Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Résumé : International audience
We investigated infection of rodents and shrews by Leptospira spp. in two localities of Cambodia (Veal Renh, Kaev Seima) and in four types of habitat (forests, non-flooded lands, lowland rain-fed paddy fields, houses) during the wet and the dry seasons. Habitat preference was common, and rodent and shrew species were found only in houses or in rain-fed paddy fields or in forests. Among 649 small mammals trapped belonging to 12 rodent species and 1 shrew species, 71 of 642 animals tested were carriers of Leptospira according to the 16S ribosomal RNA marker used. Rodent infection was higher in low-slope locations, corresponding to rain-fed paddy fields, especially in the rainy season and in Kaev Seima. Rodents (Rattus exulans) and shrews (Suncus murinus) inhabiting households showed significantly low levels of infections, whereas rodents living in and near to forests (shrubby wasteland, orchards) showed high levels of infection.
American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

pasteur-00808144
https://hal-riip.archives-ouvertes.fr/pasteur-00808144
DOI : 10.4269/ajtmh.2012.11-0349
PUBMED : 22665613

Résumé : Les mécanismes à l’origine du maintien de la forte diversité locale des arbres des forêts tropicales humides constituent encore une énigme pour les scientifiques. Cette thèse a pour but d’étudier et de comprendre certains facteurs biotiques et abiotiques qui influencent l’assemblage des communautés des forêts tropicales humides d’Amazonie. A l’aide d’une approche empirique conduite dans les forêts tropicales de Guyane française et du Loreto au Pérou, de nombreuses expériences de terrain ont été mises en place dans le but d’apporter des éléments de réponse sur les mécanismes impliqués dans le maintien de la diversité des communautés d’arbres et d’insectes des forêts amazoniennes. Dans un premier temps, cette thèse permet de souligner l’importance des pressions biotiques exercées sur les communautés d’arbres. En effet, les communautés d’insectes peuvent influencer la composition des communautés d’arbres le long d’un gradient environnemental conduisant à des compromis entre la défense et la croissance. Ces compromis ou tradeoff permettent de maintenir la coexistence des espèces de forêts tropicales humides en favorisant la spécialisation des arbres à leur habitat (Chapitre 1, Annexe 3). Cependant, de nombreux facteurs peuvent engendrer des variations dans les compromis d’allocation exhibés par les plantes, ce qui peut compliquer la validité de ces résultats. Dans ce sens, nous avons souligné l’influence du rôle de la cascade trophique et l’existence chez certaines espèces d’arbres de stratégies d’évitement des insectes (Chapitre 2). Dans un second temps, nous avons montré que les filtres environnementaux et les distances géographiques favorisent un fort turnover de la composition des arthropodes des forêts tropicales (chapitre 3, Annexe 2). Les résultats de cette étude ont des implications fondamentales sur les mécanismes qui expliquent la structuration des communautés d’insectes herbivores. Nous avons souligné l’importance de l’interaction des communautés des insectes herbivores et de leurs plantes associées. De plus, des prédictions sont présentées sur le degré de spécialisation des insectes à leur plante-hôte (Annexe 3), notamment sur les implications possibles dans les compromis d’allocation chez les plantes. Finalement, des perspectives de recherche sont proposées en vue de poursuivre ces travaux de recherche, et notamment des extensions de mes expériences vers d’autres régions tropicales et tempérées et l’intégration de la phylogénie pour comprendre des mécanismes de coévolution entre communautés d’arbres et insectes. Nous proposons également une intégration des résultats de cette thèse dans les stratégies locales et régionales de conservation des forêts tropicales du bassin amazonien.
The mechanisms underlying the maintenance of local diversity of trees in tropical rainforests remain under debate. This dissertation aims to study and understand some biotic and abiotic factors that may influence both tree and insect community assembly in lowland tropical forests of Amazonia. I used an empirical approach to study communities of trees and insects in tropical forests of French Guiana and Peru, to address the extent to which insect herbivores contribute to the turnover of tree species across strong environmental gradients. In Chapter 1, I studied how herbivorous insect communities can influence the composition of tree communities along an environmental gradient by reinforcing tradeoffs between defense and growth that promote habitat specialization (Chapter 1, Appendix 3). The complicated variation in the patterns of growth and defense from this study led me to pursue further observations of an alternative plant defense strategy of time-avoidance of herbivores, which I examined in detail in Chapter 2. I found evidence for coordinated leaf production in some tree species that was consistent with the satiation of herbivores, suggesting that multiple interactions between plants and their herbivores may be responsible for patterns of habitat specialization in trees. In the second part of the dissertation, I examined insect herbivore communities in detail to test for turnover in species composition across geographic and environmental gradients. In Chapter 3, I present evidence for substantial beta-diversity in arthropod communities throughout lowland Amazonian forests. In the discussion I propose research perspectives to complete this research, including the extension of observations to compare tropical and temperate regions and the integration of molecular phylogenetics information to study coevolution of plant lineages and their insect herbivores. I conclude with suggestions for the integration of the results of this thesis in local and regional strategies for the preservation and conservation of tropical forests in the Amazon basin.

