The general objective of the works led by the laboratory Biology of the Interactions is to contribute to the understanding of mechanisms at the origin of and which underlie the biodiversity through the study of the interactions between species. These interactions between species represent one of the important dimensions of the biodiversity because they establish the mechanisms which bind the elements of the biodiversity between them.

This laboratory is situated on the Agronomic Campus of Kourou, French Guiana, within the buildings INRA of the UMR EcoFoG.

Our research activities concern community assembly rules and the ecological adaptation and the plasticity of species traits in answer to the variations and to the constraints of their biotic and abiotic environment. These works lean largely on field studies in an integrative approach associating chemical, behavioral, molecular ecology and functional perspectives.

The privileged models of study are leaf litter ants and the networks of mutualist interactions between insects, plants and microorganisms, such as associations between ants, plants and fungi and the trophic aquatic networks of phytotelmes. The interactions of predation and competition are also studied, with ants as main model, through the quantification of the functional processes in which these organisms are involved and of the biochemical and structural characterization of venoms, in a fundamental and applied perspective.

This lab possesses:

• Binocular loupes (Leica : S8APO (x2), S6T, MZ75, M80 - Wild : M5) with cold-light source (col de cygne), acquired in 2010, they allow the observation of samples of small sizes, with progressive zoom (7,5x à 60x) with a maximal height de 7,5 cm (for S8APO). Object field from 3 cm to 3 mm, according to the zoom level.

• Microscope Olympus BX51, acquired in 2010, 4x, 10x, 20x, 40x, 100x.

• A macroscope Leica Z16 APO (fully apochromatic zoom system for high contrast, high-resolution, detailed analysis) installed on a single beam path providing 2D images and ensuring parallax-free imaging. The lab uses 0.5x, 1x and 2x objectives, allowing a maximum magnification of 230x and a digital camera DFC450 (max resolution : 2560x1920).

• Lyophiliser Alpha 1-2 LD, acquired in 2010.

• Heating chamber, acquired in 2013, to maintain samples between 30 and 80°C.

• Extractor hood (Sorbone), acquired in 2012, to manipulate toxic products.