Theoretical and applied ecology

Coordinator : Estelle Pitard

For several years now, we have been developing our work in theoretical ecology, which has recently been expanded to include applied ecology were data can be gathered.

We have taken as a case study the spatiotemporal dynamics of seagrass growing in coastal lagoons, in particular in the Bagnas reserve near Agde (Menu et al 2021, and Adam Bernard thesis 2021-2024).

This work is based on the analysis of satellite images (Sentinel 2) and their classification to track the seagrass occupancy by means of machine learning algorithms. This can be done over several years thanks to the temporal frequency of the satellite data. In addition, monitoring environmental parameters (temperature, salinity, depth, dry periods, etc.) has enabled us to understand the correlations between these parameters, seagrass coverage, and its resilience to change.

Finally, the spatial distribution of the seagrass bed provides a better understanding of the dynamic processes of colonization and extinction at play at this site. These can be modeled using simple stochastic reaction-diffusion models, which were the subject of a six-month internship in an interdisciplinary master’s program.

The study of the stochastic processes at play is being continued within the framework of theoretical models, in particular in the study of stress response, in the case of the addition of spatial diffusion, in the case of typical geometries (e.g., in the context of the island-continent model), or in the presence of several interacting species (collaborations with the University of Sherbrooke, the LBBE in Lyon, and the Tata Institute Mumbai in India).