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Jean-Marie Ballouard

Jean-Marie Ballouard

PhD

About

102
Publications
53,019
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1,347
Citations
Introduction
I m interested in biodiversity conservation with a strong emphasize on reptiles, snakes and tortoises notably. My questions target the field of environmental education and wildlife population management.
Additional affiliations
September 2007 - December 2010
French National Centre for Scientific Research
Position
  • PhD Student
January 2007 - November 2010
Université de Poitiers
Position
  • PhD Student

Publications

Publications (102)
Article
Non-front-fanged snakes (NFFS) have long been overlooked by snake venom research, likely due to most of them being considered non-medically relevant for humans. The paucity of information about composition and activities of NFFS venoms and oral secretions makes it difficult to assess whether a given species can inflict medically significant bites....
Article
Full-text available
Clinical assessment of body condition is crucial in captive and free-ranging reptiles, since a large percentage of diseases result from inadequate nutrition. However, preventive health care is restricted by the lack of a practical method for the assessment in tortoises. Pre-existing evaluation systems based on weight and shell measurements are labo...
Article
Biochemical and hematological analyses are important for the assessment of animal health. However, for most wild species their use is hindered by the scarcity of reliable reference intervals. Indeed, collecting body fluids (e.g., blood, urine) in free-ranging animals is often technically challenging. Further, sampling many individuals would be esse...
Poster
Full-text available
La tortue d’Hermann, Testudo hermanni (Gmelin 1789) est la seule espèce de tortue terrestre présente à l’état sauvage en France méditerranéenne. C’est une espèce très fragilisée, dont les populations sont en déclin et les distributions très restreintes. Les données récoltées sur les vingt dernières années des tortues d’Hermann amenées blessées au c...
Article
Full-text available
Following strong fires, evaluating the resilience of populations is essential to guide conservation responses. Mediterranean environments are particularly concerned. The 16 August 2021, a fire ravaged 7,000 hectares of natural habitats, notably in the Plaine des Maures National Nature Reserve (RNNPM) that hosts one of the main population of Hermann...
Experiment Findings
Full-text available
The Mediterranean basin hosts some of the richest ecosystems on the planet and is home to many endemic species, such as amphibians (70%), reptiles (48%), or mammals (25%). Fires have helped shape these environments in which many organisms have developed adaptive characteristics allowing them to be resilient. However, in the context of global change...
Article
Full-text available
With five currently recognized species that form several secondary contact zones, slow worms (Anguidae: Anguis) offer a valuable model to study the fate of evolutionary lineages in the face of hybridization and genetic introgression. The relationships between the Western Slow Worm Anguis fragilis and the Italian Slow Worm Anguis veronensis are part...
Presentation
Full-text available
L’urbanisation, la fragmentation des habitats et les incendies menacent les reptiles méditerranéens. Les tortues d’Hermann peu mobiles et longévives payent un lourd tribut. Le renforcement des populations décimées est une réponse simple pour tenter de les restaurer. Des expérimentations avec suivis télémétriques apportent des résultats encourageant...
Poster
Full-text available
Les incendies menacent la biodiversité méditerranéenne et particulièrement les tortues. Évaluer la capacité des individus à s'adapter à un environnement impacté par le feu est primordial pour orienter les actions de conservation. Le 16 août 2021, un méga-feux a parcouru plus de 8 000 ha dans la Plaine et le Massif des Maures. La Réserve Naturelle N...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Urbanization, habitat fragmentation and wildfires represent major threats to Mediterranean reptiles. Populations of the Hermann’s tortoise (Testudo hermanni), a long live species, pay a particularly heavy death toll. This is the case for the main continental populations in France: more than half of the National Natural Reserve of the Maures (RNNPM,...
Article
Full-text available
We report a case where two males of dark green snake (Hierophis viridiflavus) disturbed during a ritual combat split away, but shortly after, they were sighted fighting again. Disturbed for a second time, they were rapidly observed fighting for a third time. Mutual biting was not recorded in any round. No female was sighted in the vicinity. This su...
