Project context:
This postdoctoral position is part of the research that will be conducted within the ANR CRUScH collaborative project (AAPG2025 PRC; 2026-2029; CRUStaceans facing CHemical contaminations: adaptability of riverine and marine populations, and vulnerability to environmental change).
The project is based on the expertise of the INRAE ecotoxicology laboratory in Lyon (project leader: Arnaud Chaumot), UMR-I 02 SEBIO in Le Havre (contact: Romain Coulaud), UMR Biogéosciences in Dijon (contact: Rémi Wattier) and the Institute of Marine Sciences of Andalusia (ICMAN-CSIC, contact: Enrique Gonzàlez-Ortegon).
The CRUScH project addresses a key issue in ecotoxicology in the context of the aquatic biodiversity crisis: the long-term effects of population exposure to contaminated environments. Current ecological risk assessment (ERA) methods rely on toxicity data from laboratory strains, ignoring genetic and ecological variations within species. This approach overlooks the eco-evolutionary effects of contaminants and the indirect consequences for populations exposed to environmental changes.
CRUScH adopts a large-scale comparative approach to study the adaptability of crustaceans (freshwater gammarids and coastal palaemonids) in various contamination contexts, integrating their genetic diversity. Two hypotheses are being tested: (1) multigenerational exposure to pollutants induces local eco-evolutionary processes (phenotypic plasticity, selection) generating greater differences in sensitivity between populations than between species or phylogenetic lineages; (2) this prolonged exposure of populations increases their vulnerability to other environmental stresses.
CRUScH has four objectives: (1) to establish phylogenetic relationships and variability in sensitivity to four contaminants in populations in 100 French rivers for gammarids (across mainland France) and 30 French-Spanish coastal stations for palemonids (from Normandy to Galicia), whether exposed to chemical contamination or not; (2) to characterise the plastic or fixed nature of tolerances at the individual and intergenerational levels; (3) to assess the effects of exposure to chemical pressure on genetic diversity; (4) to test the vulnerability of populations exposed to the contaminant to other stresses (parasitism, heat waves, hypoxia, ocean acidification).
Combining expertise in ecotoxicology and molecular ecology, the project will improve knowledge of eco-evolutionary processes in the current context of persistent environmental contamination and highlight current ERE practices.
Missions:
This 24-month postdoctoral contract will be based in Le Havre at the UMR-I 02 SEBIO laboratory (https://umr-sebio.fr/) with one or more stays at the Andalusian Institute of Marine Sciences in Cadiz (Spain; https://www.icman.csic.es/). It will focus on the study of marine palemonid shrimp (Palaemon serratus and Palaemon elegans).
Focusing on these two species of palemonid shrimp, the postdoctoral researcher’s main task will be to carry out a large-scale characterisation of the spatial variability of the sensitivity of populations to chemical contaminants. Based on data from monitoring networks and the literature, the first task will be to identify 30 coastal stations along the French-Spanish coast to be investigated in the project in order to obtain a panel of stations with contrasting levels of anthropogenic pressure. The second task will be to plan and carry out field sampling campaigns (measurements of the life traits of organisms, sampling for laboratory exposure and for bioaccumulation assays) as well as laboratory exposure upon return from the field (i.e. exposure of organisms from different stations to different contaminants). This task will be central for the project, as the field campaigns will also enable the collection of organisms for the genetic characterisation of species and populations, and the results on the sensitivity of different populations will serve as a starting point for the selection of populations studied in the more mechanistic aspects of the project (tolerance and multiple stresses). For this first part, the postdoctoral researcher will benefit from the expertise of UMR-I 02 SEBIO in Le Havre and the Andalusian Institute of Marine Sciences in Cadiz, which will provide support for selecting stations, conducting field missions and carrying out laboratory experiments.
During the second year of the contract, the postdoctoral researcher will be involved in the more mechanistic aspects of the project, which will aim to 1/ determine whether the increased tolerances identified in certain contaminated stations are genetically fixed in populations and transmissible from one generation to the next (zootechnical practices and laboratory exposure); 2/ to compare, again in the laboratory, the resistance of individuals from ‘contaminated’ vs. ‘uncontaminated’ populations to abiotic stresses other than chemical stresses (temperature shocks, high CO2 content). He may also take part in the task of genetic characterisation of species and populations supported by the Universidade da Coruña (https://www.udc.es/grupos/gibe/index.html).
Candidate profile:
– PhD and/or postdoctoral degree in ecotoxicology/aquatic ecology;
– Expertise in R software;
– Significant experience in experimental approaches, whether field sampling or controlled laboratory experiments;
– Autonomy, initiative, enthusiasm, curiosity;
– Good writing skills;
– Ability to communicate and work in a team.
Practical information:
Start date: between January and March 2026
Manager: Romain Coulaud (UMR-I 02 SEBIO Le Havre)
Location: UMR-I 02 SEBIO, University of Le Havre Normandy
Collaboration: Benoit Xuereb, Céline Boulangé-Lecomte (UMR-I 02 SEBIO Le Havre), Arnaud Chaumot (INRAE Lyon, project leader), Enrique Gonzàlez-Ortegon (CSIC – Cadiz, Spain), Andrés Martínez Lage (GIBE – La Coruña, Spain)
Funding: ANR CRUsCH
How to apply: send an email to Romain Coulaud (romain.coulaud@univ-lehavre.fr) with a detailed CV, a cover letter and the names of three references to contact.
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