http://www.theses.fr/2013AGUY0582/document

Éditeur(s) : Elsevier Sci Ltd
Résumé : Time-series studies have reported trophic cascades in land, freshwater and marine environments in many geographic areas. However, the spatial extent of habitats, a key metric of ecosystem structure, has not been mapped in these studies. Marine reserves can provide experimental, before-after and inside-outside (control-impacted), situations for assessing the impact of fishing on ecosystems. We mapped seabed habitats and their associated communities (biotopes) in New Zealand's oldest marine reserve for comparison with pre-reserve maps created about 30 years previously. Areas grazed bare by sea urchins were entirely replaced in the centre of the reserve by kelp, or alga turf, an intermediate biotope between heavily grazed encrusting algae and lightly grazed kelp. Urchins declined following increased abundance and body size of spiny (rock) lobsters and fish (especially snapper) in the reserve but maintained bare rock outside. While this gradient in habitat change matched the gradient of predator abundance, it also matched the extent of reef habitat area. Thus the trophic cascade may be influenced by the effect of habitat on the abundance and behavioural interactions of urchins and their predators. Further ecosystem changes may arise should the abundance of mega-predators, such as seals, cetaceans and large sharks, increase in the region; if parasites become pathogenic; and/or when invasive species reach the reserve. No-take marine reserves provide real-world experiments that show the importance of species in food webs, and the consequences of fishing for ecosystems. Because these changes in ecosystem structure may continue, and will vary with environment, climate and species distributions, reserves need to be permanent and replicated geographically. Habitat maps should be produced for all reserves to enable ecological changes in the ecosystem to be spatially quantified. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Biological Conservation (0006-3207) (Elsevier Sci Ltd), 2012-10 , Vol. 155 , P. 193-201

Droits : 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00107/21842/20067.pdf
DOI:10.1016/j.biocon.2012.05.009
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00107/21842/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag
Résumé :  
A closed depression is defined as a geomorphologic element where a sediment depository is encircled by hillslopes. Despite the fact that closed depressions are often the only stagnant water points in many European landscapes, few ecological researches on their plant assemblages have been done. The main goal of this study was to give first results of the environmental factors responsible for the vegetation composition, richness and rarity in the closed depressions of the Lorraine biogeographical district (Belgium, France and grand-duche de Luxembourg). We surveyed for plant presence 85 forest and 77 grassland closed depressions. For each site, wetland area, local environmental factors and regional connectivities registered. For each species, the Ellenberg values were compiled. To investigate the main source of variation in species composition and in species richness (including richness in rare species), Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling analyses and Generalized Linear Models were respectively used. Species pools in forest (forest and preforest species) and in grassland (bog plants, pioneers, helophytes) were quite different. In both landscapes, a gradient from plants typical of basic high-productive soils to plants typical of acid low-productive soils reflects a shared successional gradient. The accumulation of organic matter allowed the establishment of Sphagnum spp., which slowly acidified the soil and thus acted as ecosystem engineers for the arrival of bog plants. Moreover, the species composition was additionally driven by the plant light tolerance in forests and by the plant water requirements in grasslands. Mechanisms of species accumulation (increase in species richness) were different in forests and in grasslands: respectively related to the plant light tolerance and to the wetland area. At the regional level, the averaged soil productivity was negatively related to the richness in rare species. Indeed, perennial highly-competitive plants such as Glyceria spp., Iris pseudacorus or Urtica dioica impeded the establishment of smaller and rarer species. At the habitat level, isolated closed depressions (due to either low connectivity or low grazing pressure) have more habitat rare species, giving evidences of dispersal limitation in plant assemblages of closed depressions.
ISSN: 0960-3115

hal-01032125
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032125
DOI : 10.1007/s10531-007-9227-x

