"UM : Science" [S02-ep03]: From Harbor Wildlife to the Science Festival
This week on *A l’UM * Science, Nicolas Bierne, a researcher atISEM, talks to us about the strange underwater fauna found in harbors. In the second half of the show, we present the final installment of our series on the LIRMM with Alexandre Pinlou. Finally, Agnès Pesenti shares the program for the Fête de la Science.
This week we’re bringing you a little remake of a Jacques Brel song, but in an underwater version where the sailors of the Port of Amsterdam are replaced by heavy metals, hydrocarbons, concrete, artificial lights—of course—and noise…. For while our sailors may be singing, eating, drinking, and dancing on the surface, they’re also hauling around little stowaways on their ships—well-hidden in the many nooks and crannies a vessel holds. So how do these exotic species adapt to this strange ecosystem that is a port? What unique adaptive responses might they develop? Do they hybridize with local species? In short, as you can see, while ports are crossroads for people and goods, they are also crossroads for species and, as such, can serve as veritable open-air laboratories. Our guest is Nicolas Bierne, a researcher atISEM, the Institute of Evolutionary Sciences in Montpellier. Together with his colleague Frédérique Viard, he published an article titled “Urban Encounters by the Sea: Ports as Darwinian Field Laboratories for Studying Marine Evolution in the Anthropocene.”
Recommended reading:
In the second half of the program, we present the third and final installment of our miniseries on Lirmm, and this time Alexandre Pinlou will introduce you to the Department of Computer Science. From computational theory, data science, and artificial intelligence to bioinformatics, image processing, and software engineering, he’ll explain—with examples—how computer science permeates every aspect of our daily lives. To celebrate its 30th anniversary, Lirmm is taking advantage of the Festival of Science to invite you to explore its facilities and learn about the work of its researchers during a major open house on Saturday, October 8.
And we’re staying with the Science Festival with our last-minute guest—this week, it’s Agnès Pesenti from the Science Communication Department, who’s here to present the Science Festival program.
At "UM : Science," here's the lineup—let's get started!
Co-production: Divergence FM, University of Montpellier
Host: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Interview: Aline Périault / Lucie Lecherbonnier
Reporting and editing: Aline Périault
Director: Adeline Floc’h
Listen to the show “A l’UM la science” on Divergence FM 93.9
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