Professional Documents
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BIODIVERSITY
CNRS IN BRIEF
The Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (National Center for Scientific Research)
is a government-funded research organization, under the administrative authority
of Frances Ministry of Research.
FACTS
Founded in 1939 by governmental
decree, CNRS has the following
missions:
To evaluate and carry out all
research capable of advancing
knowledge and ringing social,
cultural, and economic benefits
to society
To contribute to the application
and promotion of research results
To develop scientific information
To support research training
To participate in the analysis
of the national and international
scientific climate and its potential
for evolution in order to develop
a national policy
CNRS research units are spread
throughout France, and employ
a large body of permanent
researchers, engineers,
technicians, and administrative
staff. Laboratories are all on
four-year contracts, renewable,
with bi-annual evaluations.
There are two types of labs:
CNRS labs: fully funded
and managed by CNRS
Joint labs: partnered with
universities, other research
organizations, or industry
AND FIGURES
Budget for 2005
2,738 billion of which 494 million
come from revenues generated by CNRS
Personnel
26,000 permanent employees:
11,500 researchers and 14,500 engineers
and technical staff
Organization
1,145 research and service units
almost 90% are joint laboratories
20 million devoted yearly
to interdisciplinary research programs
Industrial Relations in 2005/2006
3,901 contracts signed with industry
35 framework agreements and 34 joint
research units with industrial partners
132 million of revenues generated
from contracts (EU contracts not
included)
7,450 Patents in CNRS portfolio
(238 deposited and 239 PCT)
578 Active licenses
50 million of royalties
220 start-ups created since 1999
IN NUMBERS:
Exchange agreements: 80
(with 60 countries)
Foreign visiting scientists: 5,000
(PhD students, post-docs and visiting
researchers)
Permanent foreign staff members:
1,340 researchers of whom 54% come
from the European Union
262 engineers and technicians
International Programs for Scientific
Cooperation (PICS): 332
International Associated Laboratories
(LEA + LIA): 54
International Research Groups
(GDRE + GDRI): 56
International Joint Units (UMI): 9
Budget for 2006: 10M
FOCUS
BIODIVERSITY
page 04
EDITORIAL
page 06
DEBATE
page 12
UNDERSTANDING
BIODIVERSITY
page 18
ECOSYSTEM
DYNAMICS
page 24
page 30
BIODIVERSITY
IN DANGER
page 36
SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT
page 43
BIODIVERSITY:
A FEW STATISTICS
SOMMAIRE
RESEARCH ON BIODIVERSITY
The huge variety of life on Earth is one of the great puzzles of modern science.
Why do so many species coexist? Is such diversity inevitable given the laws of evolution? What is the history of life? How did species diverge and succeed one another over the course of evolutionary history? What impact have dominant species had
on the formation of todays environment? What role do they currently play in the
modification of environmental processes? These questions have fascinated biologists for many decades and are at the heart of one of the greatest intellectual adventures of our time. Since the Rio de Janeiro conference in 1992 biodiversity has also
become a social issue and its maintenance one of the major challenges for sustainable development. Biodiversity needs to be protected and managed, but why? The
simple answer to this question is that life on our planet depends on biodiversity.
Humans draw upon it for the food and the raw materials necessary for their survival.
Biodiversity is a source both of concern and of hope. It is a source of concern due
to the incredibly fast rate at which species are vanishing today, which leads the general public, understandably, to ask about the seriousness of the situation. In scientific terms, this issue is fueling a huge debate about the functional value of
biodiversity. For instance, we need to define the role that species play in the biophysicochemical organizations of which they are a part, or put another away, their
position in ecosystem structure and function. We also need to determine whether a
minimum number of species is required for ecosystem survival and whether or not
genetic diversity plays the same role as species diversity with respect to ecosystem
performance.
These problems are not only of theoretical interest to ecologists. They also have
a direct bearing on the quality of our environment. One only has to consider the key
role played by biodiversity in what are called ecosystem services, i.e. the ecological
functions listed in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, which affect the chemical composition of water and the atmosphere, the spread of disease, etc. Or the
response of ecosystems to climate change, which will depend above all on the number of species present in a given ecosystem, the nature of the interactions and relationships among the species, their ability to disperse and the impact of such
changes on genetic variability. For instance, the amazing plasticity of genomes such
as microbial genomes represents an evolutionary response to the spatially and temporally variable environment in which humans live. The future of our planet will thus
depend on our capacity to manage this biodiversity.
Biodiversity is also a source of hope. Firstly, there is nothing inevitable about the
loss of species. It can be slowed down or even halted by using innovative methods
of land management and species reintroduction based on the most recent research
findings. Secondly, living organisms are an almost inexhaustible source of molecules of interest to the pharmaceutical and chemical industries, which every day
enable us to fight disease or produce a number of substances which are essential
to industry. Knowledge of natural substances, their variability and how they change
in space and time is also an investment for the future. Finally, manipulating populations of plants, animals or micro-organisms in situ makes it possible to rehabilitate degraded environments or maximize certain of their characteristics or
functions, depending on the environmental problems, as well as issues related to
the exploitation of natural resources, which arise.
04-05
EDITORIAL
06
DEBATE
DESPITE ITS POPULARITY, THE CONCEPT OF BIODIVERSITY IS COMPLEX. TO DEMONSTRATE THE WIDE RANGE OF QUESTIONS IT RAISES,
FIVE RESEARCHERS IN ECOLOGY, TAXONOMY, GENETICS, ETC GOT
TOGETHER WITH REN BALLY, DEPUTY SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR OF THE
ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT AT
THE CNRS. IN WHAT FOLLOWS WE REPORT THEIR DISCUSSION, WHICH
ALTHOUGH CONTROVERSIAL AT TIMES, IS INSTRUCTIVE THROUGHOUT.