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : Wood specific gravity (WSG) is a strong predictor of tree performance across environmental gradients. Yet it remains unclear how anatomical elements linked to different wood functions contribute to variation in WSG in branches and roots across tropical forests. [br/][br/]We examined WSG and wood anatomy in white sand, clay terra firme and seasonally flooded forests in French Guiana, spanning broad environmental gradients found throughout Amazonia. We measured 15 traits relating to branches and small woody roots in 113 species representing the 15 most abundant species in each habitat and representative species from seven monophyletic lineages occurring in all habitats. [br/][br/]Fiber traits appear to be major determinants of WSG, independent of vessel traits, in branches and roots. Fiber traits and branch and root WSG increased from seasonally flooded species to clay terra firme species and lastly to white sand species. Branch and root wood traits were strongly phylogenetically constrained. Lineages differed in wood design, but exhibited similar variation in wood structure across habitats. [br/][br/]We conclude that tropical trees can invest differently in support and transport to respond to environmental conditions. Wind disturbance and drought stress represent significant filters driving tree distribution of Amazonian forests; hence we suggest that biophysical explanations should receive more attention.
ISSN: 0028-646X

hal-01195075
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01195075
PRODINRA : 269680
PUBMED : 24329812

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : 1. Considerable debate surrounds the extent to which tropical forests can be managed for resource extraction while conserving biodiversity and ecosystem properties, which depend on functional composition. Here we evaluate the compatibility of these aims by examining the effects of logging on taxonomic and functional diversity and composition in a tropical forest. 2. Twenty years after selective logging, we inventoried 4140 stems regenerating in logging gaps and adjacent undisturbed areas, and we integrated a database of 13 functional traits describing leaf and wood economics of tropical trees. 3. We found no differences in taxonomic and functional richness among habitats, but logging gaps had significantly higher taxonomic and functional evenness. 4. Logging also effected striking, long-term changes in both species and functional composition. In particular, the xylem density of recruits in logging gaps was 6% less than in unlogged forests, leaves were 11% less tough and had 613% greater mineral nutrient concentrations. 5. Synthesis and applications. Our results suggest that managers of tropical forests should limit overall surface area converted to logging gaps by creating fewer, larger gaps during selective logging, to reduce impacts on the taxonomic and functional composition of the regenerating stand.
ISSN: 0021-8901

hal-01032420
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032420
DOI : 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2012.02164.x

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Résumé : International audience
Whereas broad-scale Amazonian forest types have been shown to influence the structure of the communities of medium-to large-bodied vertebrates, their natural heterogeneity at smaller scale or within the terra firme forests remains poorly described and understood. Diversity indices of such communities and the relative abundance of the 21 most commonly observed species were compared from standardized line-transect data across 25 study sites distributed in undisturbed forests in French Guiana. We first assessed the relevance of a forest typology based on geomorphological landscapes to explain the observed heterogeneity. As previously found for tree beta-diversity patterns, this new typology proved to be a non-negligible factor underlying the beta diversity of the communities of medium-to large bodied vertebrates in French Guianan terra firme forests. Although the species studied are almost ubiquitous across the region, they exhibited habitat preferences through significant variation in abundance and in their association index with the different landscape types. As terra firme forests represent more than 90% of the Amazon basin, characterizing their heterogeneity-including faunal communities-is a major challenge in neotropical forest ecology.
ISSN: 0266-4674

hal-01502647
https://hal-agroparistech.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01502647
DOI : 10.1017/S0266467415000255

