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Pereira.pdf: 8559526 bytes, checksum: b0f6ba0982104d5a1057b1207b6f4c0e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-10-09 / FAPEAM - Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Amazonas / The width of riparian zones and its conservation has been topic of discussion in political and scientific circles. The Brazilian Forest Code (BFC), which regulates creation of Permanent Protection Areas (PPA) prescribes protection of riparian vegetation up to 30 m on both stream sides. Studies conducted in Central Amazon showed that this width is not efficient in maintaining plant and animal biodiversity and ecosystem processes associated to them. We investigated the influence of distance to the stream on bat guild and species abundance, number and composition. We hypothesize that bat assemblage changes with distance to the stream. We believe that this change occurs at species composition level with increasing abundance, mainly of frugivorous and nectarivorous bats in areas close to streams. Bats were captured with mist-nets in 24 riparian plots and 25 non-riparian plots within a trail grid in a primary terra-firme forest at northeast of Manaus, Amazonas State, Brazil. Each plot was sampled thrice in 7056 net-hours. A total of 1.138 bats were captured, composing 51 species, five families and five trophic guilds. We used model selection by AIC (Akaike Information Criterion) in linear and piecewise regressions to estimate existence of ecological threshold for bat assemblage. For animalivorous and nectarivorous bat abundance, quantitative and qualitative species composition and guild composition, piecewise models with one breakpoint were more parsimonious and had greater Akaike weights than linear models. Animalivorous bat abundance was higher close to the stream up to 181 m and frugivorous bat abundance decreased up to 50 m of distance to the stream. The change on animalivorous bat abundance suggests that feeding areas away from streams may provide enough food to maintain more individuals of that guild and the opposite of that may occur for frugivorous bat abundance. The width of riparian zone recognized by bat species was up to 114 m of distance to the stream and was given by qualitative composition model. Given this width, requirements of 30 m for forest protection in riparian PPAs with streams of up to 10 m do not incorporate composition of bat species in riparian areas. Clearing of vegetation after 30 m allowed by law reduces 380% of riparian forest habitat that is necessary for conservation of bat assemblage in riparian zones. Ecological thresholds obtained from studies in primary forests at community level, combined with landscape descriptors suitable to animal and plant species ecology should be an effective strategy to predict width of riparian habitats necessary for biodiversity preservation. / A largura das zonas ripárias e sua conservação tem sido assunto de discussões no meio científico e político. O Código Florestal Brasileiro (CFB), que regulamenta a criação de Áreas de Proteção Permanente, determina a proteção de até 30 m de vegetação ripária em ambos os lados de pequenos riachos. Estudos realizados na Amazônia Central verificaram que esta largura não é eficiente em preservar a biodiversidade de alguns grupos animais e vegetais e processos ecossistêmicos associados a eles. Nós investigamos a influência da distância ao riacho sobre a abundância, número e composição de espécies e guildas tróficas de morcegos. A nossa hipótese é que a assembleia de morcegos muda com a distância ao riacho. Nós acreditamos que essa mudança se dê no nível de composição de espécies com o aumento da abundância, principalmente dos morcegos frugívoros e nectarívoros, nas áreas próximas aos riachos. Morcegos foram capturados com redes de neblina em 24 parcelas ripárias e 25 parcelas não-ripárias inseridas em uma grade de trilhas em uma floresta primária de terra firme a nordeste de Manaus, Estado do Amazonas, Brasil. Cada parcela foi amostrada três vezes, totalizando 7.056 horas-rede. Ao total foram capturados 1.138 morcegos, distribuídos em cinco famílias e 51 espécies, compondo cinco guildas tróficas. Utilizamos seleção de modelos por AIC (Akaike Information Criterion) nas regressões lineares e piecewise para estimar a existência de um limiar ecológico para a assembleia de morcegos. Para abundância de animalívoros e frugívoros, composição quantitativa e qualitativa de espécies e composição de guildas tróficas os modelos piecewise com um ponto de quebra foram mais parcimoniosos e tiveram maior peso do que os modelos lineares. A abundância dos morcegos animalívoros foi maior na região próxima ao riacho até 181 m e a abundância de morcegos frugívoros diminuiu até 50 m. Essa mudança na abundância de animalívoros sugere que áreas de forrageio mais afastadas do riacho devem fornecer alimento suficiente para manter maior número de indivíduos dessa guilda trófica e o inverso deve acontecer para os frugívoros. A largura da zona ripária reconhecida pelas espécies de morcegos foi de 114 m de distância ao riacho e foi dada pelo modelo de composição qualitativa. Considerando essa largura, as prescrições do CFB para proteção de 30 m de floresta em APP’s ripárias com riachos de até 10 m não incorporam a composição das espécies de morcegos de áreas ripárias. O desmatamento da vegetação depois de 30 m permitido pela legislação reduz 380% do habitat de floresta ripária necessário para a manutenção da assembleia de morcegos em zonas ripárias. Limiares ecológicos obtidos de estudos de comunidades em florestas primárias, combinados com descritores da paisagem apropriados à ecologia de espécies vegetais e animais devem constituir uma estratégia eficiente para prever a largura de habitats ripários necessária à preservação da biodiversidade.