Article
Full-text available
A clutch of 15 eggs was recorded in a large female Montpellier snake (snout-vent length SVL 100cm, total length 130cm). In France, this represents the maximal value recorded for the species, but little information is available on the fecundity of this species. Pre-laying and post-laying maternal mass was respectively of 579g and 379g. On average, t...
Article
Full-text available
Snake envenomations constitute a worldwide neglected tropical disease, with the vast majority of lethal bites inflicted by front-fanged snakes from the viperid and elapid groups. Rear-fanged snakes (colubrids) were often considered harmless and as a result, are much less studied, but several documented deaths have suggested potent venom in this gro...
Article
Full-text available
The Western subspecies of Hermann's tortoise (Testudo hermanni hermanni: WT) is threatened by habitat loss, fragmentation, wildfires, illegal harvesting, and likely hybridization with Testudo hermanni boettgeri (ET), a subspecies introduced from Eastern Europe. To assess the prevalence of this hybridization, we used microsatellite markers and simul...
Article
Full-text available
The exact function and possible toxicity of most components of snake venoms have not been fully elucidated. Clinically, the identification of potentially toxic components does not automatically translate into a human health issue. Not all venomous snakes are equal in terms of health risk. For instance, several vipers have little medical significanc...
Technical Report
Full-text available
Nous bénéficions maintenant de plusieurs retours d'expériences de translocation de la Tortue d'Hermann en France. Avec toutes les précautions sanitaires et génétiques (cf. Lignes directrices de l'IUCN) qui s'imposent, les précédents résultats ont montré que la translocation est pertinente et qu'elle fournit des outils pour les décideurs politiques...
Article
Full-text available
Peer Community Journal. 2: e5. Two types of pathogens cause highly contagious upper respiratory tract diseases (URTD) in Chelonians: testudinid herpesviruses (TeHV) and a mycoplasma (Mycoplasma agassizii). In captivity, these infections are frequent and can provoke outbreaks. Pet trade generates an international flow of tortoises, often without san...
Chapter
Full-text available
Successful translocations of the Hermann’s Tortoise (Testudo hermanni hermanni) offer promising approach to restore populations after fire.
Article
Full-text available
Deso et al. 2021 | Observation d'une Coronelle girondine albinos dans le cadre SOS serpent Abstract-An albino Southern smooth snake rescued through snake SOS-A snake previously identified as an albino corn snake (Pantherophis guttatus), presumably escaped from captivity, was found in a garden in Villeneuve (French department of Alpes-de-Hautes-Prov...
Article
Full-text available
Mediterranean islands host unique ecosystems that are particularly vulnerable to invasive species. However, knowledge regarding the precise impact of invasive species on local biodiversity remains limited for many of these systems. Here we report on the negative impacts of invasive wild boars (Sus scrofa) on native snakes on islands in the Mediterr...
Poster
Full-text available
L’étude de la personnalité des individus peut avoir des implications dans la conservation des populations et des espèces. Chez les reptiles le tempérament des individus peut influencer leur comportement de dispersion et leur capacité d’adaptation face un nouvel environnement. Ces traits conditionnent le succès des opérations de translocations. Cett...
Article
Full-text available
Despite numerous surveys, interviews with local people, and a network of more than 200 artificial refuges, slow worm (Anguis sp.) was never observed in Porquerolles Island. One individual was captured alive by a domestic cat (Felis sylvestris catus) the 7th of May 2019. The slow worm was photographed, measured, and released. Cats are a calamity for...
Article
Full-text available
In 2017 the last remaining coastal population in the Var of the Hermann Tortoise was severely impacted by a fire in the caps Lardier et Taillat (600 ha, cities of Ramatuelle and la Croix-Valmer, Var, Port-Cros National Park and-Conservatoire du Littoral). With a mortality rate of 90 %, the population is considered to be in jeopardy. In spring 2019,...