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : Understanding the mechanisms generating species distributions remains a challenge, especially in hyperdiverse tropical forests. We evaluated the role of rainfall variation, soil gradients and herbivory on seedling mortality, and how variation in seedling performance along these gradients contributes to habitat specialisation. In a 4-year experiment, replicated at the two extremes of the Amazon basin, we reciprocally transplanted 4638 tree seedlings of 41 habitat-specialist species from seven phylogenetic lineages among the three most important forest habitats of lowland Amazonia. Rainfall variation, flooding and soil gradients strongly influenced seedling mortality, whereas herbivory had negligible impact. Seedling mortality varied strongly among habitats, consistent with predictions for habitat specialists in most lineages. This suggests that seedling performance is a primary determinant of the habitat associations of adult trees across Amazonia. It further suggests that tree diversity, currently mostly harboured in terra firme forests, may be strongly impacted by the predicted climate changes in Amazonia.
ISSN: 1461-023X

hal-01531751
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01531751
DOI : 10.1111/ele.12661
PRODINRA : 387284

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : Neotropical forests shelter an astonishing and underrated biodiversity. The integrity and stability of these natural ecosystems are threatened by human-induced environmental changes. Therefore, highlighting the determinants of ecosystem functioning, be they natural or anthropogenic, is a daunting but paramount scientific challenge. The intrinsic complexity of highly diversified ecosystems arouses both conceptual and logistical difficulties, which we handle, by manipulating tiny ecosystems, the tank bromeliads. The leaves of tank bromeliads form wells that hold rainwater and intercept leaf litter, allowing for a simple invertebrate aquatic community to thrive. These plants can be exhaustively sampled, are naturally replicated, and widely distributed.From local to biogeographic scales, this thesis aims at understanding how these communities respond to the natural heterogeneity of Amazonian forests, and at predicting the impacts of human-induced disturbances on the structure and functioning of these communities, using in situ and lab experiments. Particular focus is attributed to the influence of some aspects of climate changes (e.g., warming, and various precipitations scenarios) on individual physiology, behavior, and trophic interactions.
Les forêts néotropicales accueillent une importante biodiversité encore méconnue. L’intégrité des écosystèmes naturels est menacée par les changements environnementaux (e.g., réchauffement climatique, destruction des habitats), par conséquent, identifier les facteurs structurants, naturels et anthropiques, du fonctionnement des écosystèmes, représente un défi scientifique crucial. L’inhérente complexité de ces milieux diversifiés pose de nombreux problèmes conceptuels et logistiques comme un échantillonnage exhaustif et/ou l’identification des espèces. Les broméliacées à réservoirs sont des écosystèmes miniatures adéquats pour pallier ces difficultés, car elles retiennent de l’eau de pluie et accumulent de la matière organique au creux de leurs feuilles, permettant ainsi de supporter des réseaux trophiques simples d’invertébrés aquatiques. Elles peuvent être échantillonnées exhaustivement, ont une forte abondance locale, et une large aire de répartition. De l’échelle locale à biogéographique, les travaux de cette thèse visent d’abord à comprendre comment ces communautés se structurent en réponse à l’hétérogénéité naturelle des forêts amazoniennes (e.g., ouverture de la canopée, fluctuations climatiques saisonnières), puis tente de prédire, par le biais d’expérimentations in situ et au laboratoire les réponses structurelles et fonctionnelles de ces communautés à divers scénarios de changement climatique. Une attention particulière a été portée sur l’impact de la température et des précipitations sur la physiologie et le comportement d’espèces clefs, et sur les interactions trophiques au sein des communautés.
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01405025

NNT : 2015YANE0003
tel-01405025
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01405025
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01405025/document
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01405025/file/These-DEZERALD-Diffusion.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Although ants may induce community-wide effects via changes in physical habitats in terrestrial environments, their influence on aquatic communities living in plant-held waters remains largely underexplored. The neotropical tank-bromeliad Aechmea mertensii (Bromeliaceae) occurs along forest edges in ant-gardens initiated by Camponotus femoratus or by Pachycondyla goeldii. Its leaves form wells that hold rainwater and provide suitable habitats for many aquatic organisms. We postulated that these ant-plant mutualisms indirectly affect the microbial community structure via changes in the environmental conditions experienced by the plants. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed the protist communities from 63 tank-bromeliads associated with either C. femoratus or P. goeldii (hereafter Cf-Aechmea and Pg-Aechmea) along a forest edge in French Guiana. For each plant, a large number of environmental variables (including habitat structure, food resources, incident radiation and the presence of aquatic invertebrates) were quantified to determine their relative importance in driving any observed differences across ant-associated plants. Pg-Aechmea are located in sun-exposed areas and hold low volumes of water and low amounts of detritus, whereas Cf-Aechmea are located in partially shaded areas and accumulate higher amounts of water and detritus. Protists (i.e., protozoa and algae) inhabiting Cf-Aechmea exhibit greater richness and abundances than those in Pg-Aechmea. Variations in detritus content, number of leaves, incident radiation, and the epiphyte richness of the ant-garden were the main factors explaining the variation in protist richness. A shift in the functional group composition of protists between bromeliads tended by different ant species suggested that mutualistic ants indirectly mediate changes in the microbial food web.
Basic and Applied Ecology

