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“My interest in life sciences is probably based on the
fact that during my youth I lived close to nature. I discovered
Ecology, as a science, during my masters thesis at the National
Natural Park of Cevennes in the center of France. As a follow
up, my PhD thesis was to understand the dynamics and behavior
of viviparous lizard populations in this natural area. We conducted
a demographic survey of these populations and a data analysis
in order to understand the factors behind the variation in population
densities and what can influence these processes. Ecology is
a very challenging science given the large range of questions
addressed and the varied approaches involved based not only on
ecological, molecular and genetic tools but also statistical
or numerical modeling.
My
research is focused on the study of plant gene dispersal
in agro-ecosystems with oilseed rape as a crop species model.
Oilseed rape is a particularly relevant as a plant model for
studying the escape of cultivated species from fields because
for the wild relatives of this species the risks could be particularly
high. In general, the evaluation of benefits and risks associated
with the cultivation of transgenic plants raises the problem
of the inter-relationships between cultivated and wild plants
and the impact of novel genes on the rest of biodiversity. Why
favour an artificial structure associated with one or a handful
of herbicides which may have negative consequences on biodiversity,
whereas agriculture using biological control of ecosystems for
regulation appears to be a more sustainable solution? It is then
necessary to advance research that combines both agriculture
and ecology.” |
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