FSD 2010 - The Host Institutions

5th International Symposium-Workshop on Frugivores and Seed Dispersal (1985-2010)

Host Institutions

Montpellier concentrates one of the largest communities of Ecologists, population geneticists and evolutionary biologists in Europe (e.g., CEFE, ISE-M). Several institutes with expertise on biological control are also in town (CSIRO, USDA). Furthermore, all main national research organisations are represented (INRA, CIRAD, IRD, CEMAGREF, IFREMER, BRGM, CEA, INRIA, INRAP), which are associated to Universities (3) or SupAgro or various Higher Education organisations. A large part of the research at CEFE and ISE-M focuses on mediterranean and tropical ecosystems. CEFE and ISE-M at University of Montpellier 2 furnishes a rich scientific environment for the themes of this Symposium-Workshop.

Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE)

The Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive » unites scientists from CNRS (National Centre for Scientific Research), universities of Montpellier, CIRAD (Centre for Agronomic Research Applied to Development), EPHE (Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes), and SupAgro (Ecole Nationale Supérieure Agronomique de Montpellier). The CEFE also hosts researchers from IRD (Institute for Research and Developement). The activities of the CEFE focus on important societal concerns: biodiversity, global change and sustainable development. The overall objective is to establish scenarios for changes in the structure, functioning and evolution of ecological systems and of strategies for their conservation, restoration and rehabilitation. Research at CEFE is coordinated around four transversal themes : (1) human actions, human-influenced systems and conservation biology; (2) the adaptive significance of life history traits in relation to environmental constraints ; (3) the role of biodiversity in ecosystem functioning; and (4) global change and ecosystem functioning.

Director : Jean-Dominique Lebreton (member of the French Academy of Sciences).

Institut des Sciences et de l'Evolution - Montpellier (ISE-M)

The Institut des Sciences de l’Evolution Montpellier units scientists from the University of Montpellier 2, the CNRS and IRD. Research at ISE-M focuses on the patterns and mechanisms of evolution in the living world. It aims to better understand the processes involved in the origins and dynamics of biodiversity. A specific approach taken by scientists at the ISE-M is to work on both extant and fossil material and to study plants, animals, and micro-organisms. The main research areas are paleontology and paleobiology, paleoenvironment and paleoclimate, molecular phylogeny, evolutionary biology, Human evolutionary biology, and integrative biology.

Director : Jean-Christophe Auffray