hal-00913126
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00913126
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00913126/document
DOI : 10.1016/j.baae.2012.10.002
OATAO : 10190

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Ecological Society of America
Résumé : Reliable assessment of fish origin is of critical importance for exploited species, since nursery areas must be identified and protected to maintain recruitment to the adult stock. During the last two decades, otolith chemical signatures (or "fingerprints") have been increasingly used as tools to discriminate between coastal habitats. However, correct assessment of fish origin from otolith fingerprints depends on various environmental and methodological parameters, including the choice of the statistical method used to assign fish to unknown origin. Among the available methods of classification, Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) is the most frequently used, although it assumes data are multivariate normal with homogeneous within-group dispersions, conditions that are not always met by otolith chemical data, even after transformation. Other less constrained classification methods are available, but there is a current lack of comparative analysis in applications to otolith microchemistry. Here, we assessed stock identification accuracy for four classification methods (LDA, Quadratic Discriminant Analysis [QDA], Random Forests [RF], and Artificial Neural Networks [ANN]), through the use of three distinct data sets. In each case, all possible combinations of chemical elements were examined to identify the elements to be used for optimal accuracy in fish assignment to their actual origin. Our study shows that accuracy differs according to the model and the number of elements considered. Best combinations did not include all the elements measured, and it was not possible to define an ad hoc multielement combination for accurate site discrimination. Among all the models tested, RF and ANN performed best, especially for complex data sets (e. g., with numerous fish species and/or chemical elements involved). However, for these data, RF was less time-consuming and more interpretable than ANN, and far more efficient and less demanding in terms of assumptions than LDA or QDA. Therefore, when LDA and QDA assumptions cannot be reached, the use of machine learning methods, such as RF, should be preferred for stock assessment and nursery identification based on otolith microchemistry, especially when data set include multispecific otolith signatures and/or many chemical elements.
ISSN: 1051-0761

hal-00644549
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00644549
DOI : 10.1890/09-1887.1

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé :  
A closed depression is defined as a geomorphologic element where a sediment depository is encircled by hillslopes. Despite the fact that closed depressions are often the only stagnant water points in many European landscapes, few ecological researches on their plant assemblages have been done. The main goal of this study was to give first results of the environmental factors responsible for the vegetation composition, richness and rarity in the closed depressions of the Lorraine biogeographical district (Belgium, France and grand-duche de Luxembourg). We surveyed for plant presence 85 forest and 77 grassland closed depressions. For each site, wetland area, local environmental factors and regional connectivities registered. For each species, the Ellenberg values were compiled. To investigate the main source of variation in species composition and in species richness (including richness in rare species), Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling analyses and Generalized Linear Models were respectively used. Species pools in forest (forest and preforest species) and in grassland (bog plants, pioneers, helophytes) were quite different. In both landscapes, a gradient from plants typical of basic high-productive soils to plants typical of acid low-productive soils reflects a shared successional gradient. The accumulation of organic matter allowed the establishment of Sphagnum spp., which slowly acidified the soil and thus acted as ecosystem engineers for the arrival of bog plants. Moreover, the species composition was additionally driven by the plant light tolerance in forests and by the plant water requirements in grasslands. Mechanisms of species accumulation (increase in species richness) were different in forests and in grasslands: respectively related to the plant light tolerance and to the wetland area. At the regional level, the averaged soil productivity was negatively related to the richness in rare species. Indeed, perennial highly-competitive plants such as Glyceria spp., Iris pseudacorus or Urtica dioica impeded the establishment of smaller and rarer species. At the habitat level, isolated closed depressions (due to either low connectivity or low grazing pressure) have more habitat rare species, giving evidences of dispersal limitation in plant assemblages of closed depressions.
7th INTECOL International Wetland Conference
Utrecht, Netherlands

