Picardy is an expert at Jules Verne University, provided by the American Institute of Ecology

Meet Jonathan Lenoir, the lucky winner of the George Mercer Prize. The prize, awarded annually by the American Ecological Society (ESA), rewards an exceptional study in the field of ecology by a young researcher under the age of 40.

Jonathan Lenoir, a CNRS researcher at the “Ecological and Dynamic Anthropological Systems” laboratory (Edison) at the University of Picardy Jules Verne in Amiens, is not one of those who would like to present himself.

However, he received the George Mercer Prize for his study of the evolution of biodiversity published in 2019. Processes of the United States Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

An expert #UPJV KEkoLogIt Winner of the George Mercer Prize for the Study of Biodiversity, published in 2019 at the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) Process: https://t.co/vEpsDkNTo1 pic.twitter.com/3pmSiIchXP

– Picardy Jules Verne University (PUPJV_Univ) April 22, 2021

“This is a sure sign of a truly long-term partnership“Jonathan Lenoir repeats it. This prize was awarded to all the co-authors of the partnership and study.”I had the opportunity to participate in this work meeting. This was done by two brilliant American researchers who had the idea of ​​this meta-analysis“.

It all started in 2015 following a brainwashing session organized by American researcher Cascade Sorde. Theme of reflection: Aggressive alien species. Working groups are formed with about ten researchers of all national species.

“Our work focused on the impact of invasive alien organisms on ecosystems and indigenous species and communities of native creatures. In Picardy, for example, there is the late cherry, a North American species that was specifically introduced into the Gambiacne forest.“.

“This species is very energetic and responds quickly to open forest ecosystems, generally following silk cultivation management practices. It tolerates shade well and can remain ‘curved’ in the shade of the woods for many years, while waiting for the stand to open up and then light enough to occupy the space of the woods. . This breed is very competitive to light, so it is the impact of Forrester that cannot be easily removed. Knowing that there is currently no sales outlet to evaluate these exotic creatures and that by competition, it has taken the place of native creatures such as beech and oak, it would be an economic loss to wood production. So the significant impact of invasive alien creatures like the cherry tree in late Europe is on the economic level for our communities.“.

For four years, researchers have been studying this question. All articles published on this subject are read in full. “It should be noted that a total of 1258 cases related to 201 scientific publications were collected. We went one by one to retrieve information about the exotic species involved. They belong to any cup level whether they are a prey / hunting organization or a competitor organization“.

This Titanic mission is traditionally done without the use of technology. “It is difficult to find all this information through one computer. Finally, the human brain can better integrate complete information at the level of an output.“.

In this study, all systems are covered: landscape, aquatic or marine. “We look at the plant and animal kingdom“Jonathan adds Lenoir.”We brew very different things. We take heights, we take what is in the literature. We take stock and eventually try to uncover a common pattern that will allow us to better understand how things are done globally.“. This is called meta-analysis, which is why scientists won the George Mercer Prize.

After these four years of work and several interim meetings, scientists in France (2015), UK (2016), Spain (2017), and the United States (2018) return their results.

This study is published in 2019. Jonathan Lenoir was 38 at the time.

Today, his research projects focus specifically on forest ecosystems, especially on the impact of forest microbiology on biodiversity and the response of this biodiversity to global warming. Great surface question.