Animal cultural evolution
Although retired I still have one ongoing project with Guillaume Isabel, Yehezkel Ben-Ari, Cédric Gaucherel, and Sabine Nöbel.
My ongoing research is based on an experimental approach, mainly in the laboratory and theoretical approaches. It is divided into 4 subjects.
1- Évolution culturelle animale
Key words: Social information, Mate choice, Animal culture
Biological model: Drosophila melanogaster
Funding: ANR MoleCulture
Collaboration: Guillaume Isabel (CRCA, Toulouse), Sabine Nöbel (University of Halle, Germany)
2- Non-genetic inheritance
Key words: The Modern Synthesis of evolution, The Inclusive evolutionary synthesis, Modelling, Experimental approach
Biological model: The fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster)
Funding: ANR MoleCulture
Collaboration: Cédric Gaucherel (Montpellier), Guillaume Isabel (CRCA)
3- The origin of autisme
Key words: ASD, Autism, Medical approach
Funding: None
Collaborators: Yehezkel Ben-Ari (Marseille)
4- Field work
In 2019, I also resumed participating in the long-term monitoring of the Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) breeding population in Cap Sizun (Brittany, (France) .
My goal is to help Emmanuelle Cam now in charge of that project that was initiated in 1979 by the late Jean-Yves Monnat, and to which I participated from 1982 to 2002, in collecting data in the field.
From 2003 to 2013 I had moved to the Alaskan Island of Middleton to perform specific experiments on the sexual biology of Kittiwakes.
I stopped being involved in the Alaskan project in 2014 and one of my former PhD student, Sarah Leclerc, decided to take the lead of that Alaskan project.
Meaning acronyms ANR: Agence Nationale de la Recherche ASD: Autism Spectrum Disorder CRCA: Centre de Recherche sur la cognition animale (Mon laboratoire à toulousaine)