ROUND TABLE WITH LUC ABBADIE, ROBERT BARBAULT, PIERREHENRI GOUYON, HERV LE GUYADER AND MICHEL VEUILLE.
WHAT IS BIODIVERSITY?
PIERRE-HENRI
GOUYON :
Humans
became aware of biodiversity very early
on. The idea of classifying the untidy,
messy thing called Nature was bound to
catch on. Living things are classified in
every known culture. The way theyre
classified, however, varies from one culture to another.
06-07
DEBATE
DO WE NEED TO PRESERVE
BIODIVERSITY?
MICHEL VEUILLE : People are becoming
Pierre Lozouet, Marina Poddubetskaia et Stefano Schiaparelli - Panglao Marine Biodiversity Project
species, each with little genetic variability, or should we keep few species, each
with a great deal of genetic variability, so
that they have the most chances of evolving? We dont yet have the conceptual
tools to answer this kind of question.
DEBATE
The Convention on Biological Diversity is a historic commitment. It is the first treaty concluded at world
level which tackles all aspects of biological diversity. It concerns not only the protection of species but
also of ecosystems and the gene pool, as well as the sustainable use of natural resources. It is the first
treaty to recognize that the conservation of biological diversity is a common concern of humankind
and that it is an integral part of any sustainable socio-economic development.
Open for signature at the Earth Summit, at Rio de Janeiro, 5 June 1992.
Came into force on 29 December 1993, 90 days after the 30th ratification.
Ratified by 188 countries.
faith in science.
10-11
DEBATE
12
UNDERSTANDING BIODIVERSITY
FROM GENETIC VARIABILITY TO THE WEALTH OF FAUNA AND FLORA,
FROM THE DIVERSITY OF SPECIES TO THE DIVERSITY OF ECOSYSTEMS
AND LANDSCAPES: UNDERSTANDING BIODIVERSITY MEANS FIRST OF
ALL IDENTIFYING, LISTING AND CLASSIFYING THE BIOLOGICAL ENTITIES THAT MAKE IT UP. IN ADDITION IT ALSO MEANS ANALYZING THE
GENETIC STRUCTURE OF THEIR POPULATIONS, RECREATING THE
HISTORY OF EVOLUTIONARY LINEAGES AND UNDERSTANDING THE
EFFECTS AND SCOPE OF PHENOTYPIC PLASTICITY. FINALLY, IT
MEANS INVESTIGATING THE WEALTH OF INTERACTIONS AMONG
SPECIES, WHICH MAKE UP THE ECOLOGICAL FABRIC OF WHAT IS
PROPERLY CALLED BIODIVERSITY DYNAMICS.
Ifremer / A. Fifis
248
Penn.
286
Eureptilia
Parareptilia
Sauropsida
Amniota
Reptiliomorpha
Mississi.
Amphibia
Tetrapoda
Devonian
408
Phylogeny of tetrapods.
Given the huge number of living species, biodiversity can only be made sense of by
using concepts. The role of classifications is to create these concepts as well as words
with generally accepted meanings. Classifications are arbitrary. Their function is to
meet pre-established specifications. Objects are grouped together in order to account
for certain specific properties: for example, our culinary needs (seafood, game, etc.).
In the field of biological sciences, the aim of a classification can also be to create
groups which reproduce the unity of species as regards their functional relationships
in environments (e.g. phytoplankton, zooplankton). A good classification accounts for
properties which have been agreed on.
Over the last 150 years, within the framework of the theory of evolution, the goal
of taxonomy (the science of classifying species) has been to create concepts known as
taxa which reproduce the relative degrees to which species are related to each other.
For a century, phylogeny has been the "tree of life" which depicts these relationships.
The role of taxonomy is not just to identify species and give them names. It pieces
together kinship relationships on the basis of comparative anatomy and by comparing
homologous genes. On a phylogenetic tree, each branch of the tree is given the name
of a particular taxon, and contains all the subsequent branches. A phylogenetic classification is a system of taxa nested within one another. We have only been able to create such phylogenies for about fifty years.
This way of classifying living things represents the culmination of a truly
Copernican revolution, the seeds of which were already to be found in Darwins ideas.
Rather than reflecting the central place in the Universe that humans liked to think
they had, it revealed the degree to which all living beings are related.
GBIF
Michel Laurin
320
360
Archosauromorpha
Synapsida
Mesosauria
Pareiasauria
Procolophonia
Chelonia
Younginiformes
Lepidosauromorpha
Aistopoda
Nectridea
Microbrachis
Rhynchonkos
Lysorophia
213
Pemnian
Triassic
Jurassic
144
Diadectomorpha
Apoda
Urodela
Anura
Most of the mechanisms which can be used to explain diversity with regard to species
chance, natural selection and migration also operate at the level of populations.
Mutations, which take place randomly in the genome of individual organisms, provide the
basic variation on which the other evolutionary forces can work.
12-13
UNDERSTANDING
BIODIVERSITY
Expanding
population
Time
Population
of constant size
Time
Ancestral
species
Isolation
Speciation
Daughter
species A
Daughter
species B
A species history leaves traces in its genes. In the last few years, researchers have
made a spectacular leap forward in interpreting this molecular information.
Population geneticists are now able to enumerate the genes which bear the "signature" of natural selection or of demographic events (see Figure 1). For cultivated
plants, for instance, it is possible to detect the genes which bear a domestication syndrome, a record of the artificial selection carried out by early farmers.
Over the course of generations, mutations appear in a gene. The same gene can
thus be found in the genome of individuals from the same species in different forms.
Over the past twenty years there has been enormous progress in interpreting this
polymorphism of DNA sequences. "Coalescence theory", together with the development of new bioinformatic tools for data analysis has made it possible to interpret the
phylogeny of genes in a single species. Population geneticists have used these techniques to model the colonization of Europe by modern humans. Their model incorporates the geography of Europe and the growth of populations.
