Evolution, Behaviour, Adaptation Group

Members

The Evolution, Adaptation and Behavior group aims at studying the evolution of phenotypic and behavioral traits through a combination of long-term monitoring of natural populations, of field and lab experiments, of molecular analyses, and of mathematical and computational modeling. Our research mainly focuses on animals, in particular mammals (alpine marmot, giraffe), birds (white-throated dipper, collared flycatcher, great tit) and insects (various Drosophila species, the parasitoid wasp Venturia canescens).

 
We study the evolution of fitness-related traits in interaction, either selective or plastic, with an individual’s biotic and abiotic environment. Interactions between individuals have a special importance in our reasoning and are thus the object of a first axis of research on group dynamics and social interactions. We also consider the environment as providing resources and informative signals through two other axes, one on phenotypic plasticity and the other on resource allocation and the sensitivity to environmental variables. In both, we consider the impact of stress factors caused by human activities — such as global warming, artificial lighting or invading species — or by the presence of pathogens.
 
 
Group dynamics and social interaction. The environment encountered by numerous animals contains, on top of resources and other elements, other individuals. Social interactions vary immensely between species, from a solitary lifestyle to such an extreme degree of cooperation that a part of the group sacrifices their reproduction at the benefit of others, specialized in this task. In this axis, we try to understand how groups form and how social structures are maintained, at various scales extending from unicellular organisms to cooperative mammals.
Here are a few examples of questions that we address:

  • Evolution of sociality: what are the consequences of climate change on the benefits of group living (in the alpine marmot)? How does that impact group composition and the probability and age of dispersal?
  • Group dynamics: how does the size and composition of familial groups evolve in the context of climate change? In giraffes, how do temporary groups form, and what role do kinship play in the probability and duration of pairing?
  • Which evolutionary trajectories have led to multicellular organisms expressing differentiated cell types, a part of which sacrifice their reproduction?
  • What are the neurogenomic determinants that signal the presence of related individuals in solitary individuals, triggering altruistic behaviors?

 
Phenotypic plasticity. Evolution by natural selection can drive phenotype changes on short timescales, in the order of a few generations. Yet it remains inefficient to track more frequent environmental changes. Phenotypic plasticity is a means to buffer such environmental variations, either through informed decisions or fixed reaction norms, which are the object of study in this axis.
Here are a few examples of questions that we address:

  • How do individual characteristics, in particular personality traits, shape the use of information on the environment for decision-making?
  • Is there a trade-off between the speed of decision making and its accuracy? What conditions favor genotypes that make fast, error-prone decisions, or slower, more accurate genotypes?
  • What types of environmental variations select for plastic genotypes?
  • Do changes in gene expression observed during environmental fluctuations induce behavioral changes?

 
Resource allocation and sensitivity to environmental variables. Organisms make other decisions throughout their lives as they decide how much resources to allocate to various traits, such as survival, growth, reproduction or immunity. This differential allocation of resources relies on complex systems, or instance the endocrine system in animals, that we study. These systems can be disturbed by anthropogenic changes that disrupt the long-term ecological setting in which they have evolves, resulting in major phenotype perturbations.
Here are a few examples of questions that we address:

  • How do endocrine systems — that allow the communication between tissues and control the differential allocation of resources — evolve?
  • How do chemical pollutants affect physiological processes, ageing and thereby life-history strategies in response to environmental variation?
  • What role do climatic fluctuations play in the heterogeneity of parasite infection, especially at stages that go through the external environment?

 

Publications

Display of 331 to 360 publications on 449 in total

Spatial scale of local breeding habitat quality and adjustment of breeding decisions

Blandine Doligez, A. Berthouly, D. Doligez, Mark Tanner, V. Saladin, D. Bonfils...

Ecology . 89 : 1436-1444

Journal article

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A Population Dynamics Analysis of the Interaction between Adaptive Regulatory T Cells and Antigen Presenting Cells

David Fouchet, R. Regoes

PLoS ONE . 3() : 1-9

Journal article

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Foraging and associative learning of visual signals in a parasitic wasp

Patrice Lucchetta, Carlos Bernstein, Marc Théry, Claudio Lazzari, Emmanuel Desouhant

Animal Cognition . ( 11 ) : 525-533

DOI: 10.1007/s10071-008-0144-5

Journal article

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Adaptation locale et optimalité des stratégies de dormance en environnement imprévisible : Développements théoriques et validation expérimentale chez le balanin de la chataîgne Curculio Elephas

Etienne Rajon

incollection . -- : 321-328

Journal article

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An agent-based model for predicting the prevalence of Trypanosoma cruzi I and II in their host and vector populations

H. Devillers, J.R. Lobry, F. Menu

Journal of Theoretical Biology . 255 : 307-315

Journal article

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Prolonged diapause: A trait increasing invasion speed ?

T. Mahdjoub, F. Menu

Journal of Theoretical Biology . 251 : 317-330

Journal article

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Stochastic extinction and the selection of the transmission mode in microparasites.

Narges Bahi-Jaber, David Fouchet, Dominique Pontier

Journal of the Royal Society Interface . 5 ( 26 ) : 1031-9

DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2007.1326

Journal article

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Impact of myxomatosis in relation to local persistence in wild rabbit populations: the role of waning immunity and the reproductive period

David Fouchet, J-S. Guitton, S. Marchandeau, D. Pontier

Journal of Theoretical Biology . 250 ( 4 ) : 593-605

Journal article

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Visiting Sick People: Is It Really Detrimental to Our Health?

