R2P - Rice, Rodents & Parasites

Description succincte du projet Ecosystems are increasingly exposed to global change of anthropogenic origin, with severe agricultural and sanitary effects. The arid regions of Sahel have been exposed to profound environmental alterations resulting from the combined effects of climate change and agricultural activities. These socio-environmental changes have an impact on the small mammal communities, including rodents with several species recognized as major pests of cultivated crops and stored food, and as hosts of parasites, including zoonotic agents. Northern Senegal is particularly concerned by these climate and agricultural changes. From a food security perspective, Senegal strongly depends on massive rice importations from South-East Asia. Nevertheless, along the valley of River Senegal, the availability of fresh water potentially allows intensive rice cultivation over several tens of thousands of hectares. Agricultural intensification is currently taking place which result in unprecedently growing rice production and stocks, with implications for the risk of proliferation of rodents and of their associated parasites, including invasive species. In northern Senegal, small mammal communities of irrigated crops and their arid margins have been monitored since the 1970s. This monitoring has been supported since 2015 by IRD and OSU Institut Pythéas through the ObsMiCE international observatory system. It provides the opportunity to document long-term changes in small mammal communities and their associated parasites in relation to local changes in the agricultural landscape and to regional changes. As part of the work of an Aix-Marseille University / Université Gaston Berger (AMU-UGB) co-supervised doctoral student, the R2P (Rice, Rodents & Parasites) project is an interdisciplinary collaborative research that will consolidate research conducted at LPED, extend collaborations between member laboratories of OT-Med and ECCOREV, and stimulate syntheses of data that have been collected since 2007 in the framework of the ObsMiCE international observatory system. This project will evaluate the influence of socio-environmental changes in the valley of River Senegal on rodent communities and their parasites, particularly zoonotic bacteria, gastrointestinal helminths and dermatophytes. This study will also identify the presence of pathogens potentially transmissible to humans or livestock, with major consequences in terms of public health.
Mots clés Community ecology Crop protection Dermatophyte fungi Ecotoxicology Gastro-intestinal helminths Hydro-agricultural schemes Parasite-rodent-human interactions Parasites Parasitology Rice Rodents Sanitary impact Zoonotic bacteria Sahel
Portage administratif
  • AMU
  • IRD
Porteurs du projet (Noms, Institution) Ambroise DALECKY (IRD LPED), Cheikh Tidiane NIANG (IRD-AMU LPED & UGB LaBAM), Isabelle LAFFONT-SCHWOB (AMU LPED), Amadou Bocar BAL (UGB LaBAM)
Personne référente du projet au LPED Ambroise DALECKY
Pôles associés
  • Ecosource
Bailleurs
  • IRD
  • Autre
Etat du projet Terminé
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