Inras laboratories have studied the recent spread through Europe of an invasive
species of corn pest. They have discovered the origin of the invasion. It is the result of
three different introductions of individuals from North America. The next challenge for
population genomics (see Figure 2) is to develop a molecular signature for each
species. This taxonomic information will then be of benefit to the whole scientific
community.
14-15
UNDERSTANDING
BIODIVERSITY
Interactions among species are both numerous and complex. They play one of the
most important roles on the biodiversity stage.
Parasites, for instance, and more generally symbionts, are an integral part of biodiversity. It has even been shown that groups which have adopted a parasitic way of
life have become more diverse than free groups. This is a demonstration of the
extremely dynamic nature of durable interactions. Parasites are often dominant on
the "selective stage". They alter population dynamics and the evolution of free
species. They can play a predominant role in the success or failure of a biological invasion.
The success of an invasion of a new area by a free species can depend on the presence of its parasites. They may not follow the free species, or alternatively they may
become more virulent when on native hosts, acting as a sort of biological weapon.
This reasoning can be turned on its head in order to explain the failure of an invasion. There is any number of scenarios, the plot can become just about as complex as
you wish, and the outcome will to a large extent be linked to the factors on which the
local adaptation of hosts and parasites depends. Among these factors, the most
important are the characteristics which make up the genetic systems of species,
migrations, mutations and the reproductive mode, interacting with the abiotic environment. Parasites are involved in a large number of interactions. An increase in their
transmission may, directly or indirectly, increase their pathogenic effects and alter
characteristics connected to the reproduction, survival or even behavior of their hosts.
The hosts counter-attack. They initiate mechanisms help avoid parasites, stop infection before it starts, or limit its effects.
Roger Le Guen
The number of plant or animal species in any particular place not only depends on
the ecological conditions prevailing today but is also the result of history, back to the
distant geological past. Evolution has shaped the structure and functioning of living
communities. For example, the extraordinary evolutionary process which during the
Devonian, 370 million years ago, led to the appearance of the tetrapods and to vertebrates leaving the water for the first time, had momentous consequences for the history of terrestrial biodiversity. At the other end of the geological time scale, the
adaptive radiation i.e. rapid diversification and adaptation of rodents during the
Pliocene and Quaternary (2 million to 50 000 years ago) enriched terrestrial ecosystems with thousands of new species of small size, thus presenting a large number of
carnivores with renewed biomass.
UNDERSTANDING BIODIVERSITY
Coordinator: Robert Barbault
Institut fdratif dcologie fondamentale et
applique,(Federal Institut of Fundamental and
Applied Ecology) CNRS/universit Paris
6,7,12/ENS Cachan/Musum national dhistoire
naturelle (MNHN)/Institut de recherche pour le
dveloppement (IRD)
With contributions from:
Philippe Bouchet
Taxonomy/Collections Unit, CNRS/MNHN
Guillaume Lecointre
Taxonomy, Adaptation and Evolution Unit,
CNRS/Universit Paris 6/MNHN/IRD/ENS Paris
The latest episodes in the history of biodiversity are closely connected to the history of humans. Remains from archaeological sites, of both plants (charcoal, charred
seeds, and fruit) and animals (shells and bones), contain a wealth of information
which throws light on interactions between human groups and biodiversity. They tell
us about both the ways in which humans exploited these raw materials that were necessary for their survival and the impact of this exploitation on vegetation cover, the
structure of forests, the composition of animal communities, and the extinction of
large predators. Seen this way, the archaeological record gives us a unique opportunity to observe the long-term effects of a wide range of human activities, whether it
be hunting, fishing or the gathering of shells by small prehistoric groups, the organized management of the countryside by ancient or medieval cities, and animal husbandry and farming in the first village societies. Understanding this interaction on the
scale of centuries or millennia represents a major contribution to the understanding
of biodiversity dynamics, which is of key importance to the management of our current resources with a view to sustainable development.
Simon Tillier
Taxonomy, Adaptation and Evolution Unit,
CNRS/Universit Paris 6/MNHN/IRD/ENS Paris
Isabelle Olivieri
Institut des sciences de lvolution (Institute of
Evolutionary Sciences), CNRS/Universit
Montpellier 2
Michel Veuille
Population Genomics Unit, CNRS/cole
pratique des hautes tudes (EPHE)
Anne-Gile Atlan
Ecosystems, Biodiversity and Evolution (Ecobio)
Unit, CNRS/Universit Rennes 1
Ioannis Michalakis
Genetics and Evolution of Infectious Diseases
Unit, CNRS/IRD
Jean-Denis Vigne
Archeozoology and History of Societies Unit,
CNRS/MNHN
Marc Thry
Functioning, Evolution and Regulatory
Mechanisms of Tropical Forest Ecosystems Unit
(Ecotrop), CNRS/MNHN
16-17
UNDERSTANDING
BIODIVERSITY
18
ECOSYSTEM DYNAMICS
AN ECOSYSTEM IS ONE OF THE MOST COMPLEX ENTITIES
RESEARCHERS CAN STUDY. ECOSYSTEMS ARE MORE THAN JUST THE
TOTALITY OF SPECIES PRESENT IN A GIVEN PLACE. THEY ARE ALSO
MADE UP OF ALL THE INTERACTIONS WHICH EXIST BETWEEN THE
SPECIES AS WELL AS BETWEEN THEM AND THEIR PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT. THIS PARTICULARLY DENSE NETWORK OF INTERCONNECTED RELATIONSHIPS MAKES IT VERY DIFFICULT TO FORECAST
ECOSYSTEM DYNAMICS.
Ecosystems are both physical and biological systems. They are capable of selfregulation and are dependent just as much on the laws of thermodynamics as on the
laws of Darwinian evolution. An ecosystem may be analyzed in terms of its structure.
