Description du projet
De nouveaux mécanismes pour lutter contre les espèces exotiques envahissantes
Les espèces exotiques envahissantes (EEE) sont l’une des principales causes de la perte de biodiversité. Bien que l’on soit parvenu récemment à expliquer le succès de la capacité invasive des EEE par des processus évolutifs et une adaptation rapide, les mécanismes impliqués restent peu connus. Or, la compréhension de ces mécanismes permettrait de prédire de futures invasions. Le projet interdisciplinaire EvoTox, financé par l’UE, étudiera l’évolution et l’adaptation rapide des populations d’EEE en réponse aux facteurs de stress environnementaux, en se concentrant sur l’étude de ces mécanismes chez l’écrevisse Procambarus clarkii dans les zones aquatiques présentant un niveau élevé de polluants anthropiques. Le projet combinera des approches de terrain et de laboratoire et adoptera des techniques issues de plusieurs domaines scientifiques pour étudier les populations autour du littoral méditerranéen français.
Objectif
Climate change and biodiversity loss are one of the biggest threats facing the world in the next decade. Invasive alien species (IAS) are one of the most important direct drivers of biodiversity loss. While evolutionary processes and rapid adaptation have recently been linked with the increase of invasive capacity of IAS, still there is little known about the mechanisms involved in their success. EvoTox is an interdisciplinary project that seeks to address how IAS populations can evolve and adapt rapidly in response to environmental stressors. EvoTox focuses more particularly on the study of the mechanisms that facilitate the rapid adaptation of the crayfish Procambarus clarkii in aquatic areas with high-level of anthropogenic pollutants. The study involves both field and laboratory approaches using technics from several scientific fields such as evolutionary biology, toxicology, physiology, ethology and molecular biology. The studied populations come from three sampling stations, with freshwater and brackish water bodies, around the French Mediterranean coastline and adjacent aquatic areas, where P. clarkii has successfully established and environmental characteristics such as salinity and chemical pollutant concentrations differ. Understanding the mechanisms that contributes to the rapid and adaptive evolution in P. clarkii is important for identifying candidate genes involved in invasiveness, and, more generally, predicting future invasion scenarios, improving management and risk assessment of IAS in Europe and worldwide. EvoTox also contributes to the European Green Deal and the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 by addressing IAS issues and their ecological and economic repercussions. EvoTox includes the training and the two-way transfer of knowledge between the researcher and the host institution. The research, scientific and transferable skills acquired during the EvoTox project will have a direct impact in the development of my scientific career.
Champ scientifique
Programme(s)
Régime de financement
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinateur
75794 Paris
France