Postoctoral Researcher in Urban Ecology

My aim as a researcher is to shed light on the impact of our societies on the evolution of life. To date, I have ten years of experience in the field of urban evolutionary ecology. Amongst others, I highlighted the impact of urban metal pollution on bird biology (reproduction, immunity, maternal transfers, telomeres, plumage microbiote, etc.) and on the evolution of melanin-based plumage colouration. Since three years, I try to understand how the availability of natural food and supplementary food (i.e. food voluntary provided by humans) for birds varies within urban landscapes and how such variation influences bird foraging behaviour, movements, as well as behavioural, morphological and physiological evolution.

Key words: urban ecology, evolutionary biology, movement ecology, ecophysiology, ecotoxicology.

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Latest paper

Chatelain, M., Nold, F., & Mathieu, J. 2024. Metal pollution drives earthworm biodiversity in urban lawns. Science of the Total Environment. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.169867

Abstract

Urban soils represent hotspots of metallic trace elements (MTEs) pollution. Despite the critical impact of soil organisms on soil ecosystem services, there is limited understanding regarding the effects of MTE levels in urban soils on these organisms. This is particularly surprising considering that earthworms, key organisms for soil ecosystems, are commonly used in MTE toxicity tests. This research investigates the impact of MTE pollution on earthworm communities in lawns within the city of Paris. In this study, we sampled a comprehensive array of earthworm communities, totalling 965 individuals from 13 distinct species belonging to Lumbricus, Aporrectodea, Allolobophora and Octolasion genera. These communities were collected from three different locations within 18 parks. At these sites, we assessed the concentrations of eight metals and metalloids in the soil (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Zn, Ni, Pb and Hg), along with selenium concentrations and eight fundamental soil parameters, to examine the association between earthworm communities and soil attributes. Median MTE concentrations exceeded recommended statutory limit values by approximately 20 % (0.6 mg/kg Cd), 30 % (36.8 mg/kg Cu), 40 % (122.0 mg/kg Zn), and up to 90 % (0.6 mg/kg Hg and 99.7 mg.kg Pb). Nevertheless, these concentrations exhibited considerable variability both between and within parks, correlating with variations in earthworm community structures. Specifically, our results highlight that Cu concentrations in the soil explain about 6 % of the variation in the assemblage of earthworm species. Our findings underscore the importance of considering MTE pollution levels to enhance our comprehension of earthworm distribution in urban environments and its effects on the ecosystem services provided by urban lawns.

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Upcoming symposium

Urban Evolutionary Ecotoxicology symposium at the 3rd Joint Congress on Evolutionary Biology (Montréal, 26-30 July 2024)

Abstract

Urban areas cover around 3% of the world’s land surface and are constantly expanding. One of their unique characteristics, compared with any other human-modified ecosystem, is that they concentrate multiple pollutants. This environment impacts organisms’ fitness with consequences at the population, community and ecosystem levels, and ultimately affects the evolution of urban wildlife. Studying evolutionary consequences of exposure to pollutants is a prerequisite for understanding urban evolution. In particular, pollutants can affect mutations rate, sexual selection, parental care, epigenetic, or adaptation. In this symposium, we would like to focus on pollutants relevant for urban areas in order to link urban evolutionary biology and evolutionary ecotoxicology. We welcome submissions tackling the evolutionary consequences of pollutants exposure, the effects of pollutants on mechanisms that may have evolutionary implications, or the interaction between pollutants and evolutionary forces.

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