VERCKEN , Elodie

Simple Summary: Augmentative biological control relies on the more or less frequent/abundant releases of biological control agents (BCAs) that have to be adapted to their short-term local environment including (micro-)climatic conditions. Thermal biology of BCAs is thus a key component for their success. The extent to which thermal tolerance...

A recommendation – based on reviews by Matt Hill, Corentin Iltis, Philippe Louapre and José Hodar – of the article: Bourougaaoui A, Robinet C, Jamaa MLB, Laparie M (2022) Effects of climate warming on the pine processionary moth at the southern edge of its range: a retrospective analysis on egg survival in Tunisia. bioRxiv, 2021.08.17.456665,...

A recommendation – based on reviews by Frederik De Laender and David Murray-Stoker – of the article: Saade C, Kefi S, Gougat-Barbera C, Rosenbaum B, Fronhofer EA (2021) Spatial distribution of local patch extinctions drives recovery dynamics in metacommunities. bioRxiv, 2020.12.03.409524, ver. 4 peer-reviewed and recommended by Peer Community...

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Novel environmental conditions experienced by introduced species can drive rapid evolution of diverse traits. In turn, rapid evolution, both adaptive and non-adaptive, can influence population size, growth rate, and other important ecological characteristics of populations. In addition, spatial evolutionary processes that arise from a...

Because Allee effects have major impacts on the dynamics of small populations, they are routinely included in demographic models for the evaluation of extinction risks. However, the structure of most common models implies that other demographic parameters (like the maximum growth rate) are modified by the inclusion of an Allee effect, which...

One of the major predictors of establishment success for an introduced species is the match between its intrinsic characteristics and the biotic and abiotic conditions of its new environment. Yet, the introduction area is likely a landscape made up of heterogenous habitats. Right after their introduction, individuals might disperse across the...

The cliff-edge hypothesis introduces the counterintuitive idea that the trait value associated with the maximum of an asymmetrical fitness function is not necessarily the value that is selected for if the trait shows variability in its phenotypic expression. We develop a model of population dynamics to show that, in such a system, the...

The match between the environmental conditions of an introduction area and the preferences of an introduced species is the first prerequisite for establishment. Yet, introduction areas are usually landscapes, i.e. heterogeneous sets of habitats that are more or less favourable to the introduced species. Because individuals are able to disperse...

Dispersal is usually associated with the spread of invasive species, but it also has two opposing effects, one decreasing and the other increasing the probability of establishment. Indeed, dispersal both slows population growth at the site of introduction and increases the likelihood of surrounding habitat being colonized. The connectivity of...

One of the major predictors of establishment success for an introduced species is the match between its intrinsic characteristics and the biotic and abiotic conditions of its new environment. Yet, the introduction area is likely a landscape made up of heterogenous habitats. Right after their introduction, individuals might disperse across the...

International audience

Populations are introduced into novel environments in different contexts, one being the biological control of pests. Despite intense efforts, less than half introduced biological control agents establish. Among the possible approaches to improve biological control, one is to better understand the processes that underpin introductions and...

Understanding the factors underlying invasive processes, such as establishment and spread, is critical to predict the occurrence and magnitude of biological invasions. In general, those factors do not only depend on the invader itself, but also on the characteristics of the invaded area. In the metapopulation theoretical framework, landscapes...

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Environmental variation is classically expected to affect negatively population growth and to increase extinction risk, and it has been identified as a major determinant of establishment failures in the field. Yet, recent theoretical investigations have shown that the structure of environmental variation and more precisely the presence of...

During the early stages of invasion, the interaction between the features of the invaded landscape, notably its spatial structure, and the internal dynamics of an introduced population has a crucial impact on establishment and spread. By approximating introduction areas as networks of patches linked by dispersal, we characterised their spatial...

High-density rearing conditions for the mass-production of biological control agents are known to affect individual quality and performance. However, complex phenotypic traits like dispersal behaviour and their response to rearing conditions are rarely investigated, although they are likely to affect directly biocontrol efficiency in the field....

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