Lucie Michel

: Publication : 10 février 2025

PhD STUDENT
Behavioural Ecology

My PhD project, which began in December 2024, is in the field of behavioral ecology. More specifically, I am studying the impact of personality on the reproductive behavior of Corsican blue tits Cyanistes caeruleus ogliastrae in the face of biotic (predation, parasitism) and abiotic (climate change) constraints.

Aside from my thesis, my main research topics of interest include reproductive behaviour, in particular sexual selection, host-parasite interactions, and the links between anthropogenic factors and behaviour. I have a preference for birds as a study model, but have also worked on fish and mammals.

I am also a member of the Comité pour l'Equité.

Contact :

CEFE - CNRS
1919, route de Mende
34293 Montpellier Cedex 5

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Bluesky : @radicalmoineau.bsky.social

ORCID : 0009-0006-2079-7362

Supervisors :

Anne Charmantier (Researcher, CEFE - CNRS)
Claire Doutrelant (Researcher, CEFE - CNRS)
Denis Réale (Researcher, UQAM)

PhD title: Links between personality and reproductive strategy in a context of biotic (predation, parasitism) and abiotic (climate) environmental variability

In a context of rapid global warming and increasingly frequent extreme weather events, numerous studies have shown the impact of these changes on the life-history traits of wild organisms, in particular the advancement of reproduction phenology for plants and animals. In the case of birds, we know that many populations respond to global warming by adjusting individual egg-laying dates. However, much less is known about the functional reasons for individual differences in this plasticity, and very little about the implications of inter-individual behavioural (personalities) or demographic (e.g. longevity) differences in the phenotypic plasticity of reproductive decisions.

In this thesis:

We will exploit a database resulting from long-term monitoring of blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) initiated in 1976 and now providing 47 years of data on bird reproduction, and 13 years of behavioural data (docility, exploration score) on breeding birds in four populations occupying white oak and holm oak forests.
We will test whether the differences in bird personalities (proactive/reactive, i.e. highly or less aggressive and fast or meticulous explorers) between populations and individuals, are linked to the plasticity of life-history traits in the face of global warming. In particular, we predict that because of their different reactivity to environmental signals, proactive individuals will be less plastic than reactive individuals in their reproductive decisions.
We will also study the effects of environmental pressures (climate, predation, parasitism) and personality on the pairing of individuals approximated by homogamy and the propensity to divorce. In particular, we will use repeated observation data collected over several decades to test the hypothesis that proactive individuals are more likely to change partners over the breeding seasons, particularly following failure events such as the predation of their brood or an extreme
climatic event.

The overall aim of this project is to integrate animal personalities in the study of phenotypic plasticity in the face of environmental constraints, in the context of a study of wild birds initiated almost half a century ago.

Education:

2016 - 2018 CPGE BCPST
Lycée Joffre, Montpellier
2018 - 2023 Interface programme in Biology, Health, and Physiopathology
Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay
2019 - 2023 Veterinary studies (double degree with ENS)
Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort
2022 - 2023 M2 BEE specialised in Evolutionary Ecology
Université Paris-Saclay - Sorbonne Universités
2023 - 2024 Wildlife rehabilitator Centre de Sauvegarde de la Faune Sauvage à Chambéry

Internships :

2019 Center for Biological Diversity - St-Andrews, UK
- Supervised by Helen Spence-Jones and Mike Webster
2020 CEBC - Chizé, France
- Supervised by Sydney Hope and Frédéric Angelier
2022 Cornell University (Leadership Program) - Ithaca, NY, USA
- Supervised by Michael Sheehan
2023 Helsinki Institute of Life Sciences - Helsinki, Finland
- Supervised by Rose Thorogood

Publications :

Vogt, C. C.; Zipple, M. N.; Sprockett, D. D.; Miller, C. H.; Hardy, S. X.; Arthur, M. K.; Greenstein, A. M.; Colvin, M. S.; Michel, L. M.; Moeller, A. H.; Sheehan, M. J. Female Behavior Drives the Formation of Distinct Social Structures in C57BL/6J versus Wild-Derived Outbred Mice in Field Enclosures. BMC Biol. 2024, 22 (1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-024-01809-0.

