I am interested in the modelling of biological phenomena and in the identification of the mechanisms behind a globally observed pattern. During my PhD the patterns were predator-prey dynamics and I was trying to identify the underlying functional response (predator consumption). Since my arrival at the CRCA (CAB research group) my interests have shifted to the self-oganized phenomena that can be found in social insects. Direct animal observation permits to quantify and model their individual behaviour, which in turn allows to predict (and validate) what should be observed on the collective level. This approach requires to combine tools from statistics and dynamical systems. The current surge in Systems Biology relies exactly on this combination of biological experiment, statistical analysis and dynamic modelling. The self-organized processes in social insects are a compelling biological system where one can control and validate all the steps. See my habilitation thesis for a summary of my activity between 2001 and 2015.
I am particuarly involved in the construction phenomena in social insects such as ants or termites: experimental study, characterisation of the individual behaviours and modelling in order to link to the resulting collective behaviors.
See my google page for more information about reception of my research in the scientific community.
Teaching (sorry, only in french):
J’interviens dans les enseignements de Licence, Master 1 et Master 2 dans le contexte de la modélisation en général et du comportement animal en particulier. Ci-dessous une liste des UE dans lesquelles j’interviens principalement (en gras celles dont je suis responsable).
Heures de présence : mon bureau se situe dans le Bât 4R4, 4ème étage, porte 4037. Envoyez-moi un email si vous avez des questions par rapport à mes cours, on pourra ensuite prendre rendez-vous.
- L3
- Ecologie comportementale (BBE)
- Ethologie et neuro-éthologie (BCP)
- Biologie du comportement (BBE)
- Ecologie et Biologie Quantitative (BBE)
- Projet Thématique (BCP)
- M1
- Introduction à l'outil ordinateur pour biologistes
- Comportements collectifs
- Ethologie quantitative et Bio-Robotique
- Certification c2i
- M2
- M2I Neuro-ECC : parcours Ethologie et Cognition Comparées (co-responsable)
- M2I BEE-MSE : Modélisation des systèmes écologiques (UE Systèmes Dynamiqu
Des polycopiés d’un intérêt plus large
Les polys ci-dessous sont issus de mon activité d’enseignement et sont peut-être utils pour des enseignants/étudiants en dehors de l’Université Toulouse 3, Paul Sabatier. Merci de me communiquer toute erreur que vous trouvez là-dedans (mailto:christian.jost@univ-tlse3.fr).
- Modélisation :
Ce poly donne une introduction à la modélisation illustrée avec des exemples provenant de l’analyse du comportement et de la cognition animale. Il est accompagné d’une série de TP sur ordinateur (avec Netlogo pour les simulations spatiales : http://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/ ; ou avec R pour la modélisation : http://cran.r-project.org/ ) - Traitement de données en éthologie et cognition :
Ce poly donne une introduction à l’analyse de données, en particulier dans l’étude du comportement. Les analyses sont fait avec le logiciel R et les données de tous les exemples sont téléchargeables ci-dessous. Le plus efficace et de lire ce poly devant un ordinateur pour faire en même temps les analyses proposées. Attention, ce poly est encore en cours de développement, ne vous étonnez pas si vous découvrez des erreurs. Mais merci de me les communiquer (mailto:christian.jost@univ-tlse3.fr).
Remarque : tout le matériel pédagogique sur cette page a été développé dans le cadre de mon travail de Maître de conférences (rémunéré par l’état français), je le mets donc a disposition de toute la communauté francophone sous les conditions de la Licence de la documentation libre de GNU (mais en excluant une utilisation commerciale de ce matériel !).
Publications :
See my google page for citation statistics
In Animal behaviour (current research)
- Da Silva LHB, Jost C, Vargo EL, Costa-Leonardo AM, Haifig I. 2022. Incipient colonies of the neotropical termite Cornitermes cumulans (Isoptera: Termitidae): comparing monogamy and polygamy as reproductive strategies. Insectes Sociaux 69:99-104. doi: 10.1007/s00040-022-00852-w
- Heyde A, Guo L, Jost C, Theraulaz G, Mahadevan L. 2021. Self-organized Biotectonics of termite nests. PNAS, 118 (5), e2006985118, doi: 10.1073/pnas.2006985118
- Singh K, Muljadi BP, Raeini AQ, Jost C, Vandeginste V, Blunt MJ, Theraulaz G, Degond P. 2019. The architectural design of smart ventilation and drainage systems in 2 termite nests. Science Advances, 5 (3), eaat8520. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aat8520
- Khuong A, Gautrais J, Perna A, Sbaï C, Combe M, Kuntz P, Jost C, Theraulaz G. 2016. Stigmergic construction and topochemical information shape ant nest architecture. PNAS 113, 1303–1308. doi : 10.1073/pnas.1509829113
- Guo L, Theraulaz G, Jost C, Perna A. 2016. Self-Organized Linear and Helicoidal Ramps in Insect Nests. IEEE 1st International Workshops on Foundations and Applications of Self* Systems (FAS*W), Augsburg, Germany, 2016, pp. 148-153. doi : 10.1109/FAS-W.2016.42
- Eom Y-H, Perna A, Fortunato S, Darrouzet E, Theraulaz G, Jost C. 2015. Network-based model of the growth of termite nests. Phy Rev E 92, 062810. doi : 10.1103/PhysRevE.92.062810 additional material, in particular the nest networks, see here for additional photos/movies
- Haifig I., Jost C., Fourcassié V., Zana Y., Costa-Leonardo A.M. 2015. Dynamics of foraging trails in the Neotropical termite Velocitermes heteropterus (Isoptera : Termitidae). Behavioural Processes, 118, 132-129. doi : 10.1016/j.beproc.2015.06.010
- Bouchebti S., Jost C., Caldato N., Forti L. C., Fourcassié V. 2015. Comparative study of resistance to heat in two species of leaf-cutting ants. Insectes Soc, 62, 97-99 (doi : 10.1007/s00040-014-0378-y)
- Fouquet D., Costa-Leonardo A. M., Fournier R., Blanco S., Jost C. 2014. Coordination of construction behavior in the termite Procornitermes araujoi : structure is a stronger stimulus than volatile marking. Insectes Soc, 61, 253-264 (doi : 10.1007/s00040-014-0350-x, see here for additional photos/movies)
- Weitz S., Blanco S., Fournier R., Gautrais J., Jost C., Theraulaz G. 2014. Residence times and boundary-following behavior in animals. Phys Rev E, 89, 052715 (doi : 10.1103/PhysRevE.89.052715).
