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Nicolas Bierne

@couplingdmi.bsky.social
1.6K followers 1.1K following 193 posts

CNRS researcher at @isemevol.bsky.social Montpellier Population Genetics, Evolution, Marine Biology, Transmissible Cancers #PopGen #Hybridization #Introgression #MarEvol #Transcan #MusselsAreCool

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Reposted by Nicolas Bierne
Pleuni Pennings @pleunipennings.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I am hiring a postdoc! Are you interested to work on population genetics/ drug resistance/ data? Want to work in Montpellier, France? Fastq files don't scare you? PhD required, start date hopefully Nov 1! (end date Sep 30 2028) Please share! abetterscientist.wordpress.com/2026/09/29/p...
abetterscientist.wordpress.com
Postdoc position on drug resistance evolution in Montpellier, France
I have some exciting news (again!). I got money from the region (Occitanie) to hire a postdoc (and later an engineer / technician) to work on drug resistance evolution in malaria (P. faciparum) and…
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Nicolas Bierne @couplingdmi.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
La SFE2 @sfecologie.bsky.social délivre cette année sont grand prix à 3 lauréats sur le thème de l’écologie et et de la biologie marine: Didier Gascuel, Henri Weimerskirch, et la seule et unique Fred Viard 🎉 #MarEvol sfecologie.org/actions/laur...
sfecologie.org
Lauréats Grand Prix SFE - sfecologie.org
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Nicolas Bierne @couplingdmi.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
The next AMMR is scheduled to take place in Greece in two years, stay tuned! #MusselsAreCool
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Nicolas Bierne @couplingdmi.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Students were able to benefit from Prof. Skibinski's boundless knowledge. We discussed sex determination and sex ratio for hours. Can you believe we still don't know how sex determation works in #MusselsAreCool?
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Nicolas Bierne @couplingdmi.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
We were even more amazed by the complexity of these beasts’ genomes, which exhibit insane structural variation. #MusselsAreCool
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Nicolas Bierne @couplingdmi.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
We have learned that mussel farms have a very positive impact on biodiversity and provide a very low-carbon eco-friendly source of protein (good for your health, no animal welfare concerns, no inputs required, and production that emits very little CO2). #MusselsAreCool
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Nicolas Bierne @couplingdmi.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Didn't you miss hearing from #MusselsAreCool just a little bit? We had our AMMR2026 conference organised by Pierre de Wit at the Tjarno Marine Lab @cemeb.bsky.social, and it was a lot of fun. www.gu.se/en/event/int...
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Nicolas Bierne @couplingdmi.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
A substantially revised V2 of our work on SNPs associated with rampant polymorphic duplications in the European flat oyster 🦪is out! ~15% of SNPs are associated with polymorphic duplications, with a striking concentration on 3 of the 10 chromosomes. #PopGen #MarEvol www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
biorxiv.org
Allelic coverage analyses reveal a high proportion and uneven chromosomal distribution of SNPs associated with polymorphic duplications in the oyster Ostrea edulis
Marine bivalves are known for their high genetic diversity and potentially high genetic load, as well as their structurally complex genomes. The European flat oyster, Ostrea edulis , is no exception. ...
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Reposted by Nicolas Bierne
Urban Evolution & Ecology Conference @urbanevoecoconf.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Bienvenue chez la Dre Frédérique Viard, director of the CNRS at Université de Montpellier and coastal marine ecosystems evolutionary biologist, who will lead "Adaptation to Urban Environments". Review starts in Sept-apply soon! 1st GRC on Urban Evo & Eco www.grc.org/urban-evolut... #UrbanEvoEcoGRC
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Reposted by Nicolas Bierne
Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 22/07/2026
Did Thoreau encounter contagious cancer? A new study finds transmissible tumors in catfish--and raises questions about whether they could arise in humans someday. Gift link: nyti.ms/4whfi6v
nyti.ms
Deep in This Lake, a Contagious Cancer Is Spreading (Gift Article)
Transmissible tumors have been reported in a handful of animal species, but never before among fish. Is it possible in humans?
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Nicolas Bierne @couplingdmi.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Not everyone knows that there’s more genetic divergence between a mussel and a clam than between a dog and a fish.
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Nicolas Bierne @couplingdmi.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
I find this new discovery of a transmissible cancer in catfish fascinating. As it’s described as the fourth example of contagious cancer, let me share this phylogenetic tree of species infected by such rarities.
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Reposted by Nicolas Bierne
Max Stammnitz @maxstammnitz.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Wow! A fourth class of transmissible cancers. CONTAGIOUS FISH MELANOMA, discovered in Lake Memphremagog (Vermont / Quebec) 🎣 🧬 😷 www.nature.com/articles/s41... @uvmvermont.bsky.social
nature.com
Brown bullhead catfish melanoma represents a novel transmissible cancer - Nature
Whole-genome sequencing analysis of tumour and matched non-tumour host tissues of the brown bullhead catfish reveals a type of naturally occurring transmissible cancer.
