Topic: The impact of ecological restoration on reducing the spread of zoonotic agents carried by rodents in the Landes de Gascogne forest
Dates : 1 October 2023 – 31 December 2026
CBGP supervisor: N. Charbonnel

The emergence of zoonotic diseases and the collapse of biodiversity are closely linked. In this context, ecological restoration, which aims to restore the functionality and biodiversity of degraded ecosystems, could help mitigate infectious risks by creating dilution effects. However, specific assessments of the impact of these projects on the circulation of zoonotic agents are still required.

My PhD project aims to understand the biodiversity-health relationship by studying the impact of ecological restoration on the circulation of zoonotic agents hosted by rodents. This project will thus test whether deciduous hedgerows in the pine forests of the Landes :

1. contribute to the restoration of small terrestrial mammal biodiversity,
2. help mitigate the zoonotic risk associated with rodents, through dilution effects or changes in pathogen-pathogen interaction networks, and
3. identify the characteristics of hedgerows that are associated with the greatest impacts on biodiversity and/or zoonotic risk.

Keywords: health ecology, conservation biology, dilution effect, association networks, zoonoses, wildlife