Doctorants / Post-doctorants

BACHELIER COURTIN, Nastasja

 
Encadrée par Christophe CORONA

As a PhD student in ecology and geomorphology, my research aims to link geomorphological processes and biodiversity changes, a concept known as biogeomorphology. Using a combination of remote sensing and dendrology, I characterize various processes such as scree slope, debris flow or avalanches, assessing their intensity and frequency. I will next investigate in which way the colonisation process by vegetation is associated with how the geomorphological processes evolve. This last step relies on an analysis of species diversity and functional diversity on herbaceous, shrub and tree species and how the biogeomorphic ecosystems are distributed along geomorphological gradients.

DEMAREST, Léane

 
Encadrée par Laurence DESPRES

I’m a PhD student in evolutionary ecology at the Laboratory of Alpine Ecology in Grenoble. My research focuses on hybridization between two butterfly species : the Corsican endemic butterfly P. hospiton and the widespread European P. machaon.

By combining whole-genome sequencing with targeted sampling in contact zones, my goal is to uncover how genes are exchanged in their genomes, which regions are under selection, and how gene flow varies across the genome. I also explore how environmental factors and climatic niches influence hybridization, which aims at better understanding the ecological and evolutionary forces shaping these species.

DISDIER, Uma

 
Encadrée par Arnaud FOULQUIER

I am currently working on the functional response of microbial communities to environmental stress. My aim is to characterize the functional and taxonomic composition of these communities by using metagenomic and metatranscriptomic data. I am interested in linking functional traits and functional diversity with environmental conditions.

FERREIRA, Emilie

 
Encadrée par Philippe CHOLER et Mathieu GAREL (OFB)

As a PhD student, my work focuses on the responses of alpine fauna to climate change. By integrating behavioral and spatial ecology, my research explores how emblematic alpine species adjust their space-use behavior in response to rising temperatures, especially during summer heat waves. I aim to understand how these animals interact with local climatic conditions while balancing other vital needs.

To do this, I combine GPS telemetry and remote sensing tools to monitor animal movements and model microclimates. A key part of my research involves identifying thermal refuges that enable animals to cope with extreme heat, aiming to better understand how these species adapt to a changing climate.

GIRO, Rémi

 
Encadré par Sébastien IBANEZ, Glenn YANNIC et Jérémie HAHN (TEREO)

PhD student in ecology and population genetics, my thesis work aims to better understand the ecological preferences and colonisation dynamics of the torrent locust (Epacromius tergetsinus ponticus, a locust species critically endangered at European level) on braided Alpine watercourses. This work is rooted in the goal of conservation, reintroduction and better management of the species’ natural habitats in France (and Europe). I am also working on the composition of orthopteran communities along braided rivers.

 

My thesis is part of the CIFRE programme, and I am collaborating with the TEREO natural space management consultancy.

Rôle des obésogènes et des perturbateurs métaboliques dans le déclin des populations d’amphibiens.

JOURNIAC, Lysandre

 
Encadré par Matthias GRENIE et Tamara MÜNKEMÜLLER

My research focuses on medicinal plants in the French Alps. Using a variety of datasets, I study the common characteristics of the plants that are harvested and sold for their medicinal properties. I am also interested in metabolomic approaches and am assessing how climate, soil, and biotic communities can jointly affect the intraspecific variability of the plant metabolome. Next, I will gather a variety of data on past and future trends of species, impacts of harvesting, and current regulations to assess the pressures on medicinal plant populations.

I am a PhD student in conservation biology and genetics, working in collaboration with the Mercantour National Park. My research focuses on Fritillaria moggridgei, a rare geophyte endemic to the Mercantour region, which is threatened by climate change and pastoral activities. By integrating population genetics, niche modelling at both large and fine scales, and reproductive biology, my goal is to assess the extinction risk of all F. moggridgei populations in the Mercantour and to develop effective conservation guidelines for this species. In parallel, I am investigating the phylogenetic relationships and differentiation processes within the Fritillaria tubaeformis complex.

NICOUD, Baptiste RG ORCID

 
Encadré par Christophe CORONA et Sandra LAVOREL

I am an ecosystem scientist working on dynamics of mountain trees and shrubs. Using a combination of remote sensing tools, imagery analysis and dendrochronology methods, I aim to characterize the trajectories of woody ecosystems in high-elevation areas. These dynamics include the understanding of spatiotemporal expansion patterns and their drivers, such as deciphering the contribution of climate warming and land-use changes. I am also interested into the comprehension of radial growth at the treeline in a context of climate change. To achieve this, I use wood anatomy methods on both trees and shrubs. My research takes place mainly in the European Alps but also in the Carpathians.

