2006 - 2007: Post Doc - INLASA Institute-IRD, Bolivia
Study of secondary vectors of the Chagas' disease in Bolivia
The Chagas' disease in Bolivia is endemic in 50% of the country. The principal vector is Triatoma infestans, which is domiciled, although silvatic populations have
been discovered, in particular in the Cochabamba region. It is
important to realize that in the country, 16 other species of
triatomine (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) are living: they can have a great
local role in the transmission of this disease. I lead various field
missions in some parts of La Paz department to study the
epidemiologic role of species such as Rhodnius stali or Eratyrus mucronatus.
These missions have two components. The first one is the entomological
study, with the search of triatomines in dwellings of some communities,
and the second component is the serological study of the population,
with the search of the Chagas' disease prevalence in the human
population of the studied zone. These investigations are the product of
a collaboration with the INLASA Institute, the SEDES La Paz (Servicio
Departamental de Salud, Ministerio de Salud y Deportes), the IRD and
the UMSA University.
Study of resistance/sensibility of Triatoma infestans to insecticides
In some regions of Bolivia have
appeared problems in the control of the principal vector: they don't
died as much as before. Studies by the CIPEIN laboratory in Buenos
Aires, Argentina, have demonstrated problems of resistance of these
insects to insecticides, in particular with deltamethrin. We have then
begun investigations in collaboration with the departmental SEDES and
the National Program of Chagas in order to study the phenomenon of
resistance and to map the resistance in Bolivia.
Dry collection of triatomines of Bolivia
I have began the elaboration of a dry collection of triatomines of Bolivia.
2005 : Post Doc - INLASA Institute, Bolivia
Study of the gregarious behaviour of adults of Triatoma infestans (Hemiptera: Reduviidae)
The sucking bug Triatoma infestans
is the principal vector of the Chagas' disease in Bolivia. This is a
subsocial insect which are living assembled in shelters of the walls or
of the roof of the dwellings. It is important to study the social
behaviour of this vector in order to better understand its way of life
which can conduct us to improve its control. In this optic, I realized
some behavioural experiment to understand the mechanisms underlying the
adult aggregation. This work was supported by the FYSSEN Foundation.
2004: Post Doc - Free University of Brussels, Belgium (LEURRE Project)
Study of the gregarious behaviour of the Periplaneta americana cockroach
This work was part of the European Project LEURRE, which was a project on
building and controlling mixed societies composed of animals and artificial agents.
The main part of LEURRE
dealt with experiments blending together cockroaches and
small insect-like robots, the LEURRE
insbots. The main goal was to demonstrate that it is possible to mix
insects and specifically designed robots that interact and communicate
in order to show that the lure robots allow the control of the global
behavior of a mixed-society. In the aim to build the behavioural
algorithm of the insbots, I was integrated in the Belgium team charged
to study the gregariousness of the Periplaneta americana cockroach at the collective and individual levels.
LEURRE Webpage
2002-2003: Young research of COSI - Free University of Brussels, Belgium
COSI: Complexity of social science
The Principal objective of the European
Research Training Network COSI was to assess critically and develop new
ways of thinking about social processes, modeling and complex
organizations. The network was grounded on the complexity modeling
notion and was naturally pluri-disciplinary.
2000-2003: Ph.D - Free University of Brussels, Belgium and University Paris XIII, France
Study of the dynamics and of the mechanisms of
aggregation in ant societies, in particular in Lasius
niger (L.)
This work was dedicated
to the study of the aggregative behaviour in the ant Lasius niger
in order to characterize the phenomenon at the collective level by a study of
the dynamic and of the collective structure, and at the individual level to
understand the mechanisms underlying the phenomenon. We demonstrated
experimentally and verified by a model that aggregation is essentially due to
an amplificatory phenomenon: the greater the ant numbers in a cluster, the
greater the time spent by an ant inside this cluster. Our results indicated that
the aggregation level and the form of the collective structure depended on
different factors such as the density and the surface: for brood-tenders, an
evolution of the aggregative structure was observed shifting from a large stable
aggregate for low density-surface to several smaller clusters with a less
pronounced hierarchical size for the greater density-surface. Aggregation was
also influenced by the ethological caste of the ant: the brood-tenders
aggregated in a big stable cluster and the foragers in some unstable clusters.
This difference is explained by a smaller probability of foragers to stay
inside the cluster. In mixed groups, ants kept their own characteristics, not
appearing to be influenced by the caste of the individual encountered. Finally,
aggregation is influenced by the ant species: our studies on Crematogaster
scutellaris, Atta sexdens-rubropilosa, Solenopsis invicta, Pheidole pallidula,
Linepithema humile, Myrmica rubra and M. ruginodis showed us a large
variety of responses, in the number and the size of the clusters, which was also
a function of the caste of ants which was used. A constant result, nevertheless,
appeared in our results: brood-tenders seemed to aggregate better than foragers.
These results were discussed in term of their adaptive value for the colony and
a possible link with the spatial distribution of ants inside the nest.
This
work was supported by the David and Alice Van Buuren University
Foundation and by the European COSI Research Training Network.