D. Fouchet, J. O'Brien, D. Pontier

PLoS ONE . 3 : 81-89

Journal article

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Choosing where to breed - Breeding habitat choice

T. Boulinier, M. Mariette, Blandine Doligez, E. Danchin

incollection . -- : 285-322

Journal article

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Estimating fitness consequences of dispersal:a road to know-where? Non-random dispersal and the underestimation of dispersers fitness

Blandine Doligez, T. Pärt

Journal of Animal Ecology . 77 : 1199-1211

Journal article

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Assessment of Triatoma dimidiata dispersal in the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico by morphometry and microsatellite markers

Vincent Payet, Frédéric Tripet, Eric Dumonteil, Gregory Lanzaro, Frédéric Menu, Maria Jesus Ramirez-Sierra

The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene . 76 ( 5 ) : 930-937

DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.2007.76.930

Journal article

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Proximate Causes of Rensch’s Rule: Does Sexual Size Dimorphism in Arthropods Result from Sex Differences in Development Time?

W.U. Blanckenhorn, A.F.G. Dixon, D.J. Fairbairn, M.W. Foellmer, Patricia Gibert, K. van Der Linde...

The American Naturalist . 169 : 245-257

Journal article

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Small but smart: the interaction between environmental cues and internal state modulates host-patch exploitation in a parasitic wasp

Patrice Lucchetta, Emmanuel Desouhant, Eric Wajnberg, Carlos Bernstein

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology . 61 ( 9 ) : 1409-1418

DOI: 10.1007/s00265-007-0372-8

Journal article

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Bilan de la flambée d'histomonose dans les élevages français de dinde standard, après 2003

Marie-Pierre Callait-Cardinal, Samuel Leroux, Claude Chauve, Gilles Le Pottier, Lionel Zenner

7. Journées de la Recherche Avicole . 7

Conference paper

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Differential energy allocation as an adaptation to different habitats in the parasitic wasp Venturia canescens

P. Pelosse, C. Bernstein, E. Desouhant

Evolutionary Ecology . 21 : 669-685

Journal article

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The canine distemper epidemic in Serengeti: are lions victims of a new highly virulent canine distemper virus strain or is pathogen circulation stochasticity to blame?

M. Guiserix, N. Bahi-Jaber, David Fouchet, F. Sauvage, D. Pontier

Journal of the Royal Society Interface . 4 : 1127-1134

Journal article

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The role of maternal antibodies in the emergence of severe disease as a result of fragmentation

David Fouchet, S. Marchandeau, N. Bahi-Jaber, D. Pontier

Journal of the Royal Society Interface . 4 : 479-489

Journal article

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Small but smart: the interaction between environmental cues and internal state modulates host-patch exploitation in a parasitic wasp

P. Lucchetta, E. Desouhant, E. Wajnberg, C. Bernstein

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology . ( 61 ) : 1409-1418

Journal article

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Infectivity of Histomonas meleagridis in ducks

Marie-Pierre Callait-Cardinal, Claude Chauve, M.C. Reynaud, Théodore Alogninouwa, Lionel Zenner

Avian Pathology . 35 ( 2 ) : 109-116

DOI: 10.1080/03079450600597626

Journal article

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Histomonas meleagridis in Turkeys: Dissemination Kinetics in Host Tissues After Cloacal Infection

K. Huber, Mc. Reynaud, Marie-Pierre Callait-Cardinal, L. Zenner

Poultry Science . 85(6) : 1008-1014

Journal article

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Evaluation of four manual tick-removal devices for dogs and cats

L. Zenner, E. Drevon-Gaillot, Marie-Pierre Callait-Cardinal

Veterinary Records . 159(16) : 526-529

Journal article

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Sexual size dimorphism in a Drosophila clade the D. obscura group

R.B. Huey, B. Moreteau, J.-C. Moreteau, Patricia Gibert, G.W. Gilchriste, A.R. Ivesf...

Zoology . 109 : 318-330

Journal article

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Gene loss and evolutionary rates following whole genome duplication in Teleost fishes

F. Brunet, Roest Crollius H., M. Paris, Aury Jm., Patricia Gibert, O. Jaillon...

Molecular Biology and Evolution . 23 : 1808-1816

Journal article

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Gene loss and evolutionary rates following whole-genome duplication in teleost fishes

Frédéric Brunet, Hugues Roest Crollius, Mathilde Paris, Jean-Marc Aury, Patricia Gibert, Olivier Jaillon...

Molecular Biology and Evolution . 23 ( 9 ) : 1808-1816

DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msl049

Journal article

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The influence of the temperature and host availability on the host exploitation strategies of sexual and asexual parasitic wasps of the same species

Isabelle Amat, M. Castelo, E. Desouhant, C. Bernstein

Oecologia . 148 : 153-161

Journal article

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Habitat assessment by parasitoids: mechanisms for patch use behavior

C. Tentelier, E. Desouhant, X. Fauvergue

Behavioral Ecology . 17 ( 4 ) : 515-521

DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arj062

Journal article

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HDR - Acquisition rétention et utilisation d'informations pour les prises de décisions chez les insectes

E. Desouhant

incollection . -- : 71-78

Journal article

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Waning of maternal immunity and the impact of diseases: the example of myxomatosis in natural rabbit populations

D. Fouchet, S. Marchandeau, Michel Langlais, Dominique Pontier

Journal of Theoretical Biology . 242 : 81-89

DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2006.02.003

Journal article

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Host and food searching in a parasitic wasp Venturia canescens: a trade-off between current and future reproduction?

E. Desouhant, G. Driessen, Isabelle Amat, C. Bernstein

Animal Behaviour . 70 : 145-152

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