Preprint
Full-text available
A bstract Two types of pathogens cause highly contagious upper respiratory tract diseases (URTD) in Chelonians: testudinid herpesviruses (TeHV) and a mycoplasma ( Mycoplasma agassizii ). In captivity, these infections are frequent and can provoke outbreaks. Pet trade generates international flow of tortoises, often without sanitary checking; indivi...
Article
Full-text available
Published by the British Herpetological Society. Oviparous snakes deposit their egg clutches in sites sheltered from predation and from strong thermal and hydric fluctuations. Appropriate laying sites with optimum thermal and hydric conditions are generally scarce and are not necessarily localised in the home range. Thus, many gravid females under...
Article
Full-text available
Up to now, blood reference values for trace elements (zinc, copper, iodine, iron, selenium and manganese) in the serum of Testudo spp. have not been established. Most studies concerning trace element levels in blood of reptile’s regard environmental pollution esp. concerning selenium. In the present study levels of iron, copper, iodine, zinc, selen...
Article
Full-text available
Concerns about animal welfare are becoming increasingly important. Recent research suggests that age and gender are associated with attitudes toward animal welfare in adolescents. In this study, we analyzed attitudes toward animal welfare in adolescents from five geographic regions: Colombia, France, Germany, and two regions in India (Raipur and Ka...
Chapter
Full-text available
The Hermann tortoise (Testudo hermanni, Gmelin, 1789) is exposed to multiple threats in Europe. Populations of both western (T. h. hermanni) and eastern subspecies (T. h. boettgerri) are fading throughout their geographic range. Listed on the Appendix II (A) of the CITES, it is classified as "near threatened" on the IUCN World Red List, but the wes...
Book
Full-text available
Our empirical investigations and complementary experiments suggest that translocations are an effective management strategy to stem the decline of threatened Hermann’s Tortoises. However, these results should not be used to justify further loss of natural habitats. Conversely, the large pools of Hermann’s Tortoises held in captivity provide abundan...
Article
Full-text available
Accurate evaluation of animal home range is crucial for field managers. It provides key information to determine the surface of areas that require protection and to limit population fragmentation. Home ranges (MCP) were obtained in 165 Hermann tortoises radio-tracked across the whole activity season in nine populations of continental France. Our st...
Article
The likeability of organisms is an effective tool for conservation education. However, stimulating the cute appeal of animals can also bolster the desire to possess them, and thus can encourage the trade in animals as pets. We assessed the perception of primary French schoolchildren (7–11 years old) for the Hermann tortoise (Testudo hermanni), a po...
Article
Full-text available
Mediterranean ecosystems are severely impacted by urbanization, habitat clearing, fires and landscape fragmentation; conservation actions are urgently needed. The protection status of a given area depends notably on the presence and detection rate of protected species. Further, habitat restoration, conservation translocations, or population reinfor...
Poster
Full-text available
En 2017, la dernière population de Tortue d’Hermann du littoral varois a été victime d’un feu particulière destructeur sur le site des 3 Caps (Parc National de Port-Cros). Une mortalité de près de 90 % interroge les gestionnaires quant à la capacité de résilience de l’espèce et la mis en place de mesure conservatoire (e.g. renforcements de populati...
Article
Full-text available
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), more than half of all chelonian species are seriously threatened. Habitat loss and illegal trade contribute substantially to this trend. Rare and vulnerable taxa often enjoy formal protection while taxa with large populations are usually neglected, despite worrying trends. The...
Article
Full-text available
Juvenile growth strongly impacts life-history traits during adulthood. Yet, in juveniles with delayed maturity, elusiveness has hindered age-specific studies of growth, precluding any detailed research on its consequences later in life. Different complex growth patterns have been extracted from captive animals, suggesting species-specific trajector...
