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Ethologie et Physiologie Evolutive (EPE)
Physiology, Evolution and Behaviour (PEB)
See all current and past team members at : All people at EPE
Twitter : @Physiol_Evol_Be
News of Physiology,
Evolution and Behaviour Team
We understand physiology and behaviour as evolved traits with fitness consequences, which can only be understood when animals are studied in their natural environment. We have long-term field sites in North America, Europe, Africa, and in the Subantarctic. This is supplemented with studies under controlled laboratory conditions. The principal aim of our team is to understand how organisms cope with trade-offs (I. mechanisms) and the resulting fitness consequences (II. evolution). We are especially interested in social evolution and the ultimate consequences as well as proximate mechanisms of group-living. We study all aspects of social systems, which means the social organisation, social structure (social networks), and mating system of free living animals.
One aim of our team is in understanding the co-evolution between sociality and life history traits : One focus is on the mechanisms acting against aging. In sum, our team studies animals` (including human`s) evolutionary trade-offs in a changing world, physiological, behavioural, and social flexibility.

Francois Criscuolo studies aging, a very complex and multi-factorial process that is largely variable, both at the inter-specific and at the inter-individual level.
Personal Page :
François Criscuolo
Francois Criscuolo studies aging, a very complex and multi-factorial process that is largely variable, both at the inter-specific and at the inter-individual level. As head of the Molecular Biology Laboratory, he mainly focuses on telomere erosion a cellular ageing process largely conserved over animals. Using this tool, the main goal of his research is to contribute to a better understanding of the origin of the great diversity of ageing rates that results from evolution, by trying to uncover the mechanisms (i.e. molecular, cellular and physiological) that shape the life-history trade-offs in different environments and social organizations.
Find out more : François Criscuolo


Gildas Lemonnier is an engineer specialized in scientific field missions, including data collection and data preparation.
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Gildas Lemonnier
Gildas Lemonnier is an engineer specialized in scientific field missions, including data collection and data preparation.
Find out more : Gildas Lemonnier


Carsten Schradin wants to understand how animals can cope with a changing world via behavioural and physiological flexibility, which are a product of evolution.
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Carsten Schradin
Carsten Schradin wants to understand how animals can cope with a changing world via behavioural and physiological flexibility, which are a product of evolution. He is especially interested in how his study organism, African striped mice (Rhabdomys pumilio), can cope with droughts, which are predicted to increase in future in severity and frequency due to climate change.
Find out more : Carsten Schradin


Cédric Sueur is working on social networking and decision-making in animal groups.
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Cédric Sueur
Cédric Sueur is working on social networking and decision-making in animal groups. He aims to understand how intrinsic characteristics such as age, stress, physiology or nutrient requirements impact the social centrality of individuals and at an upper-level, the social network. His subjects are going from insects (ants and fruitflies) to primates including humans. Cédric Sueur focuses his research on diffusion of information and disease and evolution of social networks using empirical observations, behavioural experiments and modelling.
Find out more : Cédric Sueur


Vincent A. Viblanc is interested in understanding the evolution of group living and how social x genetic influences shape individual phenotype.
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Vincent A. VIBLANC
Vincent A. Viblanc is interested in understanding the evolution of group living and how social x genetic influences shape individual phenotype. He uses both life history and experimental approaches in the wild as complementary frameworks to assess the bidirectional links between social environments, individual phenotype and fitness (including trans-generational consequences). His work is carried out on a range of group living vertebrates including birds (penguins, zebra finches), mammals (ground squirrels) and fish (gilt-head seabream, orbicular batfish).
Find out more : Vincent A. VIBLANC


Sandrine Zahn is presently managing several innovative methodological projects on ageing measurements.
Molecular Biology Laboratory Page :
Biologie moléculaire
Sandrine Zahn is presently managing several innovative methodological projects on ageing measurements. She is an engineer in molecular biology, with a strong background in PCR and qPCR methodology which she specifically adapted at the DEPE for several purposes such as telomere length amplification, gene expression and molecular sexing. She is in charge of the Molecular Biology Laboratory, under the supervision of F Criscuolo.
Molecular Biology Laboratory Page : Biologie moléculaire


F. Stephen DOBSON is interested in the evolution of reproductive traits, including mating characteristics like multiple paternity and trade-offs of offspring investments by parents.
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F. Stephen Dobson
F. Stephen Dobson is interested in the evolution of reproductive traits, including mating characteristics like multiple paternity and trade-offs of offspring investments by parents.
Find out more : F. Stephen Dobson