In this case, researchers study the type of species present, the spatial distribution
of its species and physical components, and the organization of food webs between
species. However, the description of these systems can also focus on their functioning. In this case, stress is placed on variation in structure over time, the
movement of matter and energy within
the ecosystem, and exchanges of matter
and energy with the atmosphere, hydrosphere and geosphere.
Today, ecosystems are subject to
considerable pressure. They are being
subjected to rapid climate change, the
spread of built-up areas and farmland,
and reduction in biodiversity. And yet
they are essential sources of energy,
materials and food for humans. They
play a key role in regulating biogeochemical cycles. Because of this, more
and more research work is being carried
out on them, especially at CNRS.
CNRS Photothque / Xavier Leroux
especially in plant communities. For instance, this is the case for European grassland,
where, for a given density, plant productivity increases in line with the number of species
present. A certain number of observations also hint at genetic diversity having a major
positive effect on the productivity and stability of ecosystems.
BIOLOGICAL INSURANCE
18-19
ECOSYSTEM
DYNAMICS
which assumptions are made, by 2100, the beech tree may either completely disappear
from France or remain just in the western part of the country.
CRU TS 2,0
1901-2000
Current distribution
Extinction
http//davesgarden.com
Scenario A2 HadCM 3
2001-2100
In order to understand the consequences of global change in climate or land use on populations
and communities of vertebrates, it is necessary to do research on a large scale. The CNRS Center for
Biological Studies at Chiz is carrying out interdisciplinary research on environmental constraints,
adaptation of individuals and the implications for managing populations. The goal of this research is to
identify the mechanisms involved, through long-term research on populations of predators and
herbivores, both in marine and terrestrial environments. An evolutionary ecophysiological approach
makes it possible to study the mechanistic connections between variation in the environment and
phenotypes. Some research has shown the importance of variation in resources over space and time
for the structure of communities. Other studies endeavor to describe the relationships between global
change and biodiversity conservation. This work mainly concerns threatened species, such as bustards
and albatross, or invasive species such as roe deer, whose dynamics depend very strongly on global
change. These three areas of research are improving our knowledge of population
dynamics and animal communities in a changing environment, and are making it
possible to draw up new principles for the sustainable management of biological
resources.
20-21
ECOSYSTEM
DYNAMICS
of food webs. All these different aspects show how diverse the networks of interactions within ecosystems are. A detailed understanding of the role biodiversity plays in
functional processes within ecosystems is no longer conceivable today without taking
into account coupling between networks of trophic and non-trophic interactions (parasitism, competition, allelopathy and mutualism).
URBAN ECOSYSTEMS
Long considered to be of minor interest, biodiversity in urban environments is
today the subject of several research programs at CNRS. Contrary to popular belief,
urban areas are home to a substantial number of species, and some taxa are actually better represented in cities than in the surrounding countryside. Urban biodiversity
forms an ideal model for study of many current issues in ecology. This is because the
colonization of these new environments, which on the face of it are not very favorable
to living organisms, provides researchers with novel assemblages of species, i.e. with
new models for the analysis of the factors influencing the structure of communities.
The extreme fragmentation of urban environments leads to the formation of a network
of habitats that are isolated from each other, and that can also be used in order to
identify processes of colonization and extinction of small populations functioning as a
network (the metapopulation concept). In addition, cities provide a new type of habitat
for species, which are obliged to adapt to it. It thus forms an authentic evolutionary
laboratory, where we can expect to observe alterations in biological traits (dispersion,
reproduction, behavior, etc.) in response to natural selection. Finally, since cities are
artificial spaces, they make it possible to study the role of humans in the functioning
of ecological systems and to improve the scientific foundations of biodiversity conservation in anthropentric environments.
As a result of an article by Michel Loreau published at the end of 1998 in "Bio", the journal of the
Department of Life Sciences, CNRS decided to equip itself with Ecotrons on a national scale. In these
experimental stations, natural or artificial ecosystems, as well as animal, plant or microbial
communities, can be subjected to predetermined environmental conditions. The aim is to understand
and predict their responses to pressure such as global climate change.
The first Ecotron saw the day in the UK, at the Centre for Population Biology (Imperial College) near
London. Its goal is to quantify the relationship between the organization of biodiversity and ecosystem
functioning. Currently there are two projects under development in France, while a third one is
planned.
The first French project is the Montpellier Ecotron, to be located on the CNRS and Baillarguet
campuses. It is planned to contain an experimental plot and an array of twelve macrocosms, which will
be enclosed chambers in daylight, within which the climate can be controlled. The chambers will be
equipped with instruments which continuously measure temperature, humidity, the atmospheric CO2
concentration, etc. One of their original features is that the chambers will be able to accommodate
intact soil monoliths measuring 5 m3 complete with their natural vegetation. An array of mesocosms
and microcosms will used for short-term studies, i.e. less than two years in length. This setup, which
is used to study terrestrial ecosystems, will be completed by the Medimeer station (Ste), where it is
already possible to confine pelagic communities.
The Foljuif Ecotron, located near Fontainebleau, is run by the cole normale suprieure. One plot is
used to carry out long-term experiments under natural conditions. The core of the project is an array
of 24 climate chambers designed to subject artificial, terrestrial or aquatic communities and
ecosystems to a range of environments. Ponds will be used for long-term monitoring of interactions
between the structure of food webs, the
dynamics of plankton communities and the
physical chemistry of water. Population cages
are used to test the effect of climate change
and fragmentation of the environment on the
dispersion of animals.
Finally, sophisticated greenhouses are used to
analyze the functioning of plant communities
under semi-controlled conditions.
A third Ecotron, given over to Alpine
biodiversity, is under study. It will be set up on
the site of the Lautaret Alpine garden, located
at 2,100 meters altitude. It will
in particular include cold
greenhouses which allow
accurate control of soil
parameters.
