Articles

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  Invasive Alien Species, a legal framework poorly suited to a complex problem

  13/09/2018 Jaëla Devakarne l Andrew Hobson

  Man has acquired the power to completely transform his environment, disrupting the balance of ecosystems, often irreparably. Man’s introduction of new species into a given area is the second most significant threat to biodiversity, particularly in islands which are more sensitive to environmental disturbances. In Reunion Island, for example, where 30% of original habitats are still present, invasive alien species (IAS) have become the leading cause of biodiversity loss. 

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  The battle against fruit flies continues in the Comoros

  10/02/2016 Jaëla Devakarne

  The fruit fly Bactrocera invadens (or dorsalis) was detected in 2005 in the Comoros archipelago and poses a considerable threat to fruit crops there. To control this pest, a biological control program was launched in 2013. This program, part of the thesis of entomologist Issa Mze Hassani, will examine the behavior of species of fruit flies in order to prepare for the introduction of one of its natural enemies, the tiny wasp Fopius arisanus.

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  Honeybees of the Indian Ocean Islands: a diversity that must be preserved

  10/02/2016 Jaëla Devakarne I Andrew Hobson

  Local honeybees are of major importance for both the economy and the environment. On the islands of the Southwest Indian Ocean, apiculture is an important activity, especially in Reunion Island, Madagascar, Mauritius and the Seychelles. The preservation of bees, which are essential for the pollination of plants, requires a better knowledge of their diversity.

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  The islands as "model systems" for research in ecology and evolution

  23/05/2016 David Josserond

  Ben Warren, former biologist with the PVBMT Joint Research Unit (CIRAD - University of Reunion Island) and now based at the University of Zurich, recently published in Ecology Letters an article commemorating the 50th anniversary of a fundamental biological study: MacArthur and Wilson’s Theory of Island Biogeography, published in 1963.

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  (re) Définir la Biodiversité, un enjeu pour l’avenir

  20/08/2015 Alexandre Reteau

  « Biodiversité », terme tant et tant employé qu'il tend à être dépossédé de son sens originel. Qu’entend-on derrière ce mot qui nous parait si familier ? La biodiversité englobe une réalité délicate à appréhender, phénomène complexe qu’il importe d’aborder dans sa globalité.

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