Landscape Structure and Historical Processes Along Diked European Valleys: A Case Study of the Arc/Isere Confluence (Savoie, France).

/ The valleys of European piedmonts constitute changing narrow corridors within which water, matter, nutrients, energy, and species flow. The dispersion patterns of these flows have been significantly disturbed since the end of the 18th century. Thus, western European valleys have been changed into complex mosaics by implementation of socioeconomical programs.

Universal primers for amplification of three non-coding regions of chloroplast DNA.

Six primers for the amplification of three non-coding regions of chloroplast DNA via the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) have been designed. In order to find out whether these primers were universal, we used them in an attempt to amplify DNA from various plant species. The primers worked for most species tested including algae, bryophytes, pteridophytes, gymnosperms and angiosperms.

[Evolution of populations of ticks (Ixodidae and Argasidae) in relation to artificialization of the environment in the French Alps. Epidemiologic effects].

The results presented in this study are based on observations made during some 10 years in the French Alps and their surroundings. Forest clusters, as they still cover comparatively large areas, are considered the most favorable foci for several Ixodid species. Recent studies, however, have shown that environment modified by man also harbours large populations of ticks.

[Distribution and epidemiological value of Rhipicephalus turanicus. Ecology of the species in the South-Mediterranean part of France (author's transl)].

Following a study of potential vectors of the boutonneuse Fever in the lower Rhône valley, the authors summarize knowledge concerning Rh. turanicus (biogeography, hosts, seasonal dynamics). Using their own work, they emphasize its distribution and ecology in the French mediterranean region: as an exophile species, frequently encountered because of the rich variety of its hosts (domestic and wild) and its adaptability to numerous human biotopes, it probably has a very significant epidemiological role.