La pollution lumineuse, induite par l’utilisation massive d’éclairage artificiel la nuit, est un changement global qui affecte une partie importante des écosystèmes terrestres et marins, et qui soulève de nombreuses inquiétudes quant à son influence sur la biodiversité et le fonctionnement des écosystèmes. En effet, la pollution lumineuse induit de nombreux impacts sur les rythmes circadiens et saisonniers des organismes, et affecte leurs mouvements et leurs distributions spatiales. L’accumulation de ces impacts dans le temps et dans l’espace sur les différentes espèces peut ainsi entrainer des perturbations en cascade sur les dynamiques spatiotemporelles des communautés et sur les écosystèmes.Dans ce contexte, l’objectif de cette thèse est de caractériser les impacts de l’éclairage artificiel sur les activités de chauves-souris (ordre: chiroptère) à de multiples échelles spatiales afin d’élaborer des mesures de gestion de l’éclairage public qui limitent ses impacts négatifs sur la biodiversité. Nous avons utilisé les chauves-souris comme modèle d’étude car elles sont nocturnes et directement exposées à la pollution lumineuse, et sont considérées comme des espèces bio indicatrices de la réponse des espèces aux pressions anthropiques.Dans un premier temps, nous avons caractérisé l’impact relatif de la pollution lumineuse à l’échelle du paysage par rapport aux autres pressions de changements d’usage des sols en utilisant une base de données nationale de sciences participatives. Nous avons trouvé que la pollution lumineuse avait un impact négatif sur l’activité et la probabilité de présence des espèces de chiroptères les plus communes en France, et que cet impact était significativement plus fort que celui de l’artificialisation des sols, mais moins important que celui de l’agriculture intensive. Ces résultats confirment l’importance de prendre en compte l’éclairage public dans les stratégies d’aménagement du territoire pour restaurer efficacement de l’obscurité dans les paysages anthropisés.Ainsi, nous avons élaboré une expérience in situ pour déterminer si i) restaurer de l’obscurité dans le temps en éteignant les lampadaires pour une partie de la nuit (extinction nocturne), ou ii) limiter l’étendue spatiale de l’éclairage à proximité d’éléments naturels pouvaient être des mesures efficaces pour créer des zones corridors et des zones de refuges obscurs dans les paysages anthropisés. Nos résultats ont montré que les mesures actuelles d’extinction ne limitaient pas efficacement l’impact de l’éclairage sur les espèces de chiroptères sensibles à la lumière. Par contre, nous avons déterminé que les lampadaires devraient être séparés d’au moins 50 m des corridors écologiques, et que l’intrusion de lumière dans la végétation autour des zones éclairées ne devrait pas dépasser 0.1 lux pour permettre l’utilisation de ces espaces par les espèces sensibles à la lumière.En conclusion, cette thèse a mis en lumière l’importance de traiter la question de la pollution lumineuse à de multiples échelles spatiales pour bien caractériser ses impacts sur la biodiversité. Elle a par ailleurs permis de souligner l’importance de la prise en compte de cette pollution dans l’aménagement du territoire, et de proposer des critères écologiques qui pourraient être intégrés dans les futur normes et standards européens pour l’éclairage public. / Light pollution induced by the widespread use of nighttime artificial lighting is a global change affecting substantial part of terrestrial and marine ecosystems. As a result, major concerns have been raised about its hidden impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Light pollution has major impacts on the circadian and seasonal cycles of organisms, and on their movements and spatial distributions. As a whole, light pollution likely disrupts the spatiotemporal dynamics of biological communities and ecosystems. In this context, the aim of this PhD was to characterize the impacts of nighttime artificial lighting on bat activity (order: chiroptera) at multiple spatial scales in order to propose reduction measures that can effectively limit the adverse impacts of light pollution on biodiversity. We used bats as model species as they are nocturnal and directly exposed to light pollution and they are considered to be good indicators of the response of biodiversity