Léa Blondel

• PhD
• University of Lorraine

Several factors influence whether an organism remains in its local habitat. Parasites can, for example, influence host movement by impacting their behavior, physiology, and morphology. In rivers, fish that swim efficiently against the current are able to maintain their position without being displaced downstream, a behavior referred to as positive...

Rare extreme “black swan” disturbances can impact ecosystems in many ways, such as destroying habitats, depleting resources, and causing high mortality. In rivers, for instance, exceptional floods that occur infrequently (e.g., so‐called “50‐year floods”) can strongly impact the abundance of fishes and other aquatic organisms. Beyond such ecologica...

Populations that are asymmetrically isolated, such as above waterfalls, can sometimes export emigrants in a direction from which they do not receive immigrants, and thus provide an excellent opportunity to study the evolution of dispersal traits. We investigated the rheotaxis of guppies above barrier waterfalls in the Aripo and Turure rivers in Tri...

In dendritic river systems, gene flow is expected to occur primarily within watersheds. Yet, rare cross‐watershed transfers can also occur, whether mediated by (often historical) geological events or (often contemporary) human activities. We explored these events and their potential evolutionary consequences by analyzing patterns of neutral genetic...

Epigenetic modification, especially DNA methylation, can play an important role in mediating gene regulatory response to environmental stressors, and may be a key process affecting phenotypic plasticity and adaptation. Parasites are potent stressors with profound physiological and ecological effects on their hosts, yet it remains unclear how parasi...

Generalist species can potentially exploit a wide variety of resources, but at the individual level they often show a certain degree of foraging specialization. Specific foraging strategies, however, may increase exposure to environmental contaminants that can alter the cost-benefit balance of consuming particular food items. The Lesser Black-backe...

Epigenetic modification, especially DNA methylation, can play an important role in mediating gene regulatory response to environmental stressors, and may be a key process affecting phenotypic plasticity and adaptation. Parasites are potent stressors with profound physiological and ecological effects on their hosts, yet it remains unclear that how p...