Antoine GAZAIX

Theme: Management and restoration of Natural and Agricultural ecosystems.

Contact details: e-mail | +33 4 90 97 29 75

Joined our team: October 2022

Profile: Research Gate

Thesis subject:

Conservation of a very rare annual fugitive species: Lythrum thesioides.

Lythrum thesioides is a very rare annual species, which has been observed in only two wetlands in the world, both in the Gard Department in France. The most significant population was discovered in 2010, during the impact study for the high speed train line to be built between Nîmes and Montpellier. My research focuses on this specific population. My goal is to improve our knowledge of the species’ biology, and of this population in particular, so that we can define management practices that will ensure its conservation.

In particular my research focuses on:

• The germination ecology of thesioides and other annual Lythrum found in Mediterranean temporary ponds;
• A seed bank study;
• A study of the ecological niche of annual Lythrum that includes plant surveys and the experimental management of wetlands.

Expertise

• The ecology of temporary Mediterranean ponds
• Conservation of plant populations and species
• Study of the genus Lythrum

Education

• MSc in Engineering, Biodiversity Ecology and Management, University of Montpellier
• BSc in Ecology, the Biology of Organisms, University of Montpellier

Supervision of students

• Volunteer internships of BSc students (Amélie Granger, Solène Baillet).

Teaching at the University of Montpellier

• 2017-2018: Integrative Biology, first year class, 30 hours of teaching
• 2016-2017: Angiosperms: Phylogeny and Floristics, third year class, 40 hours of teaching

Conferences

Gazaix A., Grillas P., Rhazi L. & Mesterházy A., 3 May 2017, « Is Lythrum thesioides a mediteranean species, consequences for conservation », European Conservation Pond Network Workshop, Faro (Portugal).

Publications

Find below the most recent publications of Antoine Gazaix, or see the full list on the Tour du Valat’s documentary web portal:

• Ecological niche differentiation among six annual Lythrum species in Mediterranean temporary pools (2021)
  de Antoine Gazaix, Patrick Grillas, Guillaume Papuga, Hugo Fontes, Florent Sabatier, Virginie Pons, Perrine Gauthier, John D. Thompson 2021, 13 En ligne : link.springer.com[...] The ecological niche defines the favourable range of a species in a multidimensional space of ecological factors that determine the presence and function of individuals. This fundamental concept ... read more
• A history of discoveries and disappearances of the rare annual plant Lythrum thesioides M.Bieb.: new insights into its ecology and biology
  de Antoine Gazaix, Mario Klesczewski, Michel-Ange Bouchet, Manuel Cartereau, James Molina, Henri Michaud, Serge D. Muller, Lionel Pirsoul, Perrine Gauthier, Patrick Grillas, et al. In Botany Letters, 167(2) (April, 2020), 201-211 En ligne : doi.org[...] Mediterranean temporary pools are threatened ecosystems that host a unique plant community, mostly ... read more
• Lythrum netofa (Lythraceae) a new species from a temporary flooded plain of Israel
  de Antoine Gazaix, Shmuel Mazar, Shir Vered In Phytotaxa, 437(1) (March 2020), 47-50 En ligne : www.biotaxa.org[...] Species of the genus Lythrum Linnaeus (1753: 446) (Lythraceae) occur in temporary pools and wetlands (Morris, 2007) with about 35 species around the world (Graham, 2007). In the Mediterranean area, there ... read more
• Ecologie des Lythrum annuels des mares temporaires méditerranéennes (2019-12-13)
  de Antoine Gazaix 2019-12-13, 263 En ligne : hal.archives-ouvertes.fr[...] Les communautés de plantes des mares temporaires méditerranéennes sont caractérisées par la dominance des espèces annuelles, avec une banque de graines persistante, dont la germination est associée aux alternances d'inondation et d'assèchement. Bien que de petites tailles et irrégulièrement distribuées dans les paysages, ... read more
• Heterogeneous forest structures favor persistence of the grassland Mediterranean geophyte <i>Gagea lacaitae</i>
  de Hugo Fontes, Antoine Gazaix, Guillaume Papuga In Botany Letters, 166(4) (October, 2019), 487-498 En ligne : www.tandfonline.com[...] Land use changes in the northern Mediterranean basin threaten our ability to conserve its habitats and species. Reduced grazing has led to local declines in grassland species and colonization by ... read more