I am broadly interested in plant defense ecology, particularly in understanding the importance of the mechanisms involved in the defensive strategies of tropical plants. Because competition is high and herbivores are diverse in these forests, tropical ecosystems are an ideal setup to study plant defenses and plant-herbivores interactions. I conduct my field work in the pristine forest of French Guiana. In my PhD research, I address this aspect by (1) defining the intra and interspecific variability in a particular defense trait: the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and (2) examining the diversity of defensive strategies in tropical seedling communities
Emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds
VOCs are emitted by both reproductive and vegetative parts of plant species and, they are implicated in a broad range of physiological functions requiring the interaction with other organisms such as pollinator attraction, attraction of seed dispersers, antimicrobial and antifungal activity and indirect plant defense (attraction of parasitoids). Most previous studies on the antiherbivore activities of VOCs have been conducted in the greenhouse and/or on model plants. Much less is known about these defenses in tropical forests. I am examining the emission of VOCs from the bark and the leaves of many tropical tree species growing in French Guiana. These data have gathered as part of the BRIDGE project.
Diversity of defensive strategies in seedling communities
VOCs are not the only defenses in tropical plants
and
it is important to explore other dimensions of
defensive strategy such as
non-volatile chemical defenses
(tannins, alkaloids), physical
characteristics
(toughness, trichomes) and plant
nutritional quality. I am working on permanent
seedling plots at the Nouragues Research Station and in the Paracou
Research Station where defensive traits
are being measured on, seedlings and herbivory, growth and mortality monitored.