Foljuif
ECOSYSTEM DYNAMICS
Coordinator: Luc Abbadie
Unit for Biogeochemistry and Ecology of
Continental Environments,
CNRS/Inra/universit Paris 6/Institut national
agronomique Paris-Grignon (INA-PG)/ ENS
Paris/cole nationale suprieure de chimie de
Paris (ENSCP)
With contributions from:
Gilles Boeuf
Evolutionary and Cell Biology Models Unit,
CNRS/universit Paris 6
Patrick Duncan
Centre dtudes biologiques de Chiz (Chiz
Center for Biological Studies), CNRS
Pierre-Olivier Cheptou
Centre dcologie fonctionnelle et volutive
(Center for Evolutionary and Functional
Ecology), CNRS/universits Montpellier 1, 2,
3/cole nationale suprieure agronomique de
Montpellier/Centre de coopration
internationale en recherche agronomique pour
le dveloppement (Cirad)
Jean-Pierre Fral
Diversity, Evolution and Marine Functional
Ecology Unit, CNRS/Universit Aix-Marseille 2
Grard Lacroix
Biogeochemistry and Ecology of Terrestrial
Environments Unit, CNRS/Inra/Universit Paris
6/INA-PG/ENS Paris/ENSCP
22-23
ECOSYSTEM
DYNAMICS
24
THE IMPACT ON HEALTH
2.5 BILLION IN 1955, OVER 6.5 BILLION TODAY, AND NEARLY 10 BILLION
IN 50 YEARS TIME. THATS THE RATE HOMO SAPIENS SAPIENS IS
EXPANDING WITHIN THE BIOSPHERE. HUMANS ARE CHANGING THE
EARTH AND ALL ITS ECOSYSTEMS BY UPSETTING THE BALANCE OF
INTERACTIONS, COMPETITION AND COOPERATION AMONG SPECIES.
WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF REDUCED BIODIVERSITY FOR
THE EVOLUTION OF MICROBES, WHICH, LIKE US, ARE PART OF THE
LIVING WORLD? OUR HEALTH DEPENDS ON THE ANSWER TO THIS
QUESTION.
5 m
CNRS Photothque
Micro-organisms are one of the essential biological components of our planet, and
one that cannot be ignored. The emergence of higher organisms, including the first
humans, and their impact on the environment encouraged selection for new types of
activity by micro-organisms. These new possibilities gave rise to a large number of
associations which have proved beneficial to humans. Such microbial diversity has a
great impact on human health and on the development of human populations.
24-25
explain for "density-dependent" diseases. To what extent can these results be extrapolated to other zoonotic diseases and to other environmental conditions? Today,
research is being carried out at CNRS with the aim of formalizing the effects of biodiversity and its evolution for other diseases such as West Nile fever and bird flu, diseases for which it is suspected that a great diversity of reservoir birds are involved.
The outbreak of bird flu is a phenomenon which is likely to recur. Natural bird sanctuaries and wetlands are stopping off places where migrating birds, carrying numerous pathogens, come into contact with resident species. These areas are highly
favorable to the movement of pathogens, even at a low level. To what extent did the
proximity of intensive poultry production and wetlands in the Ain Department, where
the H5N1 virus was detected, facilitate the triggering of a chain reaction, in which
humans may also have played a role, and which led to over a thousand turkeys being
slaughtered?
DR
CNRS Photothque / D. Mc Key
J. M. Thresh
EPIDEMIC IN UGANDA
As a result of the epidemic of cassava mosaic in Uganda in the 1990s, a large number of village
populations suffered a total loss of their income. Food shortages made their appearance, and
government boards of enquiry were informed of deaths due to famine. Since cassava was no
longer able to play its role as a stop-gap crop in the event of shortages, the situation became
especially difficult after the drought of 1993-1994. Given the almost total absence of cassava, the
farmers had no choice but to turn to other crops such as sweet potato. This led to prices
rocketing. Given the seriousness of the situation, emergency food aid was established, and
various governmental and nongovernmental organizations supplied cuttings of mosaic-resistant
cassava.
26-27
CNRS Photothque
28-29
30
BIODIVERSITY IN DANGER
HUMANS ARE THE MAIN THREAT TO DIVERSITY. IN THE LAST FIFTY
YEARS THEIR POPULATION HAS MORE THAN DOUBLED AND THEIR
CONSUMPTION OF NATURAL RESOURCES HAS INCREASED SIXFOLD.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF HUMAN SOCIETIES HAS LED TO THE OVER
EXPLOITATION OF ANIMAL AND PLANT SPECIES TO THE POLLUTION OF
NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS AND IS NOW CONTRIBUTING TO CLIMATE
CHANGE. OVER AND ABOVE THE CHANGES THAT HUMANS HAVE
BROUGHT ABOUT BY THEIR NUMBERS AND THEIR ACTIVITY, THEY HAVE
ALSO DIRECTLY ACTED UPON SOME ECOSYSTEMS IN ORDER TO SATISFY THEIR NEEDS. ALL THESE FACTORS IMPACT ON BIODIVERSITY AND
ARE LIKELY TO CAUSE A MASS EXTINCTION OF SPECIES.
Agronomists have always been aware of the need to make use of existing biodiversity. However, over the course of the last century, we have witnessed the emergence
of an agronomy which is less and less sustainable. Research into the origin of crop
plants, the basis of all human food, has shown that they are the result of a process of
domestication carried out in constant interaction between wild and cultivated forms.
The wild relatives of cultivated varieties provide the diversity which is essential for the
adaptation of cultivated forms to environmental changes (especially to pests and
pathogens). It is clear that the increasingly intensive nature of agriculture has been
detrimental to these processes.
