Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier Masson
Résumé :  
Modeling soil water availability for tropical trees is a prerequisite to predicting the future impact of climate change on tropical forests. In this paper we develop a discrete-time deterministic water balance model adapted to tropical rainforest climates, and we validate it on a large dataset that includes micrometeorological and soil parameters along a topographic gradient in a lowland forest of French Guiana. The model computes daily water fluxes (rainfall interception, drainage, tree transpiration and soil plus understorey evapotranspiration) and soil water content using three input variables: daily precipitation, potential evapotranspiration and solar radiation. A novel statistical approach is employed that uses Time Domain Reflectometer (TDR) soil moisture data to estimate water content at permanent wilting point and at field capacity, and root distribution. Inaccuracy of the TDR probes and other sources of uncertainty are taken into account by model calibration through a Bayesian framework. Model daily output includes relative extractable water, REW, i.e. the daily available water standardized by potential available water. The model succeeds in capturing temporal variations in REW regardless of topographic context. The low Root Mean Square Error of Predictions suggests that the model captures the most important drivers of soil water dynamics, i.e. water refilling and root water extraction. Our model thus provides a useful tool to explore the response of tropical forests to climate scenarios of changing rainfall regime and intensity.
ISSN: 0168-1923

hal-01032181
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032181
DOI : 10.1016/j.agrformet.2011.04.012

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : International audience
Digestive tubules of Strombidae are composed by three cell types: digestive cells, vacuolated cells, and crypt cells. The last one is characterized by the presence of intracellular granules identified as spherocrystals. Such structures are known to occur in basophilic cells of gastropod digestive gland, where they are supposed to be involved in the regulation of some minerals and in detoxification. In this study, energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) and energy filtered transmission electron microscopy (EFTEM) were used to determine the elemental content of spherocrystals in two Strombidae, Strombus gigas and Strombus pugilis. In freshly collected individuals of both species, the following elements were detected: Ca, Fe, Mg, P, and Zn. Aluminum and Mn were also detected in S. gigas. Their presence in spherocrystals indicates that, in Strombidae, spherocrystals are involved in the regulation of minerals and essential trace metals. In order to answer the question ''are spherocrystals involved in nonessential trace metals scavenging?,'' artificial cadmium and lead exposure by both waterborne and dietary pathways was applied to S. pugilis. No evidence of cadmium (Cd(NO3)2) or lead (Pb(NO3)2) provided by food was found in spherocrystals. Cadmium provided in water (Cd(NO3)2 and CdCl2) causes structural modifications of the digestive gland; however, this element was not trapped in spherocrystals. These results suggest that spherocrystals are not involved in detoxification of such nonessential trace metals.
ISSN: 1059-910X

hal-00743762
https://hal.univ-antilles.fr/hal-00743762
DOI : 10.1002/jemt.21073

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : International audience
Coral bleaching events threaten coral reef habitats globally and cause severe declines of local biodiversity and productivity.Related to high sea surface temperatures (SST), bleaching events are expected to increase as a consequenceof future global warming. However, response to climate change is still uncertain as future low-latitude climatic conditionshave no present-day analogue. Sea surface temperatures during the Eocene epoch were warmer than forecastedchanges for the coming century, and distributions of corals during the Eocene may help to inform models forecastingthe future of coral reefs. We coupled contemporary and Eocene coral occurrences with information on their respectiveclimatic conditions to model the thermal niche of coral reefs and its potential response to projected climate change.We found that under the RCP8.5 climate change scenario, the global suitability for coral reefs may increase up to 16%by 2100, mostly due to improved suitability of higher latitudes. In contrast, in its current range, coral reef suitabilitymay decrease up to 46% by 2100. Reduction in thermal suitability will be most severe in biodiversity hotspots, especiallyin the Indo-Australian Archipelago. Our results suggest that many contemporary hotspots for coral reefs,including those that have been refugia in the past, spatially mismatch with future suitable areas for coral reefs posingchallenges to conservation actions under climate change.
ISSN: 1354-1013

hal-01145464
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01145464
DOI : 10.1111/gcb.12868

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley Open Access
Résumé : 11 pages
International audience
The loss of regulating agents such as parasites is among the most important changes in biotic interactions experienced by populations established in newly colonized areas. Under a relaxed parasite pressure, individuals investing less in costly immune mechanisms might experience a selective advantage and become successful colonizers as they re-allocate resources to other fitness-related traits. Accordingly, a refinement of the evolution of increased competitive ability (EICA) hypothesis proposed that immunity of invasive populations has evolved toward a reduced investment in innate immunity, the most costly component of immunity, and an increased humoral immunity that is less costly. Biogeographical approaches comparing populations between native and expansion ranges are particularly relevant in exploring this issue, but remain very scarce. We conducted a biogeographical comparison between populations of Spectacled Thrush (Turdus nudigenis) from the native area (South America) and from the expansion range (Caribbean islands). First, we compared haemosporidian prevalence and circulating haptoglobin (an acute-phase protein produced during inflammation). Second, we challenged captive birds from both ranges with Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and measured postchallenge haptoglobin production and body mass change. Birds from the expansion range showed lower haemosporidian prevalence and lower levels of haptoglobin than birds from the native range. In addition, the inflammation elicited by LPS injection and its associated cost in terms of body mass loss were lower in birds from the expansion range than in birds from the native range. In accordance with the enemy release hypothesis, our results suggest that range expansion is associated with a reduced infection risk. Our study also supports the hypothesis that individuals from newly established populations have evolved mechanisms to dampen the inflammatory response and are in accordance with one prediction of the refined EICA hypothesis, proposed to understand biological invasions.
ISSN: 2045-7758

hal-01403291
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01403291
DOI : 10.1002/ece3.2486

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : International audience
Climatic niche conservatism, the tendency of species-climate associations to remain unchanged across space and time, is pivotal for forecasting the spread of invasive species and biodiversity changes. Indeed, it represents one of the key assumptions underlying species distribution models (SDMs), the main tool currently available for predicting range shifts of species. However, to date, no comprehensive assessment of niche conservatism is available for the marine realm. We use the invasion by Indo-Pacific tropical fishes into the Mediterranean Sea, the world's most invaded marine basin, to examine the conservatism of the climatic niche. We show that tropical invaders may spread far beyond their native niches and that SDMs do not predict their new distributions better than null models. Our results suggest that SDMs may underestimate the potential spread of invasive species and call for prudence in employing these models in order to forecast species invasion and their response to environmental change.
ISSN: 1461-023X

hal-01136126
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01136126
DOI : 10.1111/ele.12401