EPOC, Environnements et Paleo-environnements Océaniques et Continentaux, UMR5805 CNRS - Univ. Bordeaux, Arcachon

UMR EPOC « Environnements et Paléoenvironnements Océaniques » is part of OASU “Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers ». EPOC includes 150 to 160 (60 researchers and lecturers, 40 to 50 PhD students, postdocs, and ATER, 50 technical staff) from the University of Bordeaux 1 and CNRS and is organized into 5 teams.

The EPOC laboratory is specialized in ecophysiology and ethology of bivalve molluscs as well as respiratory physiology and ecotoxicology of aquatic animals. EPOC has developed since 1997 High Frequency, Non-Invasive (HFNI) valvometry (see http://www.domino.u-bordeaux.fr/molluscan_eye), a unique technique currently at international level, to analyze the movement of valves in molluscs. The analysis of animal behaviour is one of the new gateways to the study of the impact of contaminants to sub-lethal doses. The technique has been applied successfully in shellfish exposed to pollutants at different levels of oxygenation of the water (Tran et al. 2003*; 2004*, 2005*, 2007*). In Crassostrea gigas, behavioural changes were experimentally evidenced in the presence of toxic algae Alexandrium minutum at environmentally realistic levels (Tran et al., 2010*, Haberkorn et al. 2011*). Moreover, we described biological rhythms of oysters in situ (Tran et al. 2011*) and in laboratory (Mat et al. 2012*). Similarly, we were able to demonstrate the disturbances related to parasitism and have characterized the time of spawning in field conditions (Arcachon and Marennes Oléron, Bernard et al., in prep). Today, the involved team is composed of biologists, electronics engineers, mathematicians and computer scientists and has developed valvometry versions for both laboratory and field experiments (unlimited distance). A standalone instrument can be installed on site close to the animals and communication is achieved either via a direct internet connection or via mobile phones with the marine station of Arcachon where data are processed (manually or automatically on an autonomous workstation).

http://www.epoc.u-bordeaux.fr/
http://molluscan-eye.epoc.u-bordeaux1.fr/