Vincent M.P. Bouchet, PhD

Applications are to be sent ASAP, starting date: January/February 0224 would be optimal (to be discussed).

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Biological traits approach to characterize the ecological quality of coastal areas in the Eastern Channel: application to macroinvertebrates and benthic foraminifera

 

 

Scientific context:

 

Coastal ecosystems play a key role in climate regulation and are regularly cited as biodiversity hotspots. However, located at the border between the continental and marine environment, they are exposed to the harmful effects of pollution due to human activities. In particular, benthic ecosystems constitute a receptacle that particularly accumulates pollutants, increasing their vulnerability to this pollution. Benthic macro-invertebrates, such as molluscs, crustaceans and marine worms, as well as benthic foraminifera, a group of unicellular eukaryotes, provide numerous ecosystem services, in particular via their trophic role in the recycling of organic matter and by mediating fluxes at the water-sediment interface.

These organisms exhibit great variability in their physiological and behavioral characteristics, known as life traits, on the one hand. Also called ecological traits, they refer to characteristics of organisms that influence their survival, reproduction, and adaptation to their environment. Functional traits, on the other hand, consist of the life traits of an organism that influence its function within the ecosystem, but also their ability to adapt to environmental changes and their contribution to the resilience of the benthic ecosystem. Thus, understanding how pollution alters the functional diversity of these organisms is essential to assess the overall impact of pollution on marine ecosystems.

Pressures from human activities, such as chemical spills, plastic waste and climate change, have varied effects on benthic macroinvertebrates and foraminifera. Some species may adapt or tolerate pollution, while others may be severely affected, leading to changes in community composition and function. In particular, these changes in species composition will directly affect the diversity of functional traits represented, and thus the functioning of the ecosystem.

This work will benefit from existing data from the Foram-INDIC research project funded by the Artois-Picardie and Seine Normandie water agencies. This will involve comparing the functional diversity of communities of benthic macro-invertebrates and foraminifera in study sites with contrasting environmental conditions, from preserved sites to more anthropized environments. For this, the biological traits approach will be used. This approach is increasingly applied to macroinvertebrates, but its application to foraminifera will be new.

 

Objectives of the internship:

1/ Complete the database by processing foraminiferal samples (taxonomy)

2/ Select and characterize the biological traits of macro-invertebrates and foraminiferal communities based on literature

3/ Characterizing functional diversity using a “fuzzy-coding” type approach at the scale of study sites in the English Channel

4/ Calculate various indices based on functional traits to characterize the ecological quality of study environments

 

The chosen student will work on all the sampling stations (data already acquired for the fall season and currently being acquired for the spring season, the candidate will help processing the last foraminiferal samples). The internship involves careful and rigorous work of identification and counting using a stereomicroscope in order to complete the “foraminifera” dataset for the spring season. The student will have at their disposal the complete dataset of environmental parameters (particle size, concentrations of Corg and Norg, Chla, trace metal elements).

 

Internship supervisors:

Dr Vincent Bouchet (MCU-University of Lille): vincent.bouchet@univ-lille.fr

Dr Jean-Charles Pavard (CDD University of Lille): jcharles.pavard@gmail.com

Dr Tamar Guy-Haïm (Israël Oceanographic and Limnological Research)

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Collaborations:

Dr Eric Goberville (MCU-Sorbonne University)

 

The candidate will be based at the Laboratory of Oceanology and Geosciences at the Marine Station of Wimereux (approximately 150kms from the main campus of the University of Lille). Note that in France, Master internship can not last more than 6 months.

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To submit an expression of interest for the position, potential candidates need to send a CV and a motivation latter, including research interests and how they align with the proposed research area, to Vincent Bouchet: vincent.bouchet@univ-lille.fr. Potential candidates may also email at the same e-mail address to discuss their ideas for the project prior to submitting their documents.