to anthropogenic pressure.We first intended to characterize the extent of effect of light pollution at a landscape scale relative to major land-use pressures that are threatening biodiversity worldwide. Using a French national-scale citizen science database, we found that landscape-scale level of light pollution negatively affected common bat species, and that this effect was significantly stronger than the effect of impervious surfaces but weaker than the effect of intensive agriculture. This highlighted the crucial need to account for outdoor lighting in land-use planning in order to restore darkness in human-inhabited landscapes.Thus, through an in situ experiment, we investigated whether i) restoring darkness in a landscape for a part of the night through part-night lighting schemes, or ii) restraining the spatial extent of lighting at the vicinity of natural elements were effective options to enhance dark ecological corridors in human-inhabited landscapes. We found that part-night lighting schemes were unlikely to effectively mitigate the impacts of artificial lighting on light-sensitive species. However, we revealed that streetlights should be separated from ecological corridors by at least 50 m, and that the light trespass should be lower than 0.1 lux to allow their effective use by light-sensitive species.Overall, this PhD thesis revealed the major importance of addressing light pollution issues at multiple spatial scales to characterize its impacts on biodiversity. It also exposed the crucial importance of integrating outdoor lighting in land-use planning strategies and proposed to implement ecological criteria in future European standards for outdoor lighting.

This work gives an overview of the composition of the diet of bats in the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, discusses the structure of bat communities in different bioregions of the area in terms of hunting strategies and resource partitioning and last but not least, how echolocation and morphological characteristics of bats affect the composition of the diet. Although some samples were relatively small therefore it is necessary to look soberly at their informative value, and thus their importance is undeniable. The study in some cases provides completely the first information regarding the composition of diet in several species. Asellia arabica mainly catches Coleoptera (Scarabaeidae), Triaenops persicus hunts Lepidoptera, but Heteroptera, Coleoptera (Scarabaeidae) and Orthoptera too, while Triaenops parvus is a specialist in hunting Lepidoptera. Rhinopoma muscatellum hunts mainly Formicoidea, followed by Coleoptera (Melolonthinae) and Heteroptera, Rhinopoma hadramauticum hunts Formicoidea. Lepidoptera of different size, Heteroptera and Coleoptera are the prey of Chaerephon nigeriae. Pipistrellus hanaki has a wide niche breadth as other species of the genus Pipistrellus. In this study Brachycera, Auchenorrhyncha and Coleoptera primarily occurred in its diet. Not yet described species of...

This work gives an overview of the composition of the diet of bats in the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, discusses the structure of bat communities in different bioregions of the area in terms of hunting strategies and resource partitioning and last but not least, how echolocation and morphological characteristics of bats affect the composition of the diet. Although some samples were relatively small therefore it is necessary to look soberly at their informative value, and thus their importance is undeniable. The study in some cases provides completely the first information regarding the composition of diet in several species. Asellia arabica mainly catches Coleoptera (Scarabaeidae), Triaenops persicus hunts Lepidoptera, but Heteroptera, Coleoptera (Scarabaeidae) and Orthoptera too, while Triaenops parvus is a specialist in hunting Lepidoptera. Rhinopoma muscatellum hunts mainly Formicoidea, followed by Coleoptera (Melolonthinae) and Heteroptera, Rhinopoma hadramauticum hunts Formicoidea. Lepidoptera of different size, Heteroptera and Coleoptera are the prey of Chaerephon nigeriae. Pipistrellus hanaki has a wide niche breadth as other species of the genus Pipistrellus. In this study Brachycera, Auchenorrhyncha and Coleoptera primarily occurred in its diet. Not yet described species of...

