Recent collaborators

Chris Clements

Chris Clements

University of Bristol – School of Biological Sciences

Bristol, United Kindgom

I recently joined Chris Clements team at the University of Bristol as a Research Associate. Chris works on community ecology, and is interested in the extinction of species and collapse of populations, topics which he investigates using a combination of mathematical models, microcosm experiments, and analysis of real world population data. With him, I currently explore resilience loss and the conservation of species in the face of multiple stressors, using freshwater protists as models.

Coming soon.

Andrew P Beckerman

University of Sheffield – Department of Animal and Plant Sciences

Sheffield, United Kindgom

My current research at the University of Bristol is performed in close collaboration with Andrew P Berckerman from the University of Sheffield. Andrew works on community ecology, with a particular emphasis on food webs and phenotypic plasticity. Using the food web and species interaction models developed by his team and my work on freshwater protists, we explore resilience loss and the conservation of species in the face of multiple stressors.

Coming soon.

Dylan Z Childs

University of Sheffield – Department of Animal and Plant Sciences

Sheffield, United Kindgom

My current research at the University of Bristol is performed in close collaboration with Dylan Z Childs from the University of Sheffield. Dylan works on population biology, and he develops data-driven models to understand population dynamics and natural selection in laboratory and free-living animal and plant populations. Together, we explore resilience loss and the conservation of species in the face of multiple stressors, using freshwater protists as model organisms.

Coming soon.

Long-term collaborators

Marc Metian

International Atomic Energy Agency – Environment Laboratories

Principality of Monaco, Monaco

I started to work with Marc Metian during my postdoc at the IAEA, in 2018. Marc works on radioecology, and his research focuses on ecotoxicology, aquaculture, and seafood safety and security. During our past and current collaborations, we examine(d) the effect of stressors such as acidification and microplastics on the behavior and physiology of marine organisms, and on their uptake and depuration of contaminants.

No Effect of Polystyrene Microplastics on Foraging Activity and Survival in a Post-larvae Coral-Reef Fish, Acanthurus triostegus

Research Article
Jacob H., Gilson A., Lanctôt C., Besson M., Metian M., Lecchini D.
Bulletin of environmental contamination and toxicology
Publication year: 2019

Effects of Virgin Micro- and Nanoplastics on Fish - Trends, Meta-Analysis, and Perspectives

1st authorReview/Synthesis
Jacob H., Besson M., Swarzenski P., Lecchini D., Metian M.
Environmental Science & Technology
Publication year: 2020

David Lecchini

CRIOBE – EPHE – PSL Research University

Moorea, French Polynesia

David Lecchini was my one of my PhD supervisor, with who I started to work in 2014. David works on coral-reef fish larval recruitment, and his research focuses on the effects of stressors on the biology and sensory-ecology of post-larval coral reef fishes. During our past and current collaborations, we examine(d) the effect of multiple stressors such as increased temperatures and pesticides on coral reef fish metamorphosis and larval recruitement.

Exposure to agricultural pesticide impairs visual lateralization in a larval coral reef fish

1st authorResearch Article
Besson M., Gache C., Bertucci F., Brooker R.M., Roux N., Jacob H., Berthe C., Sovrano V.A., Dixson D.L., Lecchini D.
Scientific Reports 7: 9165
Publication year: 2017

Anthropogenic stressors impact fish sensory development and survival via thyroid disruption

1st authorResearch Article
Besson M., Feeney W.E., Moniz I., François L., Brooker R.M., Holzer G., Metian M., Roux N., Laudet V., Lecchini D.
Nature Communications
Publication year: 2020

Vincent Laudet

Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology – Marine Eco-Evo-Devo Unit

Okinawa, Japan

Vincent Laudet was my one of my PhD supervisor from 2014 to 2017, but I first met him at the ENS Lyon in 2010, and was an intern in his lab in 2011. Vincent works on nuclear receptors and develops coral reef fishes as model organisms for Eco/Evo/Devo studies. During our past and current collaborations, we investigate(d) the role that thyroid hormones play in fish larval recruitment and whether stressors can disrupt key endocrine functions during that stage.

Fish larval recruitment to reefs is a thyroid hormone-mediated metamorphosis sensitive to the pesticide chlorpyrifos

1st authorResearch Article
Holzer G., Besson M., Lambert A., François L., Barth P., Gillet B., Hughes S., Piganeau G., Leulier F., Viriot L., Lecchini D., Laudet V.
eLife
Publication year: 2017

William E. Feeney

Max Planck Institute for Ornithology – & – Griffith University

Seewiesen, Germany – & – Brisbane, Australia

I first met and worked with William E Feeney in 2015 in French Polynesia, and we’ve been collaborating on diverse projects since then. William works on the ecology and evolution of species interactions, and his research aims to understand how interactions within and between species operate, regulate biodiversity and are affected by environmental change. Coral reef fishes and songbirds are his main model organisms. In our past and current collaborations, we examine(d) the endocrine disruption processes underlying the effects of stressors on coral reef fish sensory ecology, and investigate(d) the ecology and evolution of the anemone-anemonefish symbiosis.