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Reposted by Nicolas Bierne
Julien Joseph @jujoseph.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Hi everyone, I just started a bluesky account to share my work and keep up with the work of others :) ! I am very pleased to share this review on the evolutionary causes behind the existence of meiotic recombination hotspots: doi.org/10.1371/jour... I hope it will be useful to some of you!
doi.org
Why recombination hotspots?
Meiotic recombination is the process by which DNA is exchanged between parental chromosomes during the production of gametes in eukaryotes. This phenomenon has important implications for fertility, ge...
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Michael Metzger @metzgerm.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
I am excited to present our newest report on a severe outbreak of transmissible cancer in clams in the Pacific Northwest, with a lot of unexpected twists. Led by Sydney Weinandt and Zach Child. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2611852123 1/14
pnas.org
Atlantic to Pacific: Outbreak of bivalve transmissible neoplasia detected in hybridizing soft-shell clams and eDNA in Puget Sound | PNAS
Bivalve transmissible neoplasias (BTNs) are transmissible cancers that have arisen in multiple bivalve species, including Eastern soft-shell clam (...
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Reposted by Nicolas Bierne
Claire Mérot @clairemerot.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Looking forward to our next STRiVE seminar by @aruizherrera.bsky.social
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Reposted by Nicolas Bierne
Molly Przeworski @mollyprz.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Happy to highlight new findings by Vanesa Getseva and Lin Poyraz about the sources of variation in germline mutation rates among humans: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Joint work with Anastasia Stolyarova and @ipsitaagarwal.bsky.social. 1/n
biorxiv.org
A sibling study of variation in parental mutation rates
People are born with variable numbers of de novo germline mutations (DNMs), depending primarily on the ages of their parents. To explore additional causes, we developed an approach to call DNMs from nucleotide differences between siblings in genomic regions inherited identical by descent from both parents. Applying it to whole genome sequences from 28,985 sibling pairs of diverse genetic ancestries present in the UK Biobank and All of Us datasets, as well as 2,330 trios, we identified >800K autosomal DNMs and characterized mutation phenotypes in 27,645 sets of parents. We found subtle shifts in the mutation spectrum but no differences in total DNM rates among genetic ancestry groups, or between smokers and non-smokers. Testing for associations between parental mutation phenotypes and their burden of loss-of-function and deleterious missense variants in a set of 180 DNA repair and maintenance genes, we discovered that disruptions in REV1 and LIG1 increase germline mutation rates, and thus that rare mutator alleles segregate in population cohorts. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. NIH, R35 GM083098
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Vincent CASTRIC @vincentcastric.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Ever wondered what makes some alleles dominant (A) and others recessive (a) ? In our new paper, we explored how a series of recently discovered "dominance modifiers", genetic elements that have long remained elusive, achieve their regulatory function. journals.plos.org/plosgenetics...
journals.plos.org
Dominance modifiers at the Arabidopsis self-incompatibility locus retain proto-miRNA features and act through non-canonical pathways
Author summary Many plants avoid self-fertilization through a system of self-incompatibility, which allows them to recognize and reject their own pollen. In plants like those in the Arabidopsis family...
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Nicolas Bierne @couplingdmi.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
I gave a PopGen Vienna seminar on Tueaday. I was impressed by the quality and depth of the discussions I had the all day with all the students of the program. Thank you very much. I learned so much from you, far more than I was able to help you with my limited advice #PopGen youtu.be/kAEsLuuLuq0?...
youtu.be
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Reposted by Nicolas Bierne
Gabriele Nocchi @gabnocgenomics.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
Happy to share this paper with @samyeaman.bsky.social, now published in Molecular Biology and Evolution! Using replicated hybrid zones, we explored patterns of local adaptation and introgression in spruce and found strong signals even at very fine geographical scales! doi.org/10.1093/molb...
doi.org
Replicated hybrid zones reveal genomic patterns of local adaptation and introgression in spruce
Abstract. Hybridization between species can occur along repeated zones of contact, providing a natural laboratory for studying the interplay between migrat
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Nicolas Bierne @couplingdmi.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
I had finally come to acknowledge the "reuse" concept, but the constant push for the “rapid and independent” narrative is wearing me out.
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Nicolas Bierne @couplingdmi.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
"the origin of standing genetic variation in the sea is interesting and requires further stud" Isn't it simply a migration (of old variants that long persisted in freshwater populations) - selection balance?
