C. Attéké, C. Djiéto-Lordon (2013). Repeated evolution of fungal cultivar specificity in independently evolved ant-plant-fungus symbioses. PLOS ONE 8(7): e68101.

145. Finsinger, W., T. Dos Santos, D. McKey (2013) Estimating variation in stomatal frequency at intra-individual, intra-site and inter-taxonomic levels in populations of the Leonardoxa africana complex (Fabaceae) over environmental gradients in Cameroon. Comptes Rendus Geoscience 345: 350-359.

146. Ménard, L., D. McKey, G. S. Mühlen, B. Clair, N.P. Rowe (2013) The evolutionary fate of phenotypic plasticity and functional traits under domestication in manioc: changes in stem biomechanics and the appearance of stem brittleness. PLOS ONE 8(9): e74727. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0074727

147. Blatrix, R., D. McKey, C. Born (2013). Consequences of past climate change for species engaged in obligatory interactions. Comptes Rendus Géoscience 347: 306-315.

148. Mayer, V., M. Frederickson, D. McKey, R. Blatrix (2014) Current issues in the evolutionary ecology of ant-plant symbioses. New Phytologist 202: 749-764.

149. Diallo, B.O., Ouedraogo, M., Chevallier, M.-H., Joly, H.I., Hossaert-McKey, M., McKey, D. (2014) Potential pollinators of Tamarindus indica (Caesalpinioideae) in Sudanian region of Burkina Faso. African Journal of Plant Science 8: 528-536.

150. Pfahler, V., B. Glaser, D. McKey, E. Klemt (2015) Soil redistribution in abandoned raised fields in French Guiana assessed by radionuclides. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science 178: 468-476.

151. Rostain, S., D. McKey (2015) Les paysages de champs surélevés de Guyane française: un patrimoine bioculturel menacé. Revue d’Ethnoécologie DOI : 10.4000/ethnoecologie.2193.

152. Coomes O.T., S. J. McGuire, E. Garine, S. Caillon, D. McKey, E. Demeulenaere, D. Jarvis, G. Aistara, A. Barnaud, P. Clouvel, L. Emperaire, S. Louafi, P. Martin, F. Massol, M. Pautasso, C. Violon, J. Wencélius (2015) Farmer seed networks make a limited contribution to agriculture? Four common misconceptions. Food Policy 56 : 41-50. DOI : 10.1016/j.foodpol.2015.07.008

153. Zangerlé A., C. Hissler, L. Van Schaik, D. McKey (2016) Identification of earthworm burrow origins by Near infrared Spectroscopy: Combining results from field sites and laboratory microcosms. Soil and Tillage Research 155 : 280-288. DOI: 10.1016/still.2015.08.017

154. Zangerlé A., C. Hissler, D. McKey, P. Lavelle (2016) Using Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) to identify the contribution of earthworms to soil macroaggregation in field conditions. Applied Soil Ecology 104: 138-147. DOI: 10.1016/J.apsoil.2015.09.014

155. Thomas, M., N. Verzelen, P. Barbillon, O.T. Coomes, S. Caillon, D. McKey, M. Elias, E. Garine, C. Raimond, E. Dounias, D. Jarvis, J. Wencélius, C. Leclerc, V. Labeyrie, H. Cuong Pham, T.N. Hue Nguyen, B. Sthapit, R.B. Rana, A. Barnaud, C. Violon, L.M. Arias Reyes, Luis L. Moreno, P. De Santis, F. Massol. (2015) A network-based method to detect patterns of local crop biodiversity: validation at the species and infra-species levels. Advances in Ecological Research 53 : 259-320. doi:10.1016/bs.aecr.2015.10.002

156. Delêtre, M., T.R. Hodkinson, D. McKey (2016) Perceptual selection and the unconscious selection of ‘volunteer’seedlings in clonally propagated crops: an example with African cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) using ethnobotany and population genetics. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 64 : 665-680.1007/s10722-016-0390-3

157. Zangerlé, A., D. Renard, J. Iriarte, L.E. Suarez Jimenez, K.L. Adame Montoya , J. Juilleret, D. McKey (2016) The surales, self-organized earth-mound landscapes made by earthworms in a seasonal tropical wetland. PLOS One 11(5): e0154269.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0154269 This paper was selected by a member of the “Faculty of 1000 Biology” as a “Recommended” paper in ecology.

