Blight Olivier

Blight Olivier

MCF-Maitre de Conferences

EECAR

Écosystèmes, Changements globaux, Coviabilité Socio-écologique

Research interests

Ecology of native and invasive invertebrates
Effects of environmental change on insect populations and communities
Biotic interactions involving ants
Role of species’ traits in determining ecological functions
Restoration ecology and Agroecology

My research focuses on the effects of environmental change on arthropod populations and communities and their restoration. I am particularly interested (i) in the role of invertebrates as ecosystem engineers and their use in restoration ecology, (ii) in the restoration of arthropod specific and functional diversity in agrosystems, and (iii) in the dynamics of invasive species and their effects on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.

  • 2015- current : – Assistant professor – IMBE-UMR CNRS 7263 – IRD 237, Avignon University
  • 2014– 2015 – Post-doctoral researcher : Invasive ants and Global change. Grant : ANR Biodiversa. – Laboratory of Ecology, Systematics and Evolution, Univ. Paris-Sud, France
  • 2013– 2014 – Post-doctoral researcher : Personality in ants : colony performance and biological invasions. Grant : Fyssen foundation – Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC), Sevilla, Spain
  • 2012–2013 – Teaching assistant – IMBE–UMR CNRS 7263 – IRD 237, Aix Marseille university.
  • 2011 – Post-doctoral researcher : Understand the structure, composition and sensibility of ant communities in urban context. Grant : ANR (French National Research Agency) Green and Blue Infrastructures – IMBE–UMR CNRS 7263 – IRD 237, Aix Marseille university
  • 2010 – PhD. Thesis “Extent and ecological consequences of the invasion of the Corsican coast by the Argentine ant (Linepithema humile, Mayr).” – IMBE–UMR CNRS 7263 – IRD 237, Aix Marseille universi
  • Invasion Biology
  • Restoration Ecology
  • Agroecology
  • Behavioral Ecology
  • Entomology
  • Myrmecology

– Eradication of the Little Fire Ant in France (2024 – 2026)