EECAR News
EECAR - Team news!
This page contains the latest news about the team.
Enjoy your reading!
25/4/2025 Restoration using insect waste?
In addition to the transfer of "ecosystem engineer" species, it is also the products of their actions on the ecosystem that could be used to restore the ecosystem.
of their actions on the ecosystem that could be used for restoration
when reintroducing species and modifying the habitat are not enough (Saby et al., 2024)
(https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/rec.14153) This is how we tested the spreading of ant "dumps
rich in viable seeds. The idea is to recover what these insects have stored
next to their nests, either for storage purposes or simply for "distraction".
This technique has been tested both under glass and in situ at four restoration sites
in the Crau plain, compared with the use of a mixture of commercial seeds
and a transfer of hay harvested nearby. Just six months were enough to measure the differences
as shown by the publication in the journal Land Degradation and Development
(https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ldr.5500) at the beginning of 2025, which was reprinted in "Pour La Science" magazine
(https://www.pourlascience.fr/sd/ecologie/les-fourmis-qui-reparent-la-prairie-27544.php).
With ant dumps, grasslands regain greater species richness, with a composition
closer to the reference plot than with the commercial mix.
This is what Léa Saby, who carried out this research as part of her doctoral thesis at the University of Avignon, has to say.
https://www.lamarseillaise.fr/environnement/faire-les-poubelles-des-fourmis-pour-restaurer-la-plaine-de-la-crau-OL17943841
27/3/2025 "Midisciences" CONFERENCE BY ROMANE BLAYA
Ants: from an essential link in ecosystems to biological invasions
Romane Blaya has a doctorate in ecology and studies ant communities, their roles and their impact on ecosystems in the Mediterranean basin.
Ants play an important role in the functioning of ecosystems. They could be useful for better understanding and monitoring the changes they undergo. However, given the increase in the introduction of exotic ant species in Europe, it is important to understand the reasons for their success, identify their main routes of introduction and improve legislative tools to avoid or reduce their impact.
[Midisciences 2025] Discover the full programme - on www Avignon Université
26/3/2025 LECTURE BY CLEMENTINE MUTILLOD: FROM FRANCE TO MONGOLIA, THE RETURN OF PRZEWALSKI'S HORSE AND ITS EFFECTS ON THE STEPPE
Clémentine Mutillod, Temporary Teaching and Research Associate at Avignon University's IMBE
In 2004 and 2005, Przewalski's horses - considered to be the last wild horses in the world - were reintroduced into their original range, the steppes of Central Asia, in a 14,000-hectare closed reserve. Following initial monitoring of the flora inside and outside this reserve in 2010, a second field campaign was carried out in 2023 thanks to Avignon University, the Société Française d'Écologie et d'Évolution, the Khomyn Talyn Takhi association and the Takh Association. Here's a look back at the two months spent on the steppe, between scientific surveys and naturalist and cultural discoveries.
Face-to-face
at the Endoume Marine Station
Conference room Building 4
Endoume Marine Station
chemin de la batterie des lions
Building 4, meeting room
13007 Marseille
or live on
https://tv.imbe.fr/?page_id=1486
02/2025 Ant waste helps degraded grasslands
Following the publication of an article from Léa Saby's thesis (IMBE, EECAR team), find out more about this news item published on the CNRS INEE website: https://www.inee.cnrs.fr/fr/cnrsinfo/les-dechets-des-fourmis-au-secours-des-prairies-degradees
24/2/25 Thesis defence by Hugo FONTES entitled: "How can the concept of reference ecosystem be used to assess the success of creating temporary ponds in the Camargue?
Subject to the assessment of the rapporteurs, Hugo Fontes, a doctoral student at the UMR IMBE, EECAR team, IUT d'Avignon Université and at the Tour du Valat, Institut de recherche pour la conservation des zones humides méditerranéennes, will submit his doctoral thesis to the Université d'Avignon, ED 536, Sciences et Agrosciences, speciality Life Sciences. How can the reference ecosystem concept be used to assess the success of creating temporary ponds in the Camargue? Monday 24 February 2025 14:00, Tour du Valat Le Sambuc, Arles
https://zoom.us/j/4909720134 (meeting code 049097)
4/12/24 Romane Blaya, will defend her doctoral thesis at the University of Avignon, ED 536, Sciences and Agrosciences, specialising in Ecology - Population Biology and Ecology.