Article
Full-text available
http://rdcu.be/wOoq A lack of long-term monitoring often impedes the evaluation of translocation used to reinforce populations. Crucial questions regarding the exact timing and place of possible settlement remain unanswered. To examine these issues we radio-tracked during three years 24 tortoises (Testudo hermanni hermanni) released to reinforce a...
Presentation
Full-text available
La translocation est un outil pertinent pour atténuer l’impact de la fragmentation des populations de tortues, par exemple due à l’urbanisation. Les expériences se sont intéressées aux adultes ; les juvéniles étant considérés comme de moins bons candidats en raison de leur vulnérabilité. Or, dans le cadre de mesures ERC, les évaluations peuvent con...
Presentation
Full-text available
En France continentale, le Var représente le dernier bastion de la sous-espèce occidentale de Tortue d’Hermann (Testudo hermanni hermanni). Cependant, elle est aujourd’hui menacée par la fragmentation de son habitat mais aussi possiblement par une introgression génétique avec Testudo hermanni boettgeri. Bien qu’originaire de l’Est de l’Europe (Balk...
Presentation
Full-text available
La plupart des travaux sur dimorphisme sexuel (DS) sont limités aux adultes, l’ontogénèse n’a pas été prise en compte. Les serpents présentent une croissance continue, une maturité relativement tardive, une morphologie simplifiée et un grand recouvrement de taille entre les sexes. Ce sont de bons modèles pour examiner les ontogénétiques du DS. Avec...
Article
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Physiological parameters provide indicators to evaluate how organisms respond to conservation actions. For example, individuals translocated during reinforcement programmes may not adapt to their novel host environment and may exhibit elevated chronic levels of stress hormones and/or decreasing body condition. Conversely, successful conservation ac...
Article
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Context. Mediterranean areas offer a mosaic of favourable microhabitats to reptiles (e.g. open zones, thorny bushes) and are considered as biodiversity hotspots for these organisms. However, in these dry and hot environments, reptiles remain sheltered most of the time. They generally escape observation, posing difficulties to perform inventories. T...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Translocations are important tools to mitigate anthropogenic impacts on threatened populations. However they generally suffer from a lack of feed-back; the success/failure of translocations cannot be evaluated and methodological improvements are impeded. In 2013, we experimentally translocated 24 Hermann tortoises (Testudo hermanni hermanni) into a...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
La faible détectabilité des reptiles les rend vulnérables vis-à-vis des pressions anthropiques, notamment dans les zones en cours d’urbanisation. Les travaux sont alors aveugles et détruisent les individus. L’utilisation de chiens est un atout important pour pallier ce problème. Nous avons comparé l’efficacité de chiens et celle d’hommes expériment...
Article
Full-text available
Snakes are useful in ecosystem surveys as they can act as environmental indicators and can be model organisms to address conservation and fundamental issues. However, researchers and managers rarely focus on these unpopular organisms. In 2012, we initiated a Capture-Mark-Recapture study of two Mediterranean snakes on Port-Cros and Porquerolles Isla...
Article
The high frequency of same-sex sexual behaviors (SSB) in free-ranging animals is an evolutionary puzzle because fitness benefits are often unclear in an evolutionary context. Moreover, the physiological and genetic underpinnings of SSB remain unclear. We exploited an extraordinary natural experiment to examine the impact of environmental factors (l...
Article
Full-text available
Pendant l'expérience « Peuple des broussailles » localisée dans la forêt de Chizé (79) plus de 400 écoliers ont participé au suivi par Capture-Marquage-Recapture de populations de serpents. Une enquête préliminaire a montré que l'expérience et notamment le contact améliore la volonté des enfants de vouloir protéger les serpents. Cette première expé...
Poster
Full-text available
Most translocations suffer from a lack of feed-back and evaluation. In the case of long-lived animal, long-term studies are required. However considering the urgent nature of many species’ situations fast-assessment techniques should be tested.
