En savoir plus

Département de recherche IEES - Ecologie évolutive

Equipe de recherche IEES - Ecophysiologie évolutive (EPE)

jgaspari@snv.jussieu.fr  

Tél Pro :+33 1 44 27 38 23

Research

Maternal effect

Maternal effects occur when a mother's phenotype or her environment influence her offspring's phenotype. They represent an important processes (beside genetics) by which the phenotype is shaped. Maternal effects can act at three different stages

• prezygotic stage
• postzygotic-prenatal stage
• postzygotic-postnatal stage

In particular, maternal effects encountered during the development of the embryo could have a great importance in shaping life-history evolution. In birds, as in oviparous species, the egg (prezygotic-prenatal stage) constitutes the unique environment where the embryo develops and therefore represents an important source by which mother can modulate the phenotype of her offspring. A major aim of my studies is to investigate the importance of the different egg components (shell, white and yolk) in shaping individual phenotype in birds.

Immuno-ecology

The immune system is a major component of parasite resistance in vertebrates. The study of immunology in an ecological context, referred to as 'immuno-ecology', has proved fruitful to understand host-parasite interaction. To investigate which factors determine the ecological causes and consequences of immune responses in the face of a pathogen, I am studying aspects of immunity in growing individuals. For this purpose, I am using different avian system to investigate the long-term consequences of mounting an immune response as a nestling.

Adaptive function of colour polymorphisms

The display of alternative heritable colour morphs within a population is frequently found in animals and plants. Even though colour polymorphism is often not neutral with respect to fitness components, their function and maintenance remains a largely unsolved problem. Using the tawny owl and Feral pigeon as a model organisms, we are examining why different morphs differ in many respects including physiology and behaviour. This is an important aspect to understand how genetic colour polymorphisms are maintained in natural population.

Urban Ecology

Urban areas constitute a new selective forces for population that have colonised this environment. Using the pigeon as a model system, we tried to identify how this environment has shaped the behaviour, the physiology and the ecology of urban populations.