Check out my profile on Research Gate and on Google Scholar or explore my full publication list below. Most papers are available online through the public repository at HAL CNRS
2025
2.
Chloé Chabaud; Jean-François Le Galliard; Simon Agostini; Olivier Lourdais
Sensing danger: Energetic and hydric costs of chemoreception in a lizard Journal Article
In: Functional Ecology, vol. 39, no. 12, pp. 3396–3404, 2025, ISSN: 1365-2435, (_eprint: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1365-2435.70214).
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: chemoreception, dehydration, lizards, metabolism, predation, tongue flick
@article{chabaud_sensing_2025,
title = {Sensing danger: Energetic and hydric costs of chemoreception in a lizard},
author = {Chloé Chabaud and Jean-François Le Galliard and Simon Agostini and Olivier Lourdais},
url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1365-2435.70214},
doi = {10.1111/1365-2435.70214},
issn = {1365-2435},
year = {2025},
date = {2025-01-01},
urldate = {2025-12-05},
journal = {Functional Ecology},
volume = {39},
number = {12},
pages = {3396–3404},
abstract = {Understanding the benefits and costs of chemoreception and predator avoidance is crucial for unravelling the ecological adaptations of potential prey organisms. In squamate reptiles, tongue flicking is a specialized behaviour used to collect chemical cues from the environment for foraging and predator detection. We hypothesized that the behavioural response to predator scents, and notably chemosensory investigation, incurs both energetic and hydric costs. We conducted two complementary experiments in a small, ground-active lizard (Zootoca vivipara) to assess the energetic and water-based constraints associated with predator detection and response. First, under controlled exposure to predator scents in a flow-through system, lizards increased tongue-flicking rates and thereby metabolic rate and total evaporative water loss. Second, in a laboratory manipulation, chronically dehydrated lizards showed reduced tongue-flick rates and impaired predator scent discrimination. These findings highlight a trade-off between water balance regulation and chemoreception, with potential implications for prey–predator interactions in terrestrial ecosystems under drought risk. Thus, energy and water constraints may mediate indirect effects of climate change on species interactions and population dynamics through alterations in sensory capacities. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.},
note = {_eprint: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1365-2435.70214},
keywords = {chemoreception, dehydration, lizards, metabolism, predation, tongue flick},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Understanding the benefits and costs of chemoreception and predator avoidance is crucial for unravelling the ecological adaptations of potential prey organisms. In squamate reptiles, tongue flicking is a specialized behaviour used to collect chemical cues from the environment for foraging and predator detection. We hypothesized that the behavioural response to predator scents, and notably chemosensory investigation, incurs both energetic and hydric costs. We conducted two complementary experiments in a small, ground-active lizard (Zootoca vivipara) to assess the energetic and water-based constraints associated with predator detection and response. First, under controlled exposure to predator scents in a flow-through system, lizards increased tongue-flicking rates and thereby metabolic rate and total evaporative water loss. Second, in a laboratory manipulation, chronically dehydrated lizards showed reduced tongue-flick rates and impaired predator scent discrimination. These findings highlight a trade-off between water balance regulation and chemoreception, with potential implications for prey–predator interactions in terrestrial ecosystems under drought risk. Thus, energy and water constraints may mediate indirect effects of climate change on species interactions and population dynamics through alterations in sensory capacities. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
2021
1.
J. -F. Le Galliard; Chloé Chabaud; Denis Otávio Vieira de Andrade; Franc cois Brischoux; Miguel A. Carretero; Andréaz Dupoué; Rodrigo S. B. Gavira; Olivier Lourdais; Marco Sannolo; Tom J. M. Van Dooren
A worldwide and annotated database of evaporative water loss rates in squamate reptiles Journal Article
In: Global Ecology and Biogeography, vol. 30, no. 10, pp. 1938–1950, 2021, ISSN: 1466-8238, (_eprint: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/geb.13355).
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: ectotherms, evaporative water loss, functional traits, homeostasis, hydroregulation, lizards, macrophysiology, snakes, water loss
@article{le_galliard_worldwide_2021,
title = {A worldwide and annotated database of evaporative water loss rates in squamate reptiles},
author = {J. -F. Le Galliard and Chloé Chabaud and Denis Otávio Vieira de Andrade and Franc cois Brischoux and Miguel A. Carretero and Andréaz Dupoué and Rodrigo S. B. Gavira and Olivier Lourdais and Marco Sannolo and Tom J. M. Van Dooren},
url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/geb.13355},
doi = {10.1111/geb.13355},
issn = {1466-8238},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-01-01},
urldate = {2021-01-01},
journal = {Global Ecology and Biogeography},
volume = {30},
number = {10},
pages = {1938--1950},
abstract = {Motivation The understanding of physiological adaptations, of evolutionary radiations and of ecological responses to global change urges for global, comprehensive databases of the functional traits of extant organisms. The ability to maintain an adequate water balance is a critical functional property influencing the resilience of animal species to climate variation. In terrestrial or semi-terrestrial organisms, total water loss includes a significant contribution from evaporative water loss (EWL). The analysis of geographic and phylogenetic variation in EWL rates must however account for differences in methods and potential confounding factors, which influence standard measures of whole-organism water loss. We compiled the global and standardized SquamEWL database of total, respiratory and cutaneous EWL for 325 species and subspecies of squamate reptiles (793 samples and 2,536 estimates) from across the globe. An extensive set of companion data and annotations associated with the EWL measurements of potential value for future investigation, including metabolic rate data, is provided. We present preliminary descriptive statistics for the compiled data, discuss gaps and biases, and identify promising avenues to update, expand and explore this database. Main types of variables contained Standard water loss rates, geographic data, metabolic rates. Spatial location Global. Time period Data were obtained from extant species and were collected between 1945 and 2020. Major taxa Reptilia, Squamata including lizards, snakes and amphisbaenians. Level of measurements Individual samples of animals from the same species, locality, age class and sex category. Software format csv.},
note = {_eprint: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/geb.13355},
keywords = {ectotherms, evaporative water loss, functional traits, homeostasis, hydroregulation, lizards, macrophysiology, snakes, water loss},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Motivation The understanding of physiological adaptations, of evolutionary radiations and of ecological responses to global change urges for global, comprehensive databases of the functional traits of extant organisms. The ability to maintain an adequate water balance is a critical functional property influencing the resilience of animal species to climate variation. In terrestrial or semi-terrestrial organisms, total water loss includes a significant contribution from evaporative water loss (EWL). The analysis of geographic and phylogenetic variation in EWL rates must however account for differences in methods and potential confounding factors, which influence standard measures of whole-organism water loss. We compiled the global and standardized SquamEWL database of total, respiratory and cutaneous EWL for 325 species and subspecies of squamate reptiles (793 samples and 2,536 estimates) from across the globe. An extensive set of companion data and annotations associated with the EWL measurements of potential value for future investigation, including metabolic rate data, is provided. We present preliminary descriptive statistics for the compiled data, discuss gaps and biases, and identify promising avenues to update, expand and explore this database. Main types of variables contained Standard water loss rates, geographic data, metabolic rates. Spatial location Global. Time period Data were obtained from extant species and were collected between 1945 and 2020. Major taxa Reptilia, Squamata including lizards, snakes and amphisbaenians. Level of measurements Individual samples of animals from the same species, locality, age class and sex category. Software format csv.