Les chiroptères sont reconnus comme de potentiels régulateurs des populations d’insectes. Ce sont aussi les mammifères européens pour lesquels les enjeux de conservation sont les plus importants. Ils trouvent dans les forêts des habitats favorables qui sont cependant menacés par les changements climatiques et la fragmentation. Il convient donc de mieux comprendre lesrelations entre les communautés de chiroptères, leurs habitats et leurs proies en forêt. L'objectif de cette thèse est de quantifier les effets, à différentes échelles spatiales, desprincipales composantes de l’habitat forestier sur l’activité, la richesse spécifique, la diversité fonctionnelle et la composition des communautés de chiroptères européens. Les résultats reposent sur des données collectées grâce à des protocoles expérimentaux en Aquitaine et dans les six pays du réseau de placettes forestières organisé par le projet FunDivEurope. De la parcelle au continent, l'accroissement de la diversité des essences forestières, de la proportion de feuillus et du bois mort, en augmentant les ressources en proies et en gîtes, ont des effets positifs sur les communautés de chiroptères. Ces effets, non stationnaires, se renforcent vers le nord avec la rigueur du climat. Nous confirmons également que les chiroptères forestiers, par leur réponse numérique et fonctionnelle aux densités de proie, peuvent limiter la démographie d’un insecte défoliateur. Des mesures de gestion, visant le renforcement des structures-clés des habitats forestiers, sont proposées pour favoriser la conservation des communautés de chiroptères et leur capacité de régulation des insectes ravageurs. / Insectivorous bats are increasingly recognized as potential regulators of pest insect populations.They also represent the group of European mammals with the most unfavorable conservation status. Forests are key habitats for many bat species but are currently under threat from climate change and fragmentation. It is therefore urgent to better understand the relationships between the bats, their prey and their habitats in forests. Our main objective was to quantify the effects, at multiple spatial scales, of the main attributes of forest habitats on the activity, species richness, functional diversity and composition of European bat communities. They were studied using manipulative experiments in Aquitaine plantation forests and automatic recordings in the network of exploratory plots set up in six European countries by the FunDivEurope project. From the plot to the continent scale, increasing tree diversity, amount of broad leaved trees and dead wood, had positive effects on bat communities through an increase in prey and roost resources. However these effects were not stationary, being stronger at higher latitudes, probably due to lower habitat carrying capacity in relation to harsher climatic conditions. In addition we experimentally demonstrated that the numerical and functional responses of bats to prey density could result in effective regulation of pine processionary moth populations. Forest management strategies aim at enhancing key habitat structures, are eventually proposed in order to improve the conservation of bats and to increase the service of pest regulation they can provide.