Plant geneticists continue to
draw on wild forms for the
genetic resources which make it
possible to adapt cultivated
forms, but the preservation of
this diversity is becoming
increasingly problematic. The
only solution currently implemented on a large scale consists
in freezing existing diversity in
gene banks. Research aimed at
a more practical and active
management of genetic diversity, based on the agricultural
CNRS Photothque / Jean-Yves Pontailler
environment itself and treating the agro ecosystem as a whole, is currently under way.
It aims to transform an attitude based on productivity into one which encourages sustainable management practices. With this research, carried out in partnership by
CNRS, Inra, IRD and Cirad we treat questions of agronomy, as one leading member of
Inra put it, "as an applied branch of ecology".
PATENTING LIFE
Research has shown that plant pollen spreads much further than once thought. Naturally, in the
immediate vicinity of a crop, the quantity of pollen originating from this crop falls off rapidly the further
away you are. However, this is only true for pollen which has fallen straight onto the ground.
Other pollen, caught up by atmospheric turbulence, are spread almost uniformly throughout the turbulent
layer (from 0 to around 1,000 meters altitude), and the distance they disperse then only depends on how
long they survive. Apart from the many agricultural and economic consequences this phenomenon can
have, it takes on particular importance if you take into account the practice of patenting plant genes,
which is recognized all over the world except in Europe.
A Canadian farmer was recently convicted for sowing rape seed, collected from his own fields, which
contained genes patented by an agrochemical company. The genes, in the form of seeds or pollen, had
been blown into the farmers field. He hadnt stolen them, but they were
patented. The farmer was therefore banned from continuing to use his
own seed. After a lengthy court battle, the Supreme Court of Canada
finally came down in favor of the firm. Its easy to see that wind-blown
pollen and seed, together with American patent legislation, can enable
biotechnology companies to take over the genetic resources of the entire
planet. All they have to do is to patent the genes, grow the plants that
contain them, and then let the wind do the rest. This prospect opens up
the possibility of a massive loss of genetic diversity among
the organisms which are most valuable to humans: the plants
on which all their food is based.
The need for diversity in cultivated forms has led to an innovative technical solution, which is to look for the genes which can be used to improve a domestic species
not just in closely-related species, but rather in any living organism. Research in the
field of biotechnology has been extremely active, and rapidly led to the production of
GMOs able to bring about a number of improvements to farming. Unfortunately, this
approach did not include a wider analysis of the diversity of crop plants and their wild
relations. Adding a gene taken from a bacterium to a plant in order to kill the insects
that attack it can certainly be useful to agriculture, by making it possible to fight
against pests without harming other species. Similarly, making a species resistant to
a herbicide makes it possible to be sparing with toxic chemicals when eliminating
weeds from crops. However, research into the impact of such practices jointly carried
out by CNRS and Inra, have shown that a certain number of precautions need to be
taken. Firstly, it would be irresponsible to make all plant species resistant to all herbicides. That would lead to an inextricable situation when it comes to dealing with
self-sowing plants of one crop within another. Secondly, it is necessary to make sure
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IN DANGER
that crossbreeding between crop plants and wild plants doesnt end up producing
resistant super-weeds. And finally, it would be foolish to insert the same resistance to
insects into all plants. Just as bacteria have become resistant to antibiotics, such an
approach would inevitably lead to widespread resistance by insects.
Chemical pollution contaminates all food chains. Over 100,000 different chemicals are produced in Europe. Not much is known about their
individual effects, and even less about their synergistic or antagonistic
effects. Most of these substances or their breakdown products are
found in the environment. That makes thousands of different chemicals which have to be tracked and monitored. The development of new
analytical methods means that it is now possible to detect chemical
elements at very low concentrations, and identify new molecules liable
to have biological effects and which are as yet unregulated. It was in
the 1970s that people first became aware of the dangers of industrial
pollution, while the 1980s saw increased awareness of the problems
caused by agricultural pollution due to the use of fertilizers and pesticides. Now, in the
first decade of the new century, there is increased interest in the problems caused by
new substances which are present in the environment mainly because of use by individuals. These new classes of chemicals include plasticizers, detergents, pharmaceutical
and body care products, natural or synthetic estrogen compounds (contraceptive pills),
and pesticides with recent formulations. A number of carcinogenic, mutagenic, immunosuppressive and neurotoxic effects are associated with such chemical compounds.
The Reach directive is a major step forward with regard to the security and safety
of chemistry for health and for the environment. In future, chemicals will be authorized only if they have no toxic effects, or under special conditions if they are dangerous but essential. The industry will have to produce toxicological evidence that their
products are harmless. Over 30,000 chemicals produced or imported into the
European Union will be analyzed and recorded over a period of eleven years.
The eventual goal of Reach is to promote the withdrawal of those chemicals that give
most cause for concern and their replacement by alternative substances that are
more suitable and safer. These regulations will make the European
chemical industry more competitive by encouraging innovation (e.g.
green chemistry and toxicity tests) rather than restricting it as happened with previous legislation. What is more, this legislation establishes rules which will set an example to the World with regards
sustainable chemical production.
W. Thuiller
In return, biodiversity
makes a big contribution to the absorption of
anthropogenic emissions of carbon, and is
thus slowing down
ongoing
climate
change. The greater
the biodiversity, the greater the biomass. Biodiversity and climate change are therefore connected. The way in which biodiversity evolves will lead to either an acceleration or a slowing down of climate change in the future.
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BIODIVERSITY
IN DANGER
Humans are the main threat to biodiversity. The deterioration of habitats is reducing the possible range of those species which, confined to the limits of their range,
experience a fall in numbers and become caught up in a spiral, leading to their extinction.
Besides outside pressure, once a populations numbers have started to decline, random
processes may come into play and push the
species over the brink into extinction. The
smallest populations of the species are affected
by demographic, genetic and environmental
factors. The survival rate of a population is
directly connected to its size in terms of the
number of individuals present. Small populations are the most likely to disappear. Intuitively,
it is not difficult to imagine that a population
composed of only two individuals has far more
chances of disappearing than a population with
fifty individuals. The likelihood of the two individuals in the small population dying are greater
than the likelihood of the fifty individuals in the
larger population disappearing.
Over and above this demographic effect, a
small-sized population is faced with harmful
genetic effects which threaten its survival. At
the level of a population, the number of different
copies of a gene, i.e. the number of alleles, constantly diminishes, apart from the odd mutation.
Some alleles (alternate forms of gene) are not
transmitted to offspring. This phenomenon is
called genetic drift. Genetic drift impoverishes the evolutionary potential of the population. In the event of an allele which is less favorable to an individuals survival or
fecundity being transmitted, it can also diminish the average fitness of the population.
If this allele becomes permanently established in the population, and its effects are
too weak for it to be rapidly eliminated by natural selection, inbreeding depression can
be observed.
Biological diversity in the Amazon basin is principally threatened by human activity for all the reasons we
have already mentioned, and especially by deforestation
to provide new land for agriculture and livestock farming. This is a worldwide, long-term process. Due to the
growth of human populations and therefore the increase
in food needs, as well as the need to promote new agricultural methods which are less harmful to the environment and human health, and will lead to more land
being farmed. Within fifty years, 30 to 50% of the Amazon
forest will have disappeared or been considerably
altered by humans. There is no doubt that this transformation will cause a decline in biodiversity.
BIODIVERSITY IN DANGER
Coordinator: Pierre-Henri Gouyon
With contributions from:
Denis Couvet
Species Conservation, Restoration and
Monitoring of Populations Unit, CNRS/Musum
national dhistoire naturelle/Universit Paris 6
Isabelle Olivieri
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BIODIVERSITY
IN DANGER
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SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT
THE STATES WHICH SIGNED THE RIO CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
AGREED ON THE NEED TO HALT THE REDUCTION IN BIODIVERSITY BY 2010. WE
NOW KNOW THAT THIS WILL BE FAR FROM BEING THE CASE, AND THAT MUCH
PROGRESS NEEDS TO BE MADE WITH REGARD TO MANAGING BIODIVERSITY.
MANAGING NATURE MEANS UNDERSTANDING AND ADAPTING HUMAN RELATIONS WITH RESPECT TO NON-HUMANS, WHETHER DOMESTICATED OR WILD. IT
IS THEREFORE NECESSARY TO OBSERVE, MODEL, DEVELOP ECOLOGICAL TECHNOLOGIES AND ENGINEERING, AND IMPLEMENT NUMEROUS TOOLS, FROM
LOCAL TO GLOBAL LEVELS.
CNRS Photothque
1,1
0,9
0,7
0,5
1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005
Generalists + 7 %
Urban + 9 %
Forest - 17 %
Farmland - 29 %
SUSTAINABLE
MANAGEMENT
Denis Couvet
accounting", which would place business activity within the context of living processes. Some scientists hold a completely different view, and believe that we could
improve management by giving nature a price. Simply evaluating the cost of replacing
these natural services by technical solutions is usually enough to demonstrate the
importance of preserving them. One oft-quoted example is New Yorks drinking water
supply, where it was shown that the natural water treatment afforded by the hills was
more efficient and far less expensive than using a water treatment plant. It is cheaper to preserve the quality of water in the ecosystem than to treat used water.
Biodiversity management will have to be based on long-term observation systems
which enable indicators to be established. Indicators are tools which enable dialogue
between decision makers, the general public and scientists, in order to decide on the
goals and means for biodiversity management. For instance, monitoring bird populations provides information about changes in land use and in human habitats.
Modeling, which is developing very rapidly, has turned out to be crucial to understanding the living world on the basis of partial information, and also to uncovering the
dynamic systems of interactions between organisms and environments, as well as
between environments and societies.
INTERNATIONAL GOVERNANCE
Biodiversity management is also an international issue and has given rise to the
establishment of conventions and international auditing mechanisms. The 1992
International Convention on Biological Diversity has been ratified by 188 countries.
Over the past fourteen years it has succeeded in getting these countries to agree on a
common method for defining problems, which is a remarkable result. It serves as a
reference for thinking about biodiversity management. In parallel, there exist other
specialized conventions about wetlands (Ramsar), desertification and biosafety.
The role of science in establishing this world governance is considerable. The
worldwide Diversitas program is exerting a great deal of influence on the scientific
bodies involved in the support and implementation of the convention. Scientists provide counterintuitive results which influence international discussion, and will continue to do so in the future. For instance, this is the case regarding the management of
one of the biggest problems in biodiversity, i.e. biological invasions. The solutions are
both national (improved planning of land use, less fragmentation) and international.
This is because invasive species generally travel via international trade, like Crepidula
fornicata, an oyster parasite which is carried in the ballast tanks of merchant shipping,
or the corn rootworm, which invades via airports. It is estimated that 10% of introductions lead to naturalization and spread from the site of introduction, and that 10% of
these introductions subsequently cause problems. Research is being carried out in
order to attempt to develop diagnostic tests for quantifying the susceptibility of
ecosystems to such invasions and ways of controlling them.
Roscoff
SUSTAINABLE
MANAGEMENT
Biodiversity management has major implications for the future of societies. The
disappearance of a large number of species alters the environment and makes it
more vulnerable. For instance, the loss of microbial diversity leads to the selection of
highly resistant strains of pathogen; lower diversity makes ecosystems less resistant
to biological invasions; in tropical countries, deforestation and concentration of property force the poor onto unproductive land and leave them with precarious rights of
use. Poverty, biodiversity and sustainable development are closely linked. Managing
biodiversity and preserving evolutionary potential means keeping the options open for
the future of humankind.
