PhD Students

Main research question To study the evolutionary history of the Aquitanian pike within the Esocidae, its competition with the northern pike for food, and the habitats each species uses throughout the year. In the first part, I investigate the phylogenetic relationships of the Aquitanian pike with the other species of the family Esocidae, using morphological and molecular data from both extant and fossil specimens. This part aims to better understand the evolutionary history of the family. The second part focuses on the functional morphology of the mouth in the Aquitanian pike, the northern pike and their hybrids, in order to determine whether the Aquitanian pike is at a disadvantage in prey capture, and therefore whether the two species compete. This work is based on dissected or tomographed specimens. In the third part, I examine freshwater habitat use by the Aquitanian and northern pikes in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, comparing sites where the Aquitanian pike occurs in sympatry with the northern pike to sites where it occurs alone. This part is based on environmental DNA (eDNA) samples collected at several sites representing different habitat types. Excavation site Prospection.