Introduction This thesis concerns the mosquito-borne arbovirus Ross River (RR) virus. The main objectives were to determine the vector associations, the incidence, costs and natural history of disease, and behavioural and environmental risks for infection in tropical Queensland. 1. Literature review On the basis of the literature review there is strong evidence that Aedes vigilax, Ae. camptorhynchus and Culex annulirostris are important vectors in Australia. Aedes camptorhychus does not occur in Queensland. There is evidence that two peri-domestic container-breeding mosquitoes, Ae. notoscriptus and Ae. aegypti, may be vectors of the virus. The virus has been isolated from many other species but the role of most of these is unclear. It is unclear which vertebrate species are the major reservoirs for human infection. Studies are inconsistent with regard to the prevalence, duration and severity of symptoms and debility during RR virus disease. Nearly all epidemiological studies of RR virus have been descriptive. Therefore one can only surmise what the risks for human infection might be. Epidemiological studies to determine the associations between exposures and risk for disease do not exist. 2. Virus isolation from mosquitoes During 1996-1998 61,619 mosquitoes were processed for virus isolation. Thirty-three isolates of RR virus were made. The largest number (14) were from Ae. carmenti. The minimum infection rate (MIR) per 1,000 was 2.4. Isolates were also made from Ae. imprimens (1 isolate, MIR 10.3), Ae. kochi (2, 0.2), Ae. lineatus (1, 0.2), Ae. notoscriptus (1, 1.6), Ae. vigilax (1, 0.3), Cx. annulirostris (9, 0.3), Cx. vicinus (1, 4.0) and Mansonia septempunctata (3, 5.8). Ross River virus has been isolated from Cx. annulirostris, Ae. vigilax, Ae. notoscriputus and Ae. kochi but not from the other species. Ross River virus was not isolated from Ae. aegypti. Twenty-six isolates came from in or near a colony of 15,000 spectacled flying-fox, Pteropus conspicillatus. The proportion of RR virus positive pools from within 1 km. of this colony was significantly greater than elsewhere for all species combined and for Cx. annulirostris but not for Ae. carmenti. 3. The incidence and costs of Ross River virus disease Unpublished data on National, State and Territory notifications was collected. Crude incidence rates using census figures for denominator data were calculated. The same was done for the areas in which the other studies described in the thesis were carried out. An estimate of the cost of Ross River virus disease in Australia was made. During the period 1991-1998 of the States and Territories the Northern Territory (NT) had the highest and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) the lowest notification incidences. These were 62-281 and 0-3 per 100,000 per annum, respectively. During this period the notification incidence for Queensland ranged from 70 to 149 per 100,000 per annum. For the local government areas of Cairns and Mareeba, where the majority of cases of RR virus disease for the studies described in this thesis were recruited, the notification incidences were between 74 and 267, and 28 and 200, respectively. On the basis of an average of 4,800 cases per annum in Australia the cost of serological testing and medical consultations were estimated at $443,520 and $105,600. Lost earnings were estimated at $1,798,560. The total cost for medical consultations, serological testing and lost earnings will therefore be over $2 million in an average year. 4. The natural history of Ross River virus disease In 1998 incident cases of RR virus disease were ascertained. Fifty-seven eligible cases were recruited but only 47 could be reviewed on 3 occasions and data on these were analysed. Cases were followed for up to 197 days. Review included history, examination and the administration of the Clinical Health Assessment Questionnaire (CLINHAQ) and Short Form-36 (SF-36) . On initial review the 3 most common symptoms were arthralgia, joint stiffness and myalgia affecting 97.9, 89.4 and 59.6% of cases, respectively. The joint types most commonly affected by pain at the initial review were the ankles, wrists, interphalangeal joints of the fingers, knees and metacarpophalangeal joints. Objective signs of joint inflammation were rare. The prevalence of signs of inflammation decreased and the prevalence of normal joints on examination increased through the reviews. The prevalence of use of NSAIDs decreased through the reviews. On the basis of CLINHAQ items regarding work performance functioning at work improved through the course of the reviews. Linear regression with days since symptom onset as the independent variable was performed for some variables. The 8 dimensions of the SF-36 were standardized to the Queensland population and analyzed longitudinally . Analyses of the CLINHAQ functional disability index (FDI) and the visual analogue scales (VASs) for pain, global severity, fatigue, gastrointestinal complaints and sleep, and the depression and anxiety scales were also performed. The slopes of all fitted regressions except the SF-36 general health dimension were significantly different from zero. All measures of disease severity returned to normal by 8 months from onset, many in a shorter period. 