158. Cunha, L., G.G. Brown, D.W.G. Stanton, E. Da Silva, F. Hansel, G Jorge, D. McKey, P. Vidal-Torrado, R. Macedo, E. Velasquez, S.W. James, P. Lavelle, P. Kille, and the Terra Preta de Indio Network (2016) Soil animals and pedogenesis: the role of earthworms in anthropogenic soils. Soil Science 181 (3/4) : 110-125. DOI: 10.1097/SS.0000000000000144

159. Lavelle, P., Spain A., Blouin, M., Brown, G., Decaëns, T., Grimaldi, M., Jiménez, J.J., McKey, D., Mathieu, J., Velasquez, E., Zangerlé, A. (2016) Ecosystem engineers in a self-organized soil: A review of concepts and future research questions. Soil Science 181 (3/4) : 91-109. DOI: 10.1097/SS.0000000000000155

160. López Mazz, J., S. Rostain, D. McKey (2016) Cerritos, tolas, tesos, camellones y otros montículos de las tierras bajas de Sudamérica. Revista de Arqueología 29(1): 86-113.

161. Comptour, M., S. Caillon, D. McKey (2016) Pond fishing in the Congolese cuvette: a story of fishermen, animals and water spirits. Revue d’Ethnoécologie 10/2016. DOI: 10.4000/ethnoecoloige.2795

162. McKey, D.B., M. Durécu, M. Pouilly, P. Béarez, A. Ovando, M. Kalebe, C.F. Huchzermeyer (2016) Present-day African analogue of a pre-European Amazonian floodplain fishery shows convergence in cultural-niche construction. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 113(52): 14938-14943. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1613169114

163. Gonmadje, C., Picard, N., Gourlet-Fleury, S., Réjou-Méchain, M., Freycon, V., Sunderland, T., McKey, D., Doumenge, C. (2017) Altitudinal filtering of large-tree species explains above-ground biomass variation in an Atlantic central African rain forest. Journal of Tropical Ecology 33 (2): 143-154.. doi: 10.1017/S0266467416000602.

164. Vasse, M., Voglmayr, H., Mayer, V., Gueidan, C., Nepel, M., Moreno, L., de Hoog, S., Selosse, M.-A., McKey, D., Blatrix, R. (2017) A fungal phylogenetic perspective of the association between ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and black yeasts (Ascomycota: Chaetothyriales). Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, B284: 20162519. Doi : 10.1098/rspb.2016.2519

165. Blatrix, R., Peccoud, J., Born, C., Piatscheck, F., Benoit, L., Sauve, M., Djiéto-Lordon, C., Atteke, C., Wieringa, J.J., Harris, D.J., McKey, D. (2017) Comparative analysis of spatial genetic structure in an ant-plant symbiosis reveals a tension zone and highlights speciation processes in tropical Africa. Journal of Biogeography 44 (8): 1856-1868. doi:10.1111/jbi.12972.

166. DiGiusto, B., Dounias, E., McKey, D.B. (2017) Facing herbivory on the climb up: Lost opportunities as the main cost of herbivory in the wild yam Dioscorea praehensilis. Ecology and Evolution 7 (16): 6493-6506. Doi: 1002/ece3.3066

167. Bouka Dipelet, U.G., Florence, J., Doumenge, C., Loumeto, J.J., McKey, D. (2017) Khayae (Meliaceae) specierum Nomenclator. Adansonia 39(1): 15-30. Doi: 5252/a2017n1a2

168. Blatrix, R., Roux, B., Béarez, P., Prestes-Carneiro, G., Amaya, M., Aramayo, J.L., Rodrigues, L., Lombardo, U., Iriarte, J., de Souza, J.G., Robinson, M., Bernard, C., Pouilly, M., Durécu, M., Huchzermeyer, C.F., Kalebe, M., Ovando, A., McKey, D. (2018) The unique functioning of a pre-Columbian Amazonian floodplain fishery. Scientific Reports 8:5998 | DOI:10.1038/s415

169. Gonmadje C., Doumenge, C., Sunderland, T., McKey, D. (2019) Environmental filtering determines patterns of tree species composition in small mountains of Atlantic central African forests. Acta Oecologica94 : 12-21. doi.org/10.1016/j.actao.2018.04.001