Research
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The use of dogs in wildlife detection has mainly been demonstrated in mammals in natural environment. Dogs seem an important advantage to improve the knowledge and conservation of elusive species. Through an experimental test conducted under natural conditions between 2011 and 2013, we compared the efficiency of dogs and humans in detection of Herm...
Article
Full-text available
Questionnaires are important tools for assessing attitudes regarding conservation issues. However, they are not easily comparable and their reliability has been insufficiently assessed. We examined factors influencing responses to open- and closed-ended questions about animal conservation to more than 600 schoolchildren (9 years old on average). We...
Technical Report
Full-text available
Translocations are important tools to mitigate anthropogenic impacts on threatened populations. However they generally suffer from a lack of feed-back; the success of translocations and methodological improvements cannot be evaluated. In 2013, we translocated 24 Hermann tortoises (Testudo hermanni hermanni) into a host population impacted by fire b...
Book
Full-text available
This guide seeks to provide practical tips to anyone involved in activities in rural areas, allowing them to preserve the habitat of the tortoise, so as to ensure its continued presence. This booklet, the fruit of several years co-operation between scientists and managers of natural habitats, and written to conclude the European “Life+ Hermann’s to...
Book
Full-text available
The Provencal and Corsican maquis shelter the last wild terrestrial tortoise of France: the Hermann's tortoise. The last strongholds of the species, emblematic of South-eastern France, are to be found in the center of the Var and in Corsica (the Southern half of the island and the Eastern plain). With its numbers declining right across its European...
Article
Full-text available
Is the antipredator behaviour of the Hermann’s tortoise, Testudo hermanni hermanni Gmelin, 1789, changed after a long period in semi-captivity? Maintaining wild individuals in captivity prior to their release in natural habitats may reduce antipredation behaviour. This could seriously compromise any rehabilitation project. We evaluated the defenc...
Article
Full-text available
Survival, reproductive and recruitment rates, along with health status, of translocated and resident individuals should be evaluated. However, gathering this information poses logistical constraints and requires long-term studies. Considering the urgent nature of many species’ situations where translocation would be appropriate, fast-assessment tec...
Book
Full-text available
The Hermann’s tortoise benefits from a positive image which gives this species significant sympathetic importance. The popularity of this species (notably as a pet) may lead us to believe that it should benefit from a certain level of protection. Yet, its populations are constantly decreasing, and the reduction of favourable habitat has triggered i...
Article
Full-text available
In Mediterranean regions, fires threaten terrestrial tortoises. Nevertheless, varying proportions of adults survive fire; these surviving individuals can play a central role for population recovery. The regions devastated by fire often include important habitat of Hermann’s tortoises (Testudo hermanni hermanni), so assessing the ability of survivor...
Presentation
All tortoise species face strong decline, especially in Mediterranean areas. The Hermann tortoise (Testudo hermanni) notably is critically endangered in Western Europe. In France, this species subsist in the South Est where small patchy populations are particularly vulnerable due to habitat destruction mainly. Throughout a conservation Life+ Progra...
Presentation
Les populations de serpents déclinent de façon inquiétante à l’échelle mondiale, principalement en raison de la dégradation des habitats. La mortalité routière et la destruction intentionnée des individus participent largement à ce phénomène, d’autant plus qu’elles touchent surtout les individus reproducteurs. Les conséquences de ces pertes sur les...
Presentation
La translocation peut être un outil pertinent pour le rétablissement des populations de Tortue d’Hermann (Testudo hermanni hermanni) les plus affaiblies. Dans le cadre du programme Life+ (2010-2014), nous avons évalué les réponses physiologiques et comportementales à court terme de tortues d’origine sauvage, transloquées sur un site anciennement in...
Article
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Population dynamics of terrestrial vertebrates are affected by climatic fluctuations, notably in ectotherms. An understanding of the interaction between physiology and demographic processes is necessary to predict the impacts of climate change. Reptiles are particularly sensitive to temperature, but only a few studies have explored the relationship...