5. Behavioural and environmental risks for infection Fifty-five incident cases of RR virus disease were recruited and formed the basis of a case-control study of behavioural and environmental risks. They were matched to 85 controls. In the year prior to symptom onset the only leisure exposure that significantly altered risk was camping [Odds ratio (OR) = 2.15; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.07-4.35]. No peri-domestic activities in the year prior to onset significantly altered disease risk. Leisure exposures were also assessed in a 3-week exposure period ending 4 days prior to symptom onset. None significantly altered risk. No peri-domestic activity in this period significantly altered risk and nor did exposure to vertebrates or mosquitoes. Containers and vegetation around the subject's dwelling did not significantly increase risk. The presence of ice cream containers and buckets was significantly protective when assessed by questionnaire, however this was also assessed by inspection and was found to increase risk though not significantly so. It was concluded that the former finding was due to differential misclassification of exposure status. The premise condition index (PCI) was measured. A low PCI for the subject's house was associated with a significantly increased risk (3-4 relative to 7-9 as reference category: OR = 3.15, 95% CI = 1.07-9.25). Window screening did not alter disease risk and air-conditioning in the house or the bedroom decreased risk but not significantly so. Use of protective measures, except bed nets, in the year prior to onset was found to decrease disease risk. Personal repellents, mosquito coils and citronella candles significantly decreased risk. A dose response was shown for the number of protective measures from personal repellents, aerosol and surface sprays, mosquito coils, citronella candles and mosquito "zappers" used in the year prior to symptom onset. Pet ownership and proximity of dwelling to horses did not significantly alter risk. A preference for light coloured clothing was significantly protective (0.37, 0.15-0.89). Stratification by gender, date of symptom onset and geographical area was performed. Stratification by geographical area included a coastal and tablelands stratum. There were differences between the stratum-specific odds ratios for camping in the year prior to symptom onset, the presence of bromeliads in the subject's garden and a preference for light coloured clothing. Multivariate analysis demonstrated confounding by use of personal repellents, mosquito coils and citronella candles. When modeled together these were found to cause confounding among themselves. They also caused significant confounding of camping, outdoor work and the presence of banana trees in the subject's yard. Multivariate analysis of the association between PCI and disease risk failed to demonstrate confounding by use of protective measures or time between symptom onset and review. 6. Synthesis and conclusions The three research Chapters form a coherent body of public health research on the epidemiology (Chapters 5 and 6) and ecology (Chapters 4 and 7) of RR virus, and the natural history of RR virus disease (Chapter 6) in tropical Queensland. Conclusions are drawn from the research in the thesis. A set of priorities for future public health research on RR virus is suggested, and a pilot control program for Ross River virus disease in tropical Queensland is recommended.

The proposed thesis concerns in the study of tribosphenic molar, the key apomorphy of mammalian clade, mainly in structure and development of its enamel coat. As the main model species served us European vespertilionid bat Myotis myotis. The aims of this thesis are: (1) to describe structure and microstructure of enamel in tribosphenic molars in detail; (2) to compare it with unicuspid teeth of the same dentition; (3) to describe mineralization process and enamel maturation in insectivorous dentition; (4) to describe late odontogenesis in molars of insectivorous dentition and its interlacing with enamel maturation, and how they come to occlusion.

La leptospirose est considérée comme la zoonose la plus répandue au monde mais les incidences sont les plus élevées dans les régions tropicales et en particulier sur les îles. Les îles du Sud-Ouest de l'Océan Indien ne dérogent pas à la règle puisque la maladie y représente un problème de santé humaine majeur sur plusieurs îles, notamment aux Seychelles qui enregistrent un des plus fort taux d'incidence humaine au monde. Sur la base des données disponibles, l'épidémiologie humaine apparait contrastée à l'échelle de la région : les cas cliniques sur Mayotte résultent d'infections par quatre espèces de leptospires distinctes alors qu'à La Réunion ou aux Seychelles, une seule espèce est à l'origine de la grande majorité des cas cliniques. L'objectif général de cette thèse est d'identifier certains des déterminants de cette épidémiologie singulière. Nous avons dans un premier temps complété les informations humaines en investiguant la leptospirose en Union des Comores, pays n'ayant jamais rapporté de transmission autochtone. Nos résultats indiquent que les populations humaines y sont exposées à des