1- Impacts of pollutions on marine organisms and ecosystems
Key words: metals, pesticides, nanoparticules, bioaccumulation, lethality, disterbance of cell and developmental mechanisms
Marine and coastal areas are dynamic ecosystems subjected – seasonally, chronically and/or punctually – to natural and anthropic perturbations. Marine organisms have to cope with many variations of their biotopes such as current modifications, tides, variations in salinity and temperature, food abundance, etc. In addition, since the industrial revolution and the modernization of sea exploitation technics, anthropogenic perturbations are dramatically increasing: global warming, ocean acidification, estuary metallic and organic contaminations, intensive fishing, oil extraction and mining, etc. can exert severe pressures on the marine biota, affecting every biological levels from the individual fitness to population dynamics, community structures and ecosystem maintenance. In order to better understand and anticipate the potential impact of these perturbations and stress, the “Pôle BEM” makes use of its expertise and logistical support (several facilities or “services communs” are available at IMBE: scuba-diving, histology and microscopy, molecular biology, experimentation) to adopt a multi scale approach, including molecular, physiological and behavioral responses of organisms, in situ physicochemical measurements, bioindicator and community monitoring etc.

2- Description of marine biodiversity: taxonomy/phylogeny
Mots clés: integrative taxonomy , phylogeny, cryptic species

We reveal and describe novel marine species using genetic tools and traditional taxonomy. Our genetic data often reveal the presence of several biological species, which are called cryptic species, within a nominal species. Using an approach of integrative taxonomy, these species are studied in their natural environment. Phylogenetic relationships are reconstructed, from the deepest to the shallowest (peri-specific) levels of divergence. We use population genetics (and population genomics) to infer connectivity between marine sites for the species under study and understand how hydrological features (such as currents) and life history traits explain observed connectivity; we can also infer causal relationships linking life history traits, connectivity levels and evolutionary rates.

Petit texte + photo

Liste des Membres concernés:
Equipe OEB: Carole Borchiellini, Anne Chenuil, Jean-Pierre Féral, Pascal Mirleau, Yvan Perez, Emmanuelle Renard
Equipe DFME: Denise Bellan, Gérard Bellan, Pierre Chevaldonné, Alexander Ereskovsky, Thierry Pérez, Jean Vacelet

Programmes passés en en cours avec lien

3- Inventories, monitoring, Dynamics & evolution of populations
Keywords: phylogeography, (meta-)barcoding, artificial reefs, global change, environment
Observing which species are thriving in the marine habitats of our Mediterranean region (but also from tropical to Polar latitudes) has been done since 1882 by researchers of the marine station of Marseille. IMBE experts still observe marine species and habitats on a regular basis, owing to the scientific float and scuba-diving facility (OSU Pytheas Institute). Observations are particularly abundant in rocky bottoms, infralittoral and circalittoral (e.g. emblematic gorgonian animal forests) and marine caves, but also on artificial reefs that were placed in the Bay of Marseille to restore or increase biodiversity, as well as on smaller artificial reefs that are dedicated to monitoring (ARMS : artificial reef monitoring structure, ASU : artificial substrate units, etc.). The population sizes of some species can be monitored more precisely with regular field surveys but also with population genetics tools. The diversity of the species that inhabit the structurally complex and species-rich hard bottoms (like coralligenous habitats) are now also established with the help of semi-automated tools (metabarcoding).

Cigesmed Project

4- Développement/Evo-Devo/ Eco-Evo-Devo
Mots clés: histologie, embryologie, cycle de vie, biologie cellulaire et moléculaire, transcriptomique, génomique, morphogenèse, évolution, environnement

Notre laboratoire étudie la reproduction et le développement de 3 groupes d’animaux marins souvent mal décrits: Porifères, Chaethognathes et Echinodermes (notamment ophiures). La description d’un cycle de vie (via des suivis in situ) ou la description fine d’un développement embryonnaire, larvaire ou post-larvaire (via l’histologie) font partie intégrante de la descrition d’une espèce. Mais au delà de cette aspect descriptif (équipe DFME), nos modèles présentent des intérêts écologiques et évolutifs particuliers et complémentaires pour répondre à des questionnements s’intégrant dans les domaines de l’Evo-Dévo et l’éco-évo-dévo (équipe OEB).

Liste des Membres concernés:
Equipe OEB: Carole Borchiellini, Anne Chenuil, Yvan Perez, Emmanuelle Renard
Equipe DFME: Alexander Ereskovsky, Jean Vacelet

Programmes passés ou en cours:

Spongex
Stras

5- Ecologie chimique
Mots clés: métabolomique, métabolites secondaires, attraction, interactions, symbiotes

Petit texte + photo

Liste Membres concernés:
Equipe DFME: Pierre Chevaldonné, Catherine Fernandez, Stéphane Greff, Thierry Pérez

Programmes passés ou en cours:

Biocénoses étudiées

Coralligène

Herbiers

Plancton

Certains des modèles biologiques étudiés

Aurelia aurita

Halisarca dujardinii
Lycopodina hypogea
Oscarella lobularis
Oopsacas minuta

Myriapora truncata

Amphipholis squamata
Echinocardium cordatum
Ophioderma longicauda

Lithophyllum stictiforme/cabiochae
Posidonia oceanica

Spadella cephaloptera

Sites d’étude

Plongée

Les observations, inventaires, suivis, échantillonnages nécessaires à nos différentes études en biologie et écologie marine reposent à la fois sur le service plongée, les navires de station et le service d’observation de l’OSU Pythéas et sur des moyens propres à l’IMBE:

– semi-rigide
– personnel avec permis bateau
– 9 IT, chercheurs ou enseignants-chercheurs plongeurs scientifiques:

Aquariums

Les échantillons biologiques prélevés peuvent être soient fixés et conditionnés directement sur le navire, ou fixés et conditionnés une fois ramenés en station, ou bien maintenus de quelques heures à plusieurs semaines en aquariums en eau de mer courante. Les expérimentations en conditions contrôlées sont également possibles en circuit fermé d’eau de mer artificiel avec monitoring et systèmes de contrôle de différents paramètres physico-chimiques: