Aix-Marseille University in collaboration with The National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), France

I. Aix-Marseille University - Observatory of the science of Universe (OSU Pytheas) - IMBE (DFME team)

The Mediterranean Institute of Biodiversity and Marine and Continental Ecology (IMBE) analyses marine and continental biological systems, with a particular focus on biodiversity and the functioning of ecosystems. The goal of his research is to improve the conservation and management of natural resources in the face of global change.

 

The “Diversity and Functioning: from Molecules to Ecosystems” (DFME) team focuses research on the effects of environmental changes on Mediterranean biodiversity at different levels of biological integration: molecules (eg nutrients, primary and secondary metabolites), organisms (plants, invertebrates, microorganisms), populations and ecosystems. The objective is to understand and anticipate the biological responses to stress related to global changes, whether they are climatic and/or linked to the anthropization of natural environments (e.g. land use change, coastal artificialization, pollution).

 

Several team members also use their naturalist and ecosystemic expertise to assist managers of marine and continental ecosystems.

 

The primary lines of research in our team focus on the responses to stress and disturbance of organisms, populations and ecosystems. This work is drawing on information from reproduction, growth, phenology, primary and secondary metabolism, individual and ecosystem performance (ecophysiological or macro-ecophysiological approaches).

Our model ecosystems either present a high biodiversity and/or a high diversity of landscapes, where biotic interactions are high: pine- and oak-dominated forests, garrigues, coralligenous beds, marine semi-dark caves. We can count on integrated observation systems such as O3HP, CLIMED platform, Prado artificial reefs, underwater caves.

Our three main research objectives are:

  • Describing the many components of biodiversity (specific, metabolic, genetic diversity), is a prerequisite for the Team’s research;
  • Understanding adaptation to environmental changes, particularly through chemical ecology (metabolomics, chemical interactions, allelopathy);
  • Exploring the role of biodiversity in ecosystem functioning through the example of some key processes such as the use and/or recycling of organic matter, or the role of marine suspension feeders on the benthic-pelagic coupling.

 

» Catherine Fernandez is a professor at the Mediterranean Institute of Biodiversity and Marine and Continental Ecology (IMBE), Aix-Marseille University in France. She conducts research in the field of functional and chemical ecology. The objective is to study interactions between organisms and their environment, mediated by a great diversity of molecules through an interdisciplinary approach. Her research aims to understand the role of plant specialized metabolites (PSM) as a driver in ecosystem functioning and the maintenance of biodiversity.

 

Keywords: Functional ecology, Chemical ecology, Mediterranean ecosystems, Allelopathy, Decomposition process, Volatile Organic compounds. 

CV: https://www.imbe.fr/catherine-fernandez.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

          E-mail: catherine.fernandez@imbe.fr 

  

 

» Virginie Baldy is a functional ecologist and professor at the Mediterranean Institute of Biodiversity and Marine and Continental Ecology (IMBE), Aix-Marseille University in France. Her research currently focuses on the relationship between biodiversity and functioning in Mediterranean terrestrial ecosystems subjected to climate change. She works in particular on the decomposition of plant litter and the factors that influence it, especially plant biodiversity and that of soil organisms, actors in the process. She deals with these topics from the perspective of chemical ecology.

 

Keywords: Functional ecology, Mediterranean ecosystems, Decomposition process, Soil Biodiversity.  

CV: https://www.imbe.fr/virginie-baldy.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

         

 

E-mail: virginie.baldy@imbe.fr   

          **33-(0)4-13-55-12-18

          **33-(0)4-13-55-11-51

 

II. The National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in France

The National Center for Scientific Research is a public organization under the responsibility of the French Ministry of Education and Research. As the largest fundamental research organization in Europe, the CNRS carries out research in all fields of knowledge, through its institutes, including the humanities and social sciences, biological sciences, nuclear and particle physics, information sciences, engineering and systems, physics, chemistry, Earth sciences and astronomy, ecology and the environment (more information see here ).

The mission of the National Center for Scientific Research is to evaluate and carry out all research capable of advancing knowledge and bringing social, cultural, and economic benefits for society and to contribute to the promotion and application of research results.

 

In addition, the CNRS aims to develop scientific information, to support research training and to participate in the analysis of the national and international scientific climate and its potential for evolution in order to develop a national policy.

 

The CNRS encourages collaboration between specialists from different disciplines, in particular with universities, thus opening up new fields of inquiry to meet social and economic needs.

Dr. Ilja M. Reiter

E-mail: ilja.reiter@web.de

 

 

 

For further questions please contact Virginie Baldy (Prof. Dr.).