antigènes de leptospires comparables à ceux retrouvés sur l'île voisine de Mayotte. Ce résultat suggére que l'absence de leptospirose sur certaines îles est le résultat d'un déficit de surveillance. Nous avons ensuite caractérisé la diversité génétique des leptospires au sein de la faune de certaines îles, caractérisées par des niveaux d'endémisme élevés à même d'être en partie à l'origine de cette épidémiologie contrastée. Nous décrivons d'une part une importante diversité des leptospires pathogènes chez les chauves-souris (Chiroptères) malgaches. Nous montrons d'autre part que cette diversité de leptospires n'est pas structurée géographiquement mais présente au contraire une importante spécificité d'hôte, résultant de différents processus évolutifs incluant co-spéciation et host-switch. Nous avons exploité cette spécificité d'hôte pour éclairer l'épidémiologie de la leptospirose à Mayotte, où nous montrons que l'importante diversité bactérienne impliquée dans les cas cliniques résulte de la présence de nombreux réservoirs, dont certains originaires de Madagascar. Ainsi, il apparaît que l'épidémiologie humaine de la leptospirose dans le SOOI est le reflet d'assemblages distincts de leptospires cosmopolites et autochtones/endémiques maintenus et excrétés par des réservoirs animaux particuliers. / Leptospirosis is considered as the most widespread zoonosis worldwide but the incidence levels are higher in tropical regions and particularly on islands. The South-Western Indian Ocean islands are no exception and the disease is of major medical concern in several islands notably in Seychelles, displaying some of the highest human incidence ever reported. Based on available data, the human epidemiology appears contrasted in the region: on Mayotte, human cases result from the infection with four distinct Leptospira species whereas on Reunion Island or Seychelles, a single species causes the majority of clinical cases. The main objective of this thesis is to identify some of the drivers of this singular epidemiology. We first completed the information available on this human disease in the region by investigating the leptospirosis situation in the Union of the Comoros, a country where no autochthonous transmission has been reported so far. Our results indicate that Comorian populations are exposed to Leptospira, which are antigenically comparable to those detected in the neighbouring island of Mayotte. This finding suggests that the apparent absence of leptospirosis in some islands rather reflects a lack of surveillance. We then investigated the genetic diversity of Leptospira on distinct islands home to distinct endemic animal species that may shed distinct Leptospira lineages and thus at least in part explain the contrasted epidemiology of leptospirosis in the region. Specifically, we describe a high diversity of pathogenic Leptospira within Malagasy bats (Chiroptera) and further show that Leptospira diversity is not structured by geography. Instead, we show that these Leptospira display a strong specificity towards their hosts, which may result from different evolutionary processes including co-speciation and host switching. Using this tight host specificity, we investigated the leptospirosis epidemiology on Mayotte, where we show that the important bacterial diversity reported in clinical cases is due of the presence of several distinct animal species acting as reservoirs, some of which introduced from the neighbouring Madagascar. Altogether, results presented herein combined to data produced by our lab suggest that the epidemiology of leptospirosis in the SWOI results from distinct assemblages of cosmopolitan and autochthonous/endemic Leptospira. Keywords : Leptospirosis, Leptospira, Chiroptera, small mammals, hosts-parasites associations, MAT, MLST, co-phylogeny, Madagascar, Mayotte, Union of Comoros, South-Western Indian Ocean.

According to the prevailing doctrine, brain size has mainly increased throughout the evolution of mammals and reductions in brain size were rare. On the other hand, energetic costs of developing and maintaining big brain are high, so brain size reduction should occur every time when the respective selective pressure is present. Modern phylogenetic methods make it possible to test the presence of evolutionary trend and to infer the ancestral values of the trait in question based on knowledge of phylogeny and trait values for recent species. However, this approach has been rarely applied to study brain evolution so far. In this thesis, I focus on bats (Chiroptera). Bats are a suitable group for demonstrating the importance of brain size reductions. Considering their energetically demanding mode of locomotion, they are likely to have been under selection pressure for brain reduction. Furthermore, there is a large amount of data on body and brain mass of recent species available. Finally, phylogenetic relationships among bats are relatively well resolved. My present study is based on body masses and brain masses of 334 recent bat species (Baron et al., 1996) and on a phylogeny obtained by adjusting existing bat supertree (Jones et al., 2002) according to recent molecular studies. Analysing the data for...

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