Lecanora lecideopsis Cl. Roux et C. Coste sp. nov.

Description of a new species of lichen, Lecanora lecideopsis Cl. Roux et C. Coste sp. nov., known in a single station of France (department of Hérault, municipality of Mons) on non-calcareous rock (gneiss), which differs differs from Lecanora lecideoides (Nyl.) Harm. by its epithecium green to greenish brown, N + (purple), containing cinereorufa green, its thallus with different chemistry (norstictic acid besides atranorine) and its much narrower, oblong or long ellipsoid spores (10)12–14,4-16(18) x (3)3,5-4,0-4,5(5) µm. Comparison with affine species or analogues. Lectotypification of Lecanora lecideoides, species form which L. rubrofusca should be excluded. Key of determination of Lecanora gr. subfusca of Western Europe, saxicolous, with epithecium without crystals and thallus K + (yellow).Peer reviewe

Looking for a needle in a haystack: inference about individual fitness components in a heterogeneous population

Studies of wild vertebrates have provided evidence of substantial differences in lifetime reproduction among individuals and the sequences of life history ‘states’ during life (breeding, nonbreeding, etc.). Such differences may reflect ‘fixed’ differences in fitness components among individuals determined before, or at the onset of reproductive life. Many retrospective life history studies have translated this idea by assuming a ‘latent’ unobserved heterogeneity resulting in a fixed hierarchy among individuals in fitness components. Alternatively, fixed differences among individuals are not necessarily needed to account for observed levels of individual heterogeneity in life histories. Individuals with identical fitness traits may stochastically experience different outcomes for breeding and survival through life that lead to a diversity of ‘state’ sequences with some individuals living longer and being more productive than others, by chance alone. The question is whether individuals differ in their underlying fitness components in ways that cannot be explained by observable ‘states’ such as age, previous breeding success, etc. Here, we compare statistical models that represent these opposing hypotheses, and mixtures of them, using data from kittiwakes. We constructed models that accounted for observed covariates, individual random effects (unobserved heterogeneity), first-order Markovian transitions between observed states, or combinations of these features. We show that individual sequences of states are better accounted for by models incorporating unobserved heterogeneity than by models including first-order Markov processes alone, or a combination of both. If we had not considered individual heterogeneity, models including Markovian transitions would have been the best performing ones. We also show that inference about age-related changes in fitness components is sensitive to incorporation of underlying individual heterogeneity in models. Our approach provides insight into the sources of individual heterogeneity in life histories, and can be applied to other data sets to examine the ubiquity of our results across the tree of life

SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity are associated with genetic variants affecting gene expression in a variety of tissues

Variability in SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity between individuals is partly due to genetic factors. Here, we identify 4 genomic loci with suggestive associations for SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and 19 for COVID-19 disease severity. Four of these 23 loci likely have an ethnicity-specific component. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) signals in 11 loci colocalize with expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) associated with the expression of 20 genes in 62 tissues/cell types (range: 1:43 tissues/gene), including lung, brain, heart, muscle, and skin as well as the digestive system and immune system. We perform genetic fine mapping to compute 99% credible SNP sets, which identify 10 GWAS loci that have eight or fewer SNPs in the credible set, including three loci with one single likely causal SNP. Our study suggests that the diverse symptoms and disease severity of COVID-19 observed between individuals is associated with variants across the genome, affecting gene expression levels in a wide variety of tissue types

A first update on mapping the human genetic architecture of COVID-19

peer reviewe

Rôle des facteurs comportementaux dans la démographie des espèces à reproduction coloniale ; cas de la Mouette tridactyle (Rissa tridactyla)

Danchin Etienne, Monnat Jean-Yves. Rôle des facteurs comportementaux dans la démographie des espèces à reproduction coloniale ; cas de la Mouette tridactyle (Rissa tridactyla). In: Revue d'Écologie. Supplément n°4, 1987. p. 200

Gestion des ressources et aménagement des îles

Singelin Patrick, Monnat Jean-Yves. Gestion des ressources et aménagement des îles. In: Norois, n°145, Janvier-Mars 1990. Iles et sociétés insulaires. pp. 21-23

Ceratophyllus (Ceratophyllus) chasteli n. sp. parasite du Cormoran huppé Phalacrocorax aristotelis (L.) en Corse [Siphon. Ceratophyllidae]

Beaucournu Jean-Claude, Monnat Jean-Yves, Launay Henri. Ceratophyllus (Ceratophyllus) chasteli n. sp. parasite du Cormoran huppé Phalacrocorax aristotelis (L.) en Corse [Siphon. Ceratophyllidae]. In: Bulletin de la Société entomologique de France, volume 87 (1-2), Janvier-février 1982. pp. 38-43

Ceratophyllus (Ceratophyllus) chasteli n. sp. parasite du Cormoran huppé Phalacrocorax aristotelis (L.) en Corse [Siphon. Ceratophyllidae]

Beaucournu Jean-Claude, Monnat Jean-Yves, Launay Henri. Ceratophyllus (Ceratophyllus) chasteli n. sp. parasite du Cormoran huppé Phalacrocorax aristotelis (L.) en Corse [Siphon. Ceratophyllidae]. In: Bulletin de la Société entomologique de France, volume 87 (1-2), Janvier-février 1982. pp. 38-43

Breeding habitat selection across spatial scales: is grass always greener on the other side?

International audienceHabitat selection theory predicts that natural selection should favor mechanisms allowing individuals to choose habitats associated with the highest fitness prospects. However, identifying sources of information on habitat quality that individuals use to choose their breeding habitat has proved to be difficult. It has also proven difficult to identify dispersal costs that prevent individuals from joining the highest-quality sites. A synthesis that integrates dispersal costs and habitat selection mechanisms across space has remained elusive. Because costs of dispersal are generally distance-dependent, we suggest that a habitat selection strategy of sequential proximity search (SPS) can be favored by natural selection. This strategy requires that animals make decisions at multiple scales: whether to stay or leave the previous breeding site, depending on reproductive success; then, if dispersal is chosen, use information on neighborhood habitat quality to decide whether to stay in the neighborhood or leave, expanding the search area until the nearest suitable site is chosen. SPS minimizes distance-dependent dispersal costs while maximizing benefits of gaining a better habitat. We found evidence of breeding dispersal behavior consistent with this strategy in a kittiwake population stratified into a spatial hierarchy from colonies to nest sites. We used a mixed sequential regression model to study dispersal decisions, indexed by breeding dispersal movement, of 2,558 individuals over 32yr. Scale-dependent dispersal propensities of kittiwakes varied according to breeding status, breeding experience, sex and individual identity. We suggest that distance-dependent dispersal costs result from strong competition among kittiwakes for nest sites. Individual decisions regarding dispersal (whether to leave or not, and where to go) depend on nesting habitat quality as well as the competitive ability required to keep territory ownership in a previous site, or to acquire a new site; this ability varies according to distance between sites and individual characteristics. Additional studies are needed to establish the generality of SPS in habitat selection