For generations, humans have strived to create a world without large predators. In doing so, they have altered the rules of the evolutionary game that has been played for over 400 million years. Can this be without consequences for ecological networks and the fabric of life? This presentation addresses this question by drawing on lessons from a long-term study focused on islands.
Emeritus Research Director at the CNRS, affiliated with the Center for Functional and Evolutionary Ecology (CEFE) in Montpellier. My research interests include community ecology and landscape ecology, both in their fundamental aspects (trophic cascades, biodiversity dynamics) and as they relate to conservation science (agriculture and biodiversity, consequences of land-use changes, species introductions, and changes in fauna). In recent years, I have also been involved in research at the interface between ecology and social science (respect for the biosphere’s limits, economic growth, and biodiversity).
