Diversity, Ecology and Evolution of Microbes
RESEARCH ACTIVITIES
On a global scale, aquatic ecosystems play major roles in the functioning of the biosphere through their involvement in the regulation of climate and carbon flows. Elucidating the processes at work in the functioning of these ecosystems and biogeochemical fluxes is essential to appreciate their temporal dynamics and their responses to disturbances, such as those caused by global change. It is commonly suggested that organisms at the top of the food web are the most sensitive to changes in their environment. However, because of the basal position of microorganisms in food webs, any change, however minor, in this community could affect and destabilise the functioning of ecosystems. Microbial communities are extremely complex in most environments, due to the phylogenetic and metabolic diversity of the organisms, the multiple interactions they can have with other organisms in their environment, their life cycles composed of various developmental stages, their capacity for most of them to go dormant and their great capacity to migrate and colonise new environments. I also study the links between the diversity and functions of microbial communities from the three domains of life (bacteria, archaea and microbial eukaryotes), and their roles (trophic relations, biogeochemical cycles) in the functioning of aquatic ecosystems, both marine and freshwater. My interdisciplinary research integrates the notion of functional diversity, via the metabolism of microorganisms and the impact of their nutrition on the stocks and flows of matter and elements. To do this, I use different technologies to obtain a detailed view of the composition of these communities (e.g. OMICs) and their metabolic activities involved in biogeochemical cycles (e.g. isotope tracers).
CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS
RECENT PHD AND POST-DOCTORAL SUPERVISIONS
PUBLICATIONS
Please, visit my Publons webpage for an up-to-date record of my publications.
MAIN AND CURRENT SCIENTIFIC ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES
TEACHING
CURRENT TEACHING ACTIVITIES
My teaching focuses on ecology and, in particular, on the ecology of both marine and freshwater aquatic environments. More precisely, I develop the different fields of microbial ecology, namely the study of microbial diversity, the factors (biotic and abiotic) determining the temporal dynamics and spatial distribution of microorganisms and the role of microbial communities in the functioning of ecosystems.
I am mainly involved in the Bachelor's Degree in Organism Biology and Ecology (BOE) and the Professional Degree in Urban Plant Landscapes (ECOPUR) and in the Master's Degree in Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution (BEE). My teaching is divided between practical and supervised work, field training and lectures.
KEY AND CURRENT TEACHING RESPONSIBILITIES