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What role does biodiversity play? How did it evolve? How does it maintain itself
spontaneously? What resources are connected to it? What is the best way of managing and developing this vast territory with a view to the sustainable development of the
societies who live in and off it? What technologies should be adapted or developed in
order to bring about this development? How can this development be planned, how
can the health of the populations be improved, while at the same time preserving and
making the best use of the wealth of this environment, and minimizing the impact on
biodiversity?
The best, and most economical, way of preserving the diversity of a living system,
as well as its capacity to generate diversity, is probably to let it evolve spontaneously.
This doesnt mean that monitoring should be neglected, or that exploration or a certain amount of forestry and farming should be banned, but it does mean that its
important to be careful not to disturb the spontaneous mechanisms that increase,
maintain or reduce biodiversity.
Alain Pav
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In 2004, CNRS set up the Amazonia program. The goal of this interdisciplinary program is to give CNRS a
permanent footing in French Guiana, and to promote scientific policies and provide incentives to this end.
The vast Amazonian system, where there are still to be found extensive, almost totally undisturbed
areas of high biological diversity, is of enormous scientific interest, especially with respect to questions
relating to biodiversity. In the CNRS tradition, activities are carried out in cooperation with its partners,
universities and other research establishments.
The Amazonia program has three main roles. It looks after the setting up of research facilities in French
Guiana (field stations, laboratories, and accommodation of researchers participating in scientific
programs). It encourages research in line with the policies outlined in its scientific program. The subject
of biodiversity obviously plays a central role in several areas: the search for biologically active substances
and for bioinspired technologies; the dynamics and management of the Amazonian region; health ecology
(emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases); conservation biology; and the history and functioning
of Amazonian ecosystems. Finally, the Amazonia program aims to model and simulate the dynamics
of biodiversity and ecosystems on the basis of theoretical analysis of data gathered.
The money that can be made from biodiversity has raised a lot of hope, to such an extent
that this has boomeranged, with researchers in some areas being suspected of "biopiracy".
It is high time that this issue be discussed in a rational and reasonable manner,
emphasizing that this is not the same kind of resource as a mine, which is located in one
particular spot, and that developing it usually requires major investment.
Once this is established, it is necessary to determine the size and location of the areas concerned, and have good assessments of their
biological diversity and its dynamics. These data
are frequently not available, not only because the
necessary means to obtain them were not implemented, but also because for a long time
researchers were more interested in finding and
describing new species than in quantifying them.
The development and management of a region
and its biodiversity require: reliable data; regular
monitoring of changing conditions; defining
which areas are to be protected, and where, and which are to be used for human use
such as farming and forestry; and the establishment of connections between them. It
is also necessary to set up flexible management methods which enable land-use
plans to be revised in a well-ordered and regular way. In this way, Amazonia will be
developed rather than devastated.
SUSTAINABLE
MANAGEMENT
It has to be admitted that were having some trouble building up a global understanding of biodiversity, in a scientific world which is still highly compartmentalized.
Only scientists can bring about the interdisciplinary approach required to achieve this
understanding, without which no major progress will be possible in a subject of such
complexity. Besides, the thing that distinguishes the current "big questions" about the
environment from the small ones is precisely what might be called the doubly global
nature of the former: they concern the whole planet, and they involve a host of scientific and technological disciplines, as well as various political, economic, health and
social aspects of the way our societies are run.
However, above all, biodiversity concerns the living world, and it is also only by
improving our understanding of the biological and ecological processes involved in the
three mechanisms that increase, maintain or reduce biodiversity (whether they be
spontaneous or induced) that we will have a better basis on which to manage our
common heritage. Finally, a major effort must be made with respect to the gathering
and classification of reliable data, as well as to a frequently neglected area, namely
the creation of sound theoretical foundations on which to build evolutionary models of
biodiversity.
Franck Courchamp
Ecology, Taxonomy and Evolution Unit,
CNRS/Universit Paris 11/cole nationale du
gnie rural des eaux et forts
Andr Micoud
Centre de recherches en sciences sociales
(Center for Social Science Research) (Cresal),
CNRS/Universit Saint-tienne/Universit Lyon 2
Luc Abbadie
Biogeochemistry and Ecology of Terrestrial
Environments Unit, CNRS/Inra/Universit Paris
6/INA-PG/ENS Paris/ENSCP
Michel Trometter, Inra Grenoble
2,300 people do work on biodiversity in CNRS laboratories, of whom 1,000 are CNRS staff members
1.8 million species have been described.
It is estimated that there are between 10 and 15 million animal and plant species living on the Earth.
About 16,000 new species are described every year, of which 600 are found in Europe.
Species are going extinct 100 to 1,000 times faster than in the past as revealed by the geological record.
FURTHER READING
Un lphant dans un jeu de quilles : Lhomme dans la biodiversit, Robert Barbault, ed. Seuil, 2006
Biodiversit et savoirs naturalistes locaux en France, Collective edition, Inra-Cirad-Iddri-IFB, 2005
La nature a-t-elle encore une place dans les milieux gographiques ?, Paul Arnould and ric Glon (eds),
Publications de la Sorbonne, 2005
Actes de la Confrence internationale Biodiversit, science et gouvernance Paris, 24-28 janvier 2005,
Robert Barbault, coordinated by Jean-Patrick Le Duc.
MNHN
Biodiversit et changements globaux Enjeux de socit et dfis pour la recherche,
Robert Barbault and Bernard Chevassus-au-Louis (eds) Coordinated by Anne Teyssdre.
Adpf / Ministre des Affaires trangres, 2004
Les biodiversits. Objets, thories, pratiques, coordinated by Pascal Marty, Franck-Dominique Vivien,
Jacques Lepart and Raphal Larrre, CNRS ditions, 2005
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www.cnrs.fr