Predation drives recurrent convergence of an interspecies mutualism

Research Article
Feeney W.E., Brooker R.M., Johnson L.N., Gilbert J.D., Besson M., Lecchini D., Dixson D.L., Cowman P.F., Manica A.
Ecology Letters
Publication year: 2019

Anthropogenic stressors impact fish sensory development and survival via thyroid disruption

1st authorResearch Article
Besson M., Feeney W.E., Moniz I., François L., Brooker R.M., Holzer G., Metian M., Roux N., Laudet V., Lecchini D.
Nature Communications
Publication year: 2020

Laetitia Hédouin

CRIOBE – EPHE – PSL Research University

Moorea, French Polynesia

I first met and worked with Laetitia Hédouin during my PhD, and we’ve been collaborating on diverse projects since then. Laetitia works on coral biology and ecology, and on tropical ecotoxicologie. Her research aims at understanding the effects of environmental and anthropogenic stressors and coral early-life stages. In our past and current collaborations, we investigate(d) metal pollution in coral reefs and the effects of stressors on coral and reef fish behaviour and physiology.

Boat noise prevents soundscape-based habitat selection by coral planulae

Research Article
Lecchini D., Bertucci F., Gache C., Khalife A., Besson M., Roux N., Berthe C., Singh S., Parmentier E., Nugues M.M., Brooker R.M., Dixson D.L. & Hédouin L.
Scientific Reports, 8: 9283
Publication year: 2018

Metal(loid)s in superficial sediments from coral reefs of French Polynesia

1st authorResearch Article
Besson M., Metian M., Bustamante P., Hédouin L.
Marine Pollution Bulletin
Publication year: 2020

Rohan M. Brooker

Deakin University – School of Life and Environmental Science

Geelong, Australia

I first met and worked with Rohan M Brooker in 2015 during my PhD, and we’ve been collaborating on diverse projects since then. Rohan works on behavioral and chemical ecology, and his research aims at understanding how animals sense and interact with their environment and how the behavior of animals is affected by human activities. Coral reef fishes are his main model organisms, and during our past and current collaborations, we examine(d) the effects of multiple stressors on coral reef fish sensory ecology.

Exposure to agricultural pesticide impairs visual lateralization in a larval coral reef fish

1st authorResearch Article
Besson M., Gache C., Bertucci F., Brooker R.M., Roux N., Jacob H., Berthe C., Sovrano V.A., Dixson D.L., Lecchini D.
Scientific Reports 7: 9165
Publication year: 2017

Predation drives recurrent convergence of an interspecies mutualism

Research Article
Feeney W.E., Brooker R.M., Johnson L.N., Gilbert J.D., Besson M., Lecchini D., Dixson D.L., Cowman P.F., Manica A.
Ecology Letters
Publication year: 2019

Past collaborators

Zoe A. Pratte

Department of Microbiology and Immunology – Montana State University

Bozeman, United States

I met and worked with Zoe A Pratte in 2015 during my PhD in French Polynesia. Zoe works on microbial metagenomics, and her research explores how microbiome communities differ in diversity and function among species and families in marine organisms. During our collaboration, we explored microbial taxonomic signatures unique to fish gills and intestine, confirming fish-associated niches as distinct reservoirs of marine microbial diversity.

The Gills of Reef Fish Support a Distinct Microbiome Influenced by Host-Specific Factors

Research Article
Pratte Z.A., Besson M., Hollman R.D., Stewart F.J.
Applied and Environmental Microbiology
Publication year: 2018

Pauline Salis

Sorbonne Universités – Laboratoire Océanologique de Banyuls-sur-mer

Banyuls-sur-mer, France

I worked with Pauline Salis in 2016 during my PhD. Pauline works on the developmental mechanisms underlying color patterns in fish, and her research aims at understanding the orginis of the myriad of color patterns in these organisms. Coral reef fishes are her main model organisms, and during our collaboration we examine(d) the ecological determinants of a rare color pattern in a juvenile coral reef fish.

Jack O’Connor

United Nations University – Environmental Vulnerability & Ecosystem Services Section

Bonn, Germany

I met and worked with Jack O’Connor in 2015 during my PhD in French Polynesia. Jack works on managing and mitigating anthropogenic impacts in coastal socio-ecological systems. During our collaboration, we investigated the effects of Artifical Light At Night (ALAN) on the behaviour and physiology of a coral reef fish.

Live fast, die young: Behavioural and physiological impacts of light pollution on a marine fish during larval recruitment

Research Article
O'Connor J.J., Fobert E.K., Besson M., Jacob H., Lecchini D.
Marine Pollution Bulletin
Publication year: 2019