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Thesis defunded Decembre 13th
Fund: ANR / Région Poitou-Charentes
Direction: Manuel Plantegenest, Vincent Bretagnolle & Bertrand Gauffre

Abstract:

The question of origin and complexity of biodiversity has fascinated researchers since Darwin and his “Entangled Bank”. But despite this interest and the large number of studies, progresses were limited due to the lack of efficient tool. Indeed, even the simple description of interactions networks remained until recently hardly approachable.  However, the fast growing field of environmental genomics, thanks to new molecular technologies, as barcoding and next generation sequencing, opens exciting opportunities for studying trophic webs on a large scale.

In my PhD, I address the question of main rules determining assemblages of carabid beetles in agricultural landscape. I am especially trying to assess in what extent trophic conditions may influence local communities (niche-assembly rules) or whether they mostly rely on colonization/extinction processes (dispersal-assembly rules).

To this purpose, I am developing high-throughput sequencing approach coupled with more traditional stable isotope approach, in order to identify preys consumed by the most common carabid species encountered in main crops of an agricultural landscape and to see how their diet varies through space and time.