hal-01032381
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032381

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Ecological Society of America
Résumé : Herbivory is viewed as a major driver of plant evolution and the mostimportant energy pathway from plants to higher trophic levels. Therefore, understandingpatterns of herbivory on plants remains a key focus in evolution and ecology. Theevolutionary impacts of leaf herbivory include altering plant fitness, local adaptation, theevolution of defenses, and the diversification of plants as well as natural enemies. Leafherbivory also impacts ecological processes such as plant productivity, communitycomposition, and ecosystem nutrient cycling. Understanding the impact of herbivory onthese ecological and evolutionary processes requires species-specific, as opposed tocommunity-level, measures of herbivory. In addition, species-specific data enables the use ofmodern comparative methods to account for phylogenetic non-independence. Althoughhundreds of studies have measured natural rates of leaf consumption, we are unaware of anyaccessible compilation of these data. We created such a data set to provide the raw dataneeded to test general hypotheses relating to plant–herbivore interactions and to test theinfluence of biotic and abiotic factors on herbivory rates across large spatial scales. A largerepository will make this endeavor more efficient and robust. In total, we compiled 2641population-level measures for either annual or daily rates of leaf herbivory across 1145 speciesof vascular plants collected from 189 studies. All damage measures represent naturaloccurrences of herbivory that span numerous angiosperm, gymnosperm, and fern species. Toenable researchers to explore the causes of variation in herbivory and how these mightinteract, we added information about the study sites including: geolocation, climateclassification, habitat descriptions (e.g., seashore, grassland, forest, agricultural fields), andplant trait information concerning growth form and duration (e.g., annual vs. perennial). Wealso included extensive details of the methodology used to measure leaf damage, includingseasons and months of sampling, age of leaves, and the method used to estimate percentagearea missing. We anticipate that these data will make it possible to test important hypothesesin the plant–herbivore literature, including the plant apparency hypothesis, the latitudinalherbivorydefense hypothesis, the resource availability hypothesis, and the macroevolutionaryescalation of defense hypothesis.
ISSN: 0012-9658

hal-01601627
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01601627
DOI : 10.1890/13-1741.1
PRODINRA : 397136
PUBMED : 24870043

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag
Résumé : International audience
Despite the impact of soil millipedes on litter fragmentation in tropical forests, there have been few studies dealing with factors determining their habitat preference in these ecosystems. In a natural secondary dry forest of Guadeloupe on Leptosol, two complementary studies were carried out in order to test the hypothesis that litter N-content strongly influences millipede distribution. Millipede abundance and species richness were described in the field under two tree species, Bursera simaruba and Pisonia subcordata, and were related to the chemical characteristics of their foliage. In addition, a laboratory experiment was done in order to assess millipede feeding preferences regarding the chemical characteristics of leaves from various species. Millipede abundance and species richness were significantly higher under P. subcordata than under B. simaruba, probably due to the higher N content of P. subcordata leaves. Moreover, millipedes fed preferentially on N-rich leaves. The present study confirms that there was a close correlation between the preferred food, its chemical composition and the local distribution of millipede populations.
ISSN: 0178-2762

hal-00495211
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00495211
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00495211/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00495211/file/BFSO-D-08-00133-1.pdf
DOI : 10.1007/s00374-008-0321-3

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
The Black Curassow (Crax alector) is a large game bird with Vulnerable conservation status found in north-centralSouth America. We examined its distributional pattern across French Guiana using a large number of environmentaldescriptors at 3 scales of analysis: landscape, forest type, and microhabitat. We used a hierarchical model withtemporary emigration and imperfect detection for data collected by standard distance sampling methods at 35study sites. At the landscape scale, Black Curassow density decreased with hunting pressure and increased withsteeper slopes in both hunted and unhunted areas. Topography appeared to be a good proxy for Black Curassowecological requirements and probably reflected habitat quality. At the forest scale, population density wasnegatively correlated with the abundance of palms and Mimosoideae and positively correlated with the abundanceof Lauraceae. Botanical families did not directly influence Black Curassow distribution, but rather determined spatialpatterns by being markers of a particular forest type. At the microhabitat scale, Black Curassows used hilltops morefrequently than other parts of the local topographical gradient. Our multiscale analysis shows that this species’distribution can be explained by biotic or abiotic conditions, regardless of the scale. For conservation, werecommend maintaining connectivity between Black Curassow populations separated by hunted areas. Ourpredicted densities could be used to adapt hunting quotas across French Guiana’s forests. We show that combiningfield and remote sensing data helps to understand the ecological processes responsible for Black Curassow habitatrelationships.
The Condor Ornithological Applications

hal-01455653
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01455653
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01455653/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01455653/file/condor-15-28.1.pdf
DOI : 10.1650/CONDOR-15-28.1