RESPONSE OF STRUCTURE AND TEMPORAL DYNAMICS OF ANT COMMUNITIES TO SPATIAL CHARACTERISTICS AND HABITATS ON SMALL MEDITERRANEAN ISLANDS Ms Romane Blaya will publicly defend her thesis on Monday 16 December 2024 at 3pm in the Blaise Amphithéâtre, Agroparc technopole, Avignon (CERI) before a jury composed of : Anna Traveset, Research Director, Instituto Mediterraneo De Estudios Avanzados, Rapporteur Xim Cerdá, Research Director, Estación Biológica de Doñana Rapporteur Ana Santos, Research Fellow, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid Examiner Jelena Bujan, Research Fellow, Ruđer Bošković Institute Examiner Jean-Philippe Lessard, Professor, Concordia University Examiner Elise Buisson, Senior Lecturer HDR, IMBE, Avignon University Thesis Director Philippe Ponel, Research Director, IMBE Aix-Marseille University Thesis Co-Director Olivier Blight, Senior Lecturer, IMBE, Avignon University Thesis Co-Executor
VISIO LINK: https://bbb.univ-avignon.fr/rooms/rgd-udl-ghy-fmk/join
4/12/24 Ms Clémentine Mutillod, will defend her doctoral thesis at the University of Avignon, ED 536, Sciences and Agrosciences, specialising in Ecology - Population Biology and Ecology.
"Conceptual, taxonomic and functional approaches to the influence of domestic or 'wild' herbivores on the dry grasslands of the Causse Méjean (Massif Central, France)".
Le Wednesday 04 December 2024 at 2.00 pm, in the amphitheatre of theAvignon IUT - 337 chemin des Meinajariés, Site Agroparc BP 61207 - 84911 Avignon cedex 09
The IMBE stand at the Coussouls festival in Saint-Martin-de-Crau on Sunday 13 October was well attended!
As part of the Coussouls Festival which was held for the first time at the Domaine départemental des Aulnes in Saint-Martin-de-Crau, theIMBE held by Cécile Latapy (PAHIS team), Laurent Tatin and Thierry Dutoit (EECAR team), Avignon IUTThe event was a great success, with over 1,000 people taking part.
Thank you once again for your commitment throughout the day. !
10/24 - The IMBE will be present at the Med'Agri trade fair on 15-17 October
IMBE, and in particular the EECAR team, will be present at the show Med'Agri from 15 to 17 October 2024. She will be presenting the IUT's courses, in particular the BUT GB Agronomy and the Life VineAdapt on the role of biodiversity in viticulture.
Come one, come all!
10/24 - Reception of a Brazilian researcher: Odair Aparecido Fernandes
Odair Aparecido Fernandes will be with us from mid-October for a 3.5-month stay. Odair is Professor at the State University of Sao Paulo, UNESP, Brazil and Sabrina Juvenal de Oliveira's thesis supervisor (co-supervision with Avignon University).
..
10/2024 - IMBE EECAR to take part in the first Coussouls festival, on Sunday 13 October at the Domaine de l'étang des Aulnes in Saint-Martin de Crau
The IMBE EECAR team will be leading an outing (by Thierry Dutoit) and running a stand (Laurent Tatin, Olivier Blight) at the very first Fête des Coussouls, to be held on 13 October 2024 at the Domaine départemental de l'Étang des Aulnes, in Saint-Martin-de-Crau (Bouches-du-Rhône). For one day, come and discover a heritage that is unique in the world, and find out about the EECAR team's research activities on the Crau plain.
The event on the CEN PACA website: https://cen-paca.org/participer/agenda/evenement/la-fete-des-coussouls/
The event on Facebook : https://fb.me/e/8Wqa0aNPc
The event on Linkedin : https://www.linkedin.com/events/laf-tedescoussouls7222524949519867904/
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09/2024 - Book to be published by CNRS with EECAR contribution: Exploring the Environment: Solutions for Innovation
To be published on 26 September 2024
Already available in digital version (26 euros)
Edited by Éric Fouilland, Françoise Gourmelon
This book, the fruit of collaboration between more than 180 researchers, lifts the veil on major scientific advances in the fields of ecology and the environment.
This book takes a deep dive into the fascinating discoveries of research carried out on every scale, from bacteria to ecosystems, and sheds unique light on the environmental and societal challenges we face, proposing practical, promising and innovative solutions (336 pages).
Contributions IMBE - EECAR team, University of Avignon, IUT.
Using ants to restore nature? p 180-184.
Thierry Dutoit, Adeline Bulot, Tania de Almeida, François Mesléard & Olivier Blight
08/2024 - Best student oral presentation at the SER-Europe conference
Clémentine Mutillod, a doctoral student in the third year of her thesis with the IMBE EECAR team at the IUT Avignon, won first prize for the best oral presentation entitled "What are the effects of the introduction of "wild" horses on the dung beetle assemblage and its associated ecological functions?" ("What are the effects of the introduction of 'as wild' horses on dung beetle assemblage and its associated ecological functions?") during the 14th European Conference on Ecological Restoration (14th European Conference on Ecological Restoration) held from 26 to 30 August 2024 in Tartu, Estonia. held from 26 to 30 August 2024 in Tartu, Estonia.
We'd like to offer him our sincerest congratulations, as the symposium was attended by around 700 participants, including 64 oral presentations by students applying for this award! To find out more, go to here