REYDELLET, Sylvain

 
Encadré par Anne LOISON

As a Phd student, I am working on the ecology of predators-preys ecosystems, with a focus on wild ungulates. I use camera traps data to show how the ungulates respond to the presence of humans and wolves in the French Alps. Using these results, I will analyze the impacts of predation by wild predators and hunters on the population dynamics of wild ungulates.

ROSA, Zoé RG

 
Encadrée par Sébastien LAVERGNE

I’m a plant ecologist working on late-Quaternary history of high-elevation cushion plants. My PhD project aims to understand how these species’ population responded to past climate changes and where did these plants survived the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) ; with the main hypothesis that nunataks (high-elevation bedrock summits protruding from glaciers) served as refugia for certain species like Androsace argentea or Eritrichium nanum. By means of comparative population genomics and Species Distribution Models (SDMs), coupled with geomorphology and gechronology to reconstruct nunataks’ suitability, I will try to construct a model-based test of Late-Pleistocene phylogeographic scenarios (phylogeny, demography and range-shift). Thus, I will try to highlight wheter or not high-altitude summits served as high-altitude-vegetation refugia during Pleistocene glaciations

TZIVANOPOULOS, Marianne ORCID

 
Encadrée par Laure GALLIEN, Tamara MÜNKEMÜLLER et Wilfried THUILLER

My research focuses on the drivers of invertebrate distributions and temporal trends across scales. At the European scale, I am using Species Distribution Models to compare the ecological niches of invertebrate taxonomic and trophic groups and assess future changes in their distributions under different scenarios of climate and land-use change. At the landscape scale, I am combining machine learning approaches and satellite imagery to map invertebrate distributions at high resolution and explore the impact of landscape configuration and land-use patterns on recent changes in arthropod communities.

CERNA, Selene RG

 
Encadrée par Wilfried THUILLER

I am a software engineer with a PhD in Computer Science.

Currently, in my postdoc at LECA, I am working with remote sensing vision models to understand interactions in soil biodiversity. I am particularly interested about modeling biodiversity through deep learning, with the aim of leveraging artificial intelligence to support ecological restoration, including forest regeneration and the preservation of biodiversity.

ESTOPINAN, Joaquim

 
Encadré par Wilfried THUILLER

I am a data scientist interested in leveraging deep learning and newly available data sources, especially remote sensing, to model and protect biodiversity.

Increasing amounts of data are qualifying species and ecosystems in space and time, but combining heterogeneous and high-dimensional data while maintaining good interpretability is challenging.

For my postdoc in the Obsgession European project, I am working on detecting and attributing changes in biodiversity using causal inference and machine learning methods.

GAÜZERE, Pierre RG ORCID

 
Encadré par Wilfried THUILLER

I am a quantitative ecologist with (broad) interests in macroecology, community ecology, functional ecology, biogeography and conservation biology.

I develop and apply biodiversity theory to improve our understanding of how natural and anthropogenic changes drive ecological dynamics. I want to bridge gaps between different fields of ecology to build a more integrative ecological science that can

(i) delineate the processes that rules biodiversity responses to environment changes at or across different spatial and temporal scales

(ii) generate empirically falsifiable predictions for biodiversity dynamics under global changes

(iii) provide guidances and better conceptual foundation for applied conservation biology.

I focus on ecoinformatic approaches to explore long-term and large spatial-scale patterns and processes, and understand how historical, anthropogenic and biotic processes can shape past and contemporary biodiversity dynamics.

I currently focus on understanding the maintenance and variation of ecological originality, and on the disequilibrium dynamics in community responses to climate change.

LUQUET, Martin RG

 
Encadré par Anne LOISON

I am a quantitative ecologist working at the interplay between behavioural ecology and population dynamics. Currently at LECA, I aim at understanding how the return of a long-extinct predator (the grey wolf Canis lupus) influences space use, habitat selection and daily activity of mountain ungulates in a highly anthropised landscape.

PRIMA, Marie-Caroline RG

 
Encadrée par Wilfried THUILLER

I am a spatial ecologist with strong interests in the study of spatial distribution of biodiversity and landscape connectivity at multiple scales. I apply different tools going from mechanistic movement models to phenomenological distribution models and base my analysis on both empirical and simulated datasets. I also enjoy evaluating existing models and developing new frameworks to tackle current methodological shortcomings in spatial ecology. My studies involved mainly large mammals, but I recently expanded my work to the study of biodiversity in general. My postdoc at LECA aims at generating a new framework to assess current and future connectivity of protected areas in the context of climate and land-use changes. I will also investigate whether current spatial distribution of protected areas could help biodiversity to cope with global changes and how future land planning could mitigate the effect of global changes on biodiversity. This work takes its place in the French case study of the European NaturaConnect project.