Conferences :

2023 Animal Behaviour Live: Annual Online Conference - Presentation
2022 National Veterinary Scholars Symposium (Minneapolis) - Poster
2022 Forum de la Formation Vétérinaire (Maisons-Alfort) - Conférence "Vétérinaire dans la Recherche"
2021 Forum de la Formation Vétérinaire (Maisons-Alfort) - Conférence "Vétérinaire dans la Recherche"
2020 Soirée recherche de l'ENVA - Presentation

Lisa Sandmeyer

: Publication : 10 septembre 2024

PhD student

PXL 20240525 162727369.MP

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

Jérémy Defrance

: Publication : 10 septembre 2024

DOCTORANT
Ecologie évolutive urbaine

Mon projet de thèse s'inscrit dans le domaine de l'écologie évolutive urbaine. Plus précisément, j'étudie le rôle des ressources sur des traits reproductifs chez la mésange charbonnière Parus major en milieu urbain et forestier. profil

Contact :

CEFE - CNRS
1919, route de Mende
34293 Montpellier Cedex 5

Encadrement :

Anne Charmantier (Chercheuse, CEFE - CNRS)
Arnaud Grégoire (Enseignant-Chercheur, CEFE - Université de Montpellier)
Marcel Lambrechts (Chercheur, CEFE - CNRS)

Titre de thèse : rôle de la variation spatio-temporelle des ressources sur sur les traits reproductifs chez la mésange charbonnière en milieu urbain

Au cours des dernières décennies, l'urbanisation s'est massivement intensifiée sur toute la surface de la terre. Ce phénomène est caractérisé par un ensemble spécifique de conditions artificielles, telles que des températures plus élevées, une pollution chimique, lumineuse et sonore, des espèces végétales non indigènes, des surfaces imperméables et des perturbations humaines. L'urbanisation offre donc un cadre intéressant pour étudier comment et pourquoi les traits phénotypiques des organismes diffèrent d'un environnement à l'autre.
Il est désormais largement reconnu que cette modification de l'habitat peut avoir de fortes répercussions sur les phénotypes des organismes (différences morphologiques, comportementales, physiologiques, reproductives).Néanmoins, les pressions de sélection qui s'exercent sur ces traits dans un contexte urbain, ainsi que les mécanismes associés (par exemple, le rôle des ressources présentent dans l'habitat) restent rarement étudiés.
Ainsi, mon projet de thèse se divise en 2 axes majeurs :

étudier la relation entre trois traits reproductifs (i.e. date de ponte, taille de la couvée, et nombre d'oisillons) chez les mésanges charbonnières urbaines et forestières (Parus major)
explorer le rôle de la variation spatio-temporelles des ressources sur la différenciation des traits reproductifs observée dans l'habitat.

Ce projet fait appel à la fois à la récolte des données sur le terrain et à l'analyse d'un gros jeu de données déjà existant grace au travail de nombreux chercheurs et étudiants du CEFE TIT PROJECT.

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Formations :

2015 - 2017 IUT Génie Chimique / Génie des Procédés
Université Lyon 1
2017 - 2019 IUT Génie Biologique option agronomie
Université Lyon 1
2019 - 2023 ENS Lyon parcours Biosciences
Ecole Normale Supéreieure de Lyon
2022 - 2023 Master parcours Ethologie & Ecologie
Université Jean Monnet - Saint Etienne

Publications :

Gauthier A., Defrance J., Jumarie C., Vulliet E., Garric J., BoilyM., Geffard O. 2022. Disruption of oogenesis and moulting by methoprene and glyphosate in Gammarus fossarum; involvement of retinoic acid? Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety. DOI:10.21203/rs.3.rs-1662189/v1

Conférences :

Aout 2024 Ecology & Behavior - Présentation
Chizé
Octobre 2024 SFE2 - Présentation
Lyon
Novembre 2024 Parus Net - Présentation
Paris
Aout 2025 Ecology & Behavior - Organisation
Montpellier

peur

Laurine Mathieu

: Publication : 10 septembre 2024

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)

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Nicolas Dibot

: Publication : 21 février 2022

nicolas dibot

The role of facial resemblance in kin selection in mandrills:

contribution of artificial intelligence

Contact

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about my work

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Places: CNRS-CEFE, Office 210 B / LIRMM, Bldg 5, Office 03/061

Supervisors: Julien Renoult (CEFE-E3CO), William Puech (LIRMM-ICAR) Marie Charpentier (ISEM-Evolutionary Anthropology)

Research topics

Keywords: Behavioural ecology, Artificial intelligence, Mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx), Kin selection, Generative adversarial networks (GANs), Facial similarity.

Coming from a background in bioinformatics, my doctoral work focuses on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) , and in particular image generative techniques, to study the behavior of Mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx) via the Mandrillus Project (http://www.projetmandrillus.com/).

The idea is to understand and experimentally verify the role of facial similarity in mate selection. In order to control the confounding factors inherent to correlative studies, I will set up experimental studies presenting several artificially generated images (with GANs - Generative Adversarial Networks) varying according to a same variable to a population of Mandrills in Gabon, to test several hypotheses.

In addition to that, I am working on more fundamental aspects of cognitive science concerning the links between neural fluency and beauty perception in the brain.

Generally speaking, I am as much interested in the applications of AI to solve scientific problems as in the more fundamental and innovative aspects of its functioning.

This PhD is half of the time spent in the ICAR team of LIRMM, a computer science team specialized in image processing (http://www.lirmm.fr/icar/)

More informations on theses.fr: https://www.theses.fr/s311973

Background