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Nicolas Bierne @couplingdmi.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
Reply "understanding early speciation requires recognizing the evidence that adaptation is rapid and repeatable" Really? www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1...
pnas.org
Reply to MacColl: Repeated evolution from standing genetic variation | PNAS
Reply to MacColl: Repeated evolution from standing genetic variation
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Nicolas Bierne @couplingdmi.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
Evergreen debate over the stickleback narrative: recent, rapid, independent. One more piece on the “coupling” side: two timeframes (old adaptation, recent spatial redeployment), not so independent. www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....
pnas.org
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
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Reposted by Nicolas Bierne
James McCulloch @jamesimcc.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Why do the chromosomes of cyperids (sedges & rushes) split and fuse so regularly on evolutionary timescales? Is it because they have so many centromeres? Our new preprint, the first major paper of my PhD, addresses this question. 🧵⬇️ 1/12 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
A sedge. It may look unassuming but its genome has several unusual features.
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Rob Noble @robjohnnoble.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
Academics often lament that hardly any master’s projects get published. The student moves on. Other research takes priority. No one has time to do the final analyses. Here I tell how one master’s project was, through persistent teamwork, finally carried over the finish line: go.nature.com/4aKs7N3
go.nature.com
On the expansion and evolution of a master’s project
Academics often lament that hardly any master’s projects – even the best ones – get published. The student moves on. Other research takes priority. No one has time to do the final analyses. Here I tel...
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Nicolas Bierne @couplingdmi.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Un poste MCF en génomique évolutive / écologie moléculaire à ECOBIOP - Université de Pau #PopGen 👇 urlr.me/rVQmN6
urlr.me
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Nicolas Bierne @couplingdmi.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
April Fools’ Day is coming early this year, but really, any day is a good day to poke fun at the system. Well done @russcd.bsky.social
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Nicolas Bierne @couplingdmi.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Un poste MCF en évolution de la biodiversité marine à l'Université de La Réunion UMR Entropie #MarEvol 👇 www.univ-reunion.fr/wp-content/u...
univ-reunion.fr
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cfraisserios.bsky.social @cfraisserios.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
We are offering a fully funded two-year postdoctoral position focused on sex chromosome evolution and speciation in the *Jaera albifrons* species complex. Please find the advertisement attached. We welcome applications from interested candidates. Join us :-)
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Joana Meier @joanameier.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
David Marques was an amazing speciation genomics researcher, a passionate birder, and a wonderful friend, husband, and father. May he rest in peace. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
David Alexander Marques (1984–2026) - Nature Ecology & Evolution
Speciation genomics researcher, author of the combinatorial theory of speciation and passionate birder
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Maren Wellenreuther @marenwellenreuther.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
New out: A Beginner’s Guide to Structural Variants in Eco-Evolutionary Population Genomics. We outline how to detect and analyse SVs, discuss key challenges, and provide a practical framework for population-level studies A resource for students entering SV research. doi.org/10.1111/mec....
doi.org
A Beginner's Guide to Structural Variants in Eco‐Evolutionary Population Genomics
Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) has greatly expanded researchers' ability to study structural variants (SVs), that is, the variation in the presence, number, orientation or position of a DNA sequence. ....
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Reposted by Nicolas Bierne
Aline Muyle @aline-muyle.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
I am hiring a Postdoc (18 months contract in Montpellier, France) to study how polyploidy affects sex chromosomes in the plant Silene latifolia, using bioinformatic analyses of RNA-seq and DNA-seq data. Deadline for applications March 24th. euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/412961
euraxess.ec.europa.eu
Post doc position in Evolutionary biology and bioinformatics
- work environment: This postdoctoral position will be supervised by Aline Muyle and hosted at the Institute of Evolutionary Sciences of Montpellier (ISEM), within the CHANGE department and the Plant ...
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Emily Josephs @emjo.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
New work from the lab: Miles @milesroberts.bsky.social tried out machine learning to estimate sweep times to fixation and (spoilers) it didn't really help www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... As always, we'd appreciate any feedback!
biorxiv.org
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Nicolas Bierne @couplingdmi.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
Results of this work suggest 1- that episodic windows of adaptive introgression can generate new admixed lineages and 2- repeatability arises from multi-genic positive selection favouring the same introgressed variants borrowed from semi-isolated related species.
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Nicolas Bierne @couplingdmi.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
Here we found three admixed lineages, each derived from three parental species. 3-way admixture ! We show that repeatability is not primarily driven by systematic depletion of minor ancestry. It is instead shaped by recurrent enrichment of the same shared minor-parent ancestry peaks.
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Nicolas Bierne @couplingdmi.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
With only two parents, we lack one degree of freedom. When we observe repeatable patterns of ancestry across hybrid zones, we can map chromosome regions affected by selection. However, we cannot determine the direction of selection. Is foreign ancestry purged or favoured?