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : Tropical forests are a biodiversity hotspot, with the coexistence of numerous species until a fine spatial scale. Particularly, 16.000 tree species coexist in Amazonia, 1.800 in Frenche Guiana and between 120 and more than 200 tree species per hectare. However, there are some uncertainties in maintaining diversity in regard to global changes. Hence before predicting the diversity evolution face of global changes, fundamental studies are needed to understand which assembly processes are involved in the maintenance of diversity. These fundamental studies still relevant given the lack of consensus on the relative importance of assembly processes. This thesis is a continuation of these fundamental studies, using innovative integrative approach, at multi-scale, to address three types of diversity: taxonomic diversity, functional and phylogenetic. Our results challenge the importance of environmental filtering for hydrological and chemical properties of soils, versus the importance of biotic interactions on community assembly. Furthermore, our results suggest that species distributions could be affected by forest dynamics related to falling trees and therefore by light availability. Finally, we have highlighted the importance of dispersal limitation on community assembly.
Les forêts tropicales représentent un ‘hotspot’ de diversité avec un nombre considérable d’espèces qui coexistent jusqu’à une échelle locale fine. Plus particulièrement, 16 000 espèces d’arbres coexistent en Amazonie, 1 800 en Guyane française et entre 120 et plus de 200 espèces d’arbres par hectare. Cependant, le maintien de cette diversité face aux changements globaux actuels et à venir (qu’ils soient anthropiques ou climatiques…) est incertain. Avant de pouvoir prédire l’évolution de la diversité face aux changements globaux, un travail fondamental est nécessaire afin de comprendre les processus d’assemblage des communautés, processus qui maintiennent cette diversité. Ce travail est réalisé depuis de nombreuses années en écologie et reste d’actualité vu l’absence de consensus quant à l’importance relative des processus d’assemblage. Cette thèse s’inscrit dans la continuité de ce travail fondamental en utilisant une approche intégrative innovante, qui aborde de manière multi-échelle trois types de diversité : diversité taxonomique, fonctionnelle et phylogénétique. Nos résultats questionnent sur l'importance du filtrage environnemental quant aux propriétés hydrologiques et chimiques des sols, et sur celle des interactions biotiques dans l’assemblage de la communauté étudiée. Par ailleurs, nos résultats suggèrent que les distributions d’espèces puissent être influencées par la dynamique forestière en lien avec les chutes d’arbres et donc avec la disponibilité en lumière. Enfin, nous avons mis en évidence l’importance de la limitation de dispersion.
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01418447

NNT : 2016YANE0003
tel-01418447
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01418447
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01418447/document
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01418447/file/these.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Résumé : Patterns of leaf production and leaf fall directly influence leaf area index and forest productivity. Here, we focused on Cecropia sciadophylla individuals inhabiting the extremes of the gradient in seasonality in rainfall at which C. sciadophylla occurs. In Colombia and French Guiana we compared the intra-annual variation in leaf production as well as the intra-annual fluctuation in internode length on a total of 69 saplings ranging in size from 1 to 2 m. The mean rate of leaf production was similar to 2 leaves mo(-1) in both populations, and the rate of leaf production was constant throughout the year. Our results showed monthly variation in internode length and the number of live leaves per sapling in the seasonal habitat and variation only in internode length in the everwet habitat. Because the rate of leaf production is constant at both localities, the difference in number of live leaves per sapling at the seasonal site must reflect seasonal variation in leaf life span. We show that in Cecropia, internode length can serve as an indicator of precipitation seasonality. Finally an open question is whether leaf production in other pioneer species is also independent of climatic seasonal cues. This information could allow us to link growth and climate of secondary forest species and better understand how past and future climate can affect plant growth trajectories.
ISSN: 0266-4674

hal-01032402
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032402
DOI : 10.1017/S0266467413000394

