ISABELLE TOUSSAINT-LARDÉ

About my research

I am an evolutionary biologist keen on animal behavior, especially in herpetology.

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I completed my academic studies in Paris, earning a bachelor’s degree from Paris Diderot and a Master’s degree from the “Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle”. I have developed a diverse set of skills ranging from genetics and behaviour to anatomy and kinematics.

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During my first internship in the field of taxonomy, I worked under the supervision of Aurélien Miralles, comparing and evaluating four tools of molecular diagnosis available to taxonomists. For my second internship, I collaborated with Anthony Herrel and Anne-Claire Fabre to study the impact of habitat use on the kinematics of prey capture in Caudata.

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My PhD research focus on how developmental strategies foster patterns of morphological and functional variation throughout ontogeny, using the head of salamanders as a model system. I also examine whether, and to what extent, larval stages overlap in morphology and function with adults.

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Finally, I aim to study the interplay between feeding function and head morphology (external morphology, musculature, and cranium) of salamanders throughout ontogeny. This will ultimately help me disentangle the impact of experimental conditions, life stage, life cycle variations, and behavioral plasticity on the feeding system and strategy.

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My project involves fieldwork in the USA and France, where I record videos of feeding sequences in salamanders and newts from different families, ontogenetic stages, life cycles, and habitats. I use these videos to conduct kinematic and behavioral analyses. I can then combine these functional results with morphological data (geometric morphometrics, myological data), and comparative phylogenetic analyses.