I am a Re­search scientist wor­king at the Fo­rest Zoo­lo­gy Research Unit (URZF), IN­RAE Or­léans, France.

My re­search in­ter­ests lie in the re­la­tion­ship bet­ween the du­rable suc­cess of in­va­sive or range expanding species and the way they fit to the no­vel se­lec­tion regimes en­coun­te­red as they ex­pand and/or dis­turb co­lo­ni­zed ha­bi­tats, as well as the fa­ci­li­ta­ting ef­fects of cli­mate change. Such ad­just­ments re­sult from plas­tic and evo­lu­tio­na­ry changes, which I in­ves­ti­gate using both field and ex­pe­ri­men­tal ap­proaches (main­ly tools in eco­phy­sio­lo­gy, me­ta­bo­lo­mics and mor­pho­me­trics). I aim to ad­dress ques­tions such as:

  • how does the process of range ex­pan­sion drive to evo­lu­tio­na­ry changes and syn­dromes?
  • what is the role of plas­ti­ci­ty (phy­sio­lo­gi­cal, tro­phic, etc.) in the co­lo­ni­za­tion of new en­vi­ron­ments?
  • do in­va­ders and native range expanders have scope to per­sist over the long term des­pite the eco­lo­gi­cal per­tur­ba­tions in­du­ced by their own re­si­dence?

I have always had a special enthusiasm for cold places with bad weather. This might be the result or the cause of my interest in how invasive and endemic insects deal with the challenging but rapidly changing conditions in the sub-Antarctic islands. Being now a forest entomologist, these islands deprived of any trees do not answer all my research questions. I started working on the northward range expansions of native insects such as the fascinating winter-active but also urticating pine processionary moth (Thaumetopoea pityocampa) across Europe, and the winter moth (Operophtera brumata) in northern Fennoscandia, where the weather did not disappoint. I am also interested in any invaders succeeding in their new habitats despite different ecological challenges, such as the Asian longhorned beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) and the box tree moth (Cydalima perspectalis).

Keywords
Bio­lo­gi­cal in­va­sions, bio­di­ver­si­ty, cli­mate change, data analysis, dis­per­sal, eco­phy­sio­lo­gy, evo­lu­tion, fo­rests, in­sects, is­lands, IoT, me­ta­bo­lo­mics, mor­pho­me­trics, phe­no­ty­pic plas­ti­ci­ty.