The Biological Control and Spatial Ecology Lab (abbreviated as LUBIES, Lutte biologique et Ecologie spatiale) is part of the Université Libre de Bruxelles, and we are attached to the Interfaculty School of Bioengineers, which groups research units working in diverse fields of agricultural and applied biological sciences (e.g. agroecology, forestry, landscape ecology and urban planning, environmental sciences).
Our researches deal with demographic and spatial changes in several harmful organisms such as forest, agricultural and urban insect pests and animal diseases. We focus on the mechanisms which trigger outbreaks and epidemics, on the factors favouring their spread and persistence, and on the development of monitoring and control methods.
A particular attention is given to invasive alien organisms: exotic insects (forest and urban tree pests) and emerging diseases (bird flu, bovine tuberculosis, bluetongue), and to the patterns and processes involved in their extension (global change, farming systems, trade). These processes include interactions between these organisms and their habitat or host, and with their biotic and physical environment. The methods used to approach these systems include uni-variate or multi-variate spatial statistics, spatially-explicit and spatially-realistic population models and simulations.
News
Two new post-docs have joined the lab recently, Etienne Toffin (postdoctoral researcher, F.R.S.-FNRS), who works on the morphogenesis of bark-beetle galleries, and Pierre-François Pélisson (Short term Foreign Postdoctoral Fellow, F.R.S.-FNRS), who works on the reproductive strategy of Dendroctonus micans.
Recent Publications
- Van Boeckel, T, W. Thanapongtharm, T. Robinson, B. Chandra, X. Xiao & M. Gilbert (2012) Improving risk models for avian influenza: the role of intensive poultry farming and flooded land during the 2004 Thailand epidemic. Plos ONE 7(11): e49528. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0049528
- Gryspeirt A. & J.-C. Grégoire (2012) Effects of Two Varieties of Bacillus Thuringiensis Maize on the Biology of Plodia Interpunctella. Toxins, 4: 373-389; doi: 10.3390/toxins4050373
- Meurisse N., Hoch G., Schop A., Battisti A. & Grégoire J.-C. (2012). Low temperature tolerance and starvation ability of the oak processionary moth: implications in a context of increasing epidemics. Agricultural and Forest Entomology. doi: 10.1111/j.1461-9563.2011.00562.x
- Linard, C. & A.J. Tatem (2012) Large-scale spatial population databases in infectious disease research. International Journal of Health Geographics 2012, 11:7 doi: 10.1186/1476-072X-11-7