170. Auttama, P., McKey, D., Kidyoo, A. (2018) Flowering phenology and trap pollination of the rare endemic plant Ceropegia thaithongiae in montane forest of northern Thailand. Botany 96 (9) : 601-620. org/10.1139/cjb-2018-0045

171. Ho Tong Minh, D., Ndikumana, E., Vieilledent, G., McKey, D., Baghdadi N. (2018) Potential value of combining ALOS PALSAR and Landsat-derived tree cover data for forest biomass retrieval in Madagascar. Remote Sensing of the Environment 213 : 206-214. org/10.1016/j.rse.2018.04.056

172. Comptour, M., Caillon, S., Rodrigues, L., McKey, D. (2018) Wetland raised-field agriculture and its contribution to sustainability: ethnoecology of a present-day African system and questions about pre-Columbian systems in the American tropics. Sustainability 10(9) : 3120. doi.org/10.3390/su10093120

173. Wang, M., Huang, S. Li, M, McKey, D., Zhang, L. (2019) Staminodes influence pollen removal and deposition rates in nectar-rewarding self-incompatible Phanera yunnanensis (Caesalpinioideae). Journal of Tropical Ecology 35 (1) : 34-42. Doi.org/1017/S0266467418000433

174. McKey, D. (2019). Pre-Columbian human occupation of Amazonia and its influence on current landscapes and biodiversity. Annals of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences 91, Suppl. 3.1-9. DOI: 10.1590/0001-3765201920190087

175. Kokolo, B., Atteke, C., Eyi Mintsa, B.A., Ibrahim, B., McKey, D., Blatrix, R. (2019). Congeneric mutualist ant symbionts (Tetraponera, Pseudomyrmecinae) differ in level of protection of their myrmecophyte hosts (Barteria, Passifloraceae). Journal of Tropical Ecology 35 : 255-259. DOI : 10.1017/S026646741900021X

176. Bouka U. G., Doumenge C., Loumeto J. J., Florence J., Gonmadje C., McKey, D. (2019) Les acajous d’afrique (Khaya, Meliaceae) : des ressources fortement exploitées et mal connues. Bois et Forêt des Tropiques 339 : 17-32.

177. Comptour, M., Cosiaux, A., Coomes, O.T., Bader, J.-C., Malaterre^,-O., Yoka, J., Caillon, S., McKey, D. (2019) Agricultural innovation and environmental change on the floodplains of the Congo River. The Geographical Journal (in press). DOI : 10.1111/geoj.12314.

178. Pakull, B., Ekué, M. R., Dipelet, U. G. B., Doumenge, C., McKey, D. B., Loumeto, J. J., Opuni-Frimpong, E., Yorou, S. N., Nacoulma, B. M. Y., Guelly, K. A., Ramamonjisoa, L., Thomas, D., Guichoux, E., Loo, J., Degen, B. (2019) Genetic diversity and differentiation among the species of African mahogany (Khaya) based on a large SNP array. Conservation Genetics (in press). DO1 ; 10.1007/s10592-019-01191-3.

PhD in evolutionary biology on "Origin and functions of iridescent colours in hummingbirds"

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 2020-2024) - Artificial Intelligence for Studying Communication in Wild Animals (PI: J Renoult)

Darters (NSF 2020-2024)- Pattern 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)

Current students and post-docs

Yseult Héjja-Brichard (Post-doc)

Nicolas Dibot (PhD candidate)

Erwan Harscouet (PhD candidate)

Publications (* equal contribution)

Visual ecology & evolution

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

HARSCOUET-COMMECY, E., COVAS, R., OSCHADLEUS, H. D., COLENCON, P., PELTE, M., DUFOUR, P., RENOULT J.P. * & DOUTRELANT, C*. Comparative evidence for sexual selection on nest weave pattern in weaverbirds. Pre-print: https://hal.science/hal-04276946/

HEJJA-BRICHARD, Y., MILLION, K., RENOULT, J., & MENDELSON, T. Using generative artificial intelligence to test hypotheses about animal signal evolution: A case study in an ornamented fish. Preprint: https://hal.science/hal-04276927/document

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

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

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. Preprint: : https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4435236/v1 

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

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

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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

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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)
  • 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 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:
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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