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Nicolas Bierne @couplingdmi.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
A more technical point, but an even more fascinating one. In hybridization genomics, we usually scan admixed genomes for: • minor ancestry deserts → candidate barrier loci • minor ancestry peaks → adaptive introgression But we almost always study 2-parent admixture.
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Nicolas Bierne @couplingdmi.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
We often think of hybridisation as occurring after long periods of allopatry. In this case, however, isolation is maintained in sympatry, with species barriers suddenly breaking down at a range limit.
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Nicolas Bierne @couplingdmi.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
Cryptic coral species can remain reproductively isolated in the same reefs with only minimal gene exchange for over 300 KY ... and then suddenly interbreed at the edge of their range. For a fan of post-glacial secondary contacts as I am, this was a real surprise.
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Nicolas Bierne @couplingdmi.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
A huge thank you to Iva and Cynthia @seaprof.bsky.social and the all Riginos lab for inviting me to make a modest contribution to this study. My first coral paper 🌊🪸 🎉 A dream come true 😊. I really encourage you to read it #MustRead Two major take-home messages for hybridization genomics 👇
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Cynthia Riginos @seaprof.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
Three-way hybridization of table corals in the Acropora hyacinthus group from the southern Great Barrier Reef results in parallel adaptive introgression. Check out our new preprint: doi.org/10.64898/202... #CoralSky #MarEvol #coral #popgen #consgen #genomics
Table coral
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Cynthia Riginos @seaprof.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
Led by Iva Popovic, with Katharine Prata, @melissanaugle.bsky.social le.bsky.social, @ilhabyrne.bsky.social habyrne.bsky.social, Sam Howitt, Tom Bridge, Vero Mocellin, Emily Howells, Line Bay & @couplingdmi.bsky.social lingdmi.bsky.social #RRAP #AIMS @uq-cbcs.bsky.social
habyrne.bsky.social
Bluesky
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Nicolas Bierne @couplingdmi.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
This is heartbreaking news. My thoughts are with you and with his loved ones. May he be fondly remembered.
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Leeban Yusuf @leebanhy.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
New paper out: “allopatric” Drosophila species aren’t so allopatric after all. We show that most currently allopatric species pairs probably overlapped in the past and exchanged genes at levels similar to sympatric pairs. @evolletters.bsky.social doi.org/10.1093/evle... [1/6]
doi.org
Genomic analyses in Drosophila do not support the classic allopatric model of speciation
Abstract. The allopatric model of speciation has dominated our understanding of speciation biology and biogeography since the Modern Synthesis. It is uncon
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Nicolas Bierne @couplingdmi.bsky.social · 04/01/2026
Two-way native-invasive introgression and structural variants in invasive moth species. Admixture and exchange of adaptive alleles can facilitate adaptation, but this is also true for pests. Amazing work by @henrylnorth.bsky.social, @chrisjiggins.bsky.social and others, with a lot to think about.
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Chris Jiggins @chrisjiggins.bsky.social · 26/12/2025
Excited about our new preprint showing bidirectional adaptive introgression between invasive and native crop pests over ecological timescales www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
The collision of two genomes threatens global food security
Human activity alters selection pressures and species' ranges, creating opportunities for hybridisation through secondary contact. Ancient hybridization has enabled adaptive radiation, but its role in...
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Molly Przeworski @mollyprz.bsky.social · 22/12/2025
Happy to highlight an essay I wrote together with @marcdemanuel.bsky.social, @natanaels.bsky.social and Anastasia Stolyarova, trying to think through what sets the mutation rate of a cell type in an animal species: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 1/n
biorxiv.org
What sets the mutation rate of a cell type in an animal species?
Germline mutation rates per generation are strikingly similar across animals, despite vast differences in life histories. Analogously, in at least one somatic cell type, mutation rates at the end of l...
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Gina Baucom @gbaucom.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
New preprint from the lab on bioRxiv, led by Grace Zhang! Quick summary: Lots of studies have examined costs and benefits associated with resistance. Most focus on a single stressor, leaving unclear how resistance shapes fitness and evolution under multiple interacting stresses.
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Nicolas Bierne @couplingdmi.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
J'ai été interviewé dans l'émission Soyons Nature sur radio campus Montpellier pour expliquer comment l'analyse de l'ADN révèle l'impact des activités humaines sur la biodiversité et l'évolution des espèces marines. www.radiocampusmontpellier.fr/podcast/soyo...
radiocampusmontpellier.fr
Soyons Nature - 10/12/25 - Radio Campus Montpellier
Dans cette émission nous recevons Nicolas Bierne, directeur de recherche au CNRS à l'Institut des Sciences de l'Évolution de Montpellier dans l'équipe biologie évolution marine, venu nous parler de la...
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