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag/EDP Sciences
Résumé : International audience
We present a plant trait database covering autecology for rain forest trees of French Guiana. The database comprises more than thirty traits including autecology (e.g., habitat associations and reproductive phenology), wood structure (e.g., density and tension characteristics) and physiology at the whole plant (e.g., carbon and nitrogen isotopes) and leaf level (e.g., specific leaf area, photosynthetic capacity). The current database describes traits for about nine hundred species from three hundred genera in one hundred families. For more than sixty species, data on twelve morphological and ecophysiological traits are provided for individual plants under different environmental conditions and at different ontogenetic stages. The database is thus unique in permitting intraspecific analyses, such as the effects of ontogenetic stages or environmental conditions on trait values and their relationships.
ISSN: 1286-4560

Droits : info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess
hal-00884130
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00884130
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00884130/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00884130/file/hal-00884130.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Public Library of Science
Résumé : International audience
Domestication can influence many functional traits in plants, from overall life-history and growth form to wood density and cell wall ultrastructure. Such changes can increase fitness of the domesticate in agricultural environments but may negatively affect survival in the wild. We studied effects of domestication on stem biomechanics in manioc by comparing domesticated and ancestral wild taxa from two different regions of greater Amazonia. We compared mechanical properties, tissue organisation and wood characteristics including microfibril angles in both wild and domesticated plants, each growing in two different habitats (forest or savannah) and varying in growth form (shrub or liana). Wild taxa grew as shrubs in open savannah but as lianas in overgrown and forested habitats. Growth form plasticity was retained in domesticated manioc. However, stems of the domesticate showed brittle failure. Wild plants differed in mechanical architecture between shrub and liana phenotypes, a difference that diminished between shrubs and lianas of the domesticate. Stems of wild plants were generally stiffer, failed at higher bending stresses and were less prone to brittle fracture compared with shrub and liana phenotypes of the domesticate. Biomechanical differences between stems of wild and domesticated plants were mainly due to changes in wood density and cellulose microfibril angle rather than changes in secondary growth or tissue geometry. Domestication did not significantly modify "large-scale" trait development or growth form plasticity, since both wild and domesticated manioc can develop as shrubs or lianas. However, "finer-scale" developmental traits crucial to mechanical stability and thus ecological success of the plant were significantly modified. This profoundly influenced the likelihood of brittle failure, particularly in long climbing stems, thereby also influencing the survival of the domesticate in natural situations vulnerable to mechanical perturbation. We discuss the different selective pressures that could explain evolutionary modifications of stem biomechanical properties under domestication in manioc.
PLoS ONE

halsde-00917926
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/halsde-00917926
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/halsde-00917926/document
DOI : 10.1371/journal.pone.0074727

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
Background: Comparative analysis, which aims at investigating ecological and evolutionary patterns among species, may help at targeting reservoirs of zoonotic diseases particularly in countries presenting high biodiversity. Here, we developed a simple method to target rodent reservoirs using published studies screening microparasite infections. Methods: We compiled surveys of microparasites investigated in rodents trapped in Thailand. The data comprise a total of 17,358 rodents from 18 species that have been investigated for a total of 10 microparasites (viruses, bacteria and protozoans). We used residual variation of microparasite richness controlled for both rodent sample size and pathogens' screening effort to identify major rodent reservoirs and potential risky habitats. Results: Microparasite species richness was positively related to rodent sample size and pathogens' screening effort. The investigation of the residual variations of microparasite species richness showed that several rodent species harboured more pathogens than expected by the regression model. Similarly, higher pathogen richness than expected was observed in rodents living in non-flooded lands, forests and paddy fields. Conclusion: Our results suggest to target some rodent species that are not commonly investigated for pathogen screening or surveillance such as R. andamanensis or B. savilei, and that non-flooded lands and forests should be more taken into caution, whereas much surveys focused on paddy rice fields and households.
Infection Ecology and Epidemiology

ird-00714369
http://hal.ird.fr/ird-00714369
http://hal.ird.fr/ird-00714369v2/document
DOI : 10.3402/iee.v2iO.18637
IRD : fdi:010055557