- Garnier S., Combe M., Jost C., Theraulaz G. 2013. Do ants need to estimate the geometrical properties of trail bifurcations to find an efficient route ? A swarm robotics test bed. PLoS Computational Biology 9(3) : e1002903. (doi :10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002903)
- Viana M., Fourcassié V., Perna A., da F. Costa L., Jost C. Accessibility in networks : a useful measure for understanding social insect nest architecture. Chaos, Solitons and Fractals, 46, 38-45, 2013 (doi : 10.1016/j.chaos.2012.11.003) see here for additional photos/movies
- Weitz S, Blanco S, Fournier R, Gautrais J, Jost C, Theraulaz G. Modeling collective animal behaviour with a cognitive perspective : a methodological framework. PLoS one 7 (6) : e38588, 2012. doi : 10.1371/journal.pone.0038588
- Jost C, Haifig I, Camargo-Dietrich CRR, Costa-Leonardo AM. A comparative tunnelling network approach to assess interspecific competition effects in termites. Insectes Sociaux 59, 369-379, 2012 (doi : 10.1007/s00040-012-0229-7, see here for additional photos/movies).
- Haifig I, Jost C, Janei V, Costa-Leonardo AM. The size of excavators within a polymorphic termite species governs tunnel topology. Animal Behaviour 2011, 82 1409-1414 (doi : 10.1016/j.anbehav.2011.09.025)
- Perna A, Kuntz P, Theraulaz G, Jost C. From local growth to global optimization in insect built networks. In Biologically inspired networking and sensing : algorithms and architectures, Lio P and Verma D (eds), IGI Global 2011 (doi : 10.4018/978-1-61350-092-7)
- Khuong A., Theraulaz G., Jost C., Perna A., Gautrais J. "A computational model of ant nest morphogenesis". in "Advances in Artificial Life, ECAL 2011 : Proceedings of the Eleventh European Conference on the Synthesis and Simulation of Living Systems".
- Gautrais J, Jost C, Soria M, Campo A, Motsch S, Fournier R, Blanco S, Theraulaz G. Analysing fish movement as a persistent turning walker. J Math Biol 58, 429-445, 2009 (doi : 10.1007/s00285-008-0198-7).
- Garnier S, Gautrais J, Asadpour M, Jost C, Theraulaz G. Self-organized aggregation triggers collective decision making in a group of cockroach-like robots. Adaptive Behaviour 2009, 17, 109-133 (doi : 10.1177/1059712309103430).
- Perna A, Valverde S, Gautrais J, Jost C, Solé R, Kuntz P, Theraulaz G. Topological efficiency in three-dimensional gallery networks of termite nests. Physica A 387, 6235-6244, 2008 (doi :10.1016/j.physa.2008.07.019) see here for additional photos/movies
- Perna A, Jost C, Valverde S, Gautrais J, Theraulaz G, Kuntz P. The topological fortress of termites. BIOWIRE Lecture Notes in Computer Science (Springer) 5151, 165-173, 2008 (eds Liò, Crowcroft, Verma). see here for additional photos/movies
- Perna E, Jost C, Couturier E, Valverde S, Douady S, Theraulaz G. The structure of gallery networks in the nests of termite Cubitermes spp. revealed by X-ray tomography. Naturwissenschaften 95, 877-884, 2008 (doi :10.1007/s00114-008-0388-6) see here for additional photos/movies
- Casellas E, Gautrais J, Fournier R, Blanco S, Combe M, Fourcassié F, Theraulaz G, Jost C. From individual to collective displacements in heterogenous environment. Journal of theoretical Biology, 250, 424-434, 2007. (doi :10.1016/j.jtbi.2007.10.011)
- Garnier S, Jost C, Gautrais J, Asadpour M, Caprari G, Jeanson R., Grimal A, Theraulaz G. The Embodiment of Cockroach Aggregation Behavior in a Group of Micro-Robots. Artificial Life, 14, 387-408, 2008. (doi : 10.1162/artl.2008.14.4.14400).
- Gautrais J., Jost C., Theraulaz G. Key behavioural factors in a self-organised fish school model. Annales zoologici Fennici, 45, 415-428, 2008 (doi : 10.5735/086.045.0505).
Jost C., Verret J., Casellas E., Gautrais J., Challet M., Lluc J., Blanco S., Clifton MJ., Theraulaz G.
The interplay between a self-organized process and an environmental template : corpse clustering under the influence of air currents in ants. Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 4, 107-116, 2007 (doi :
10.1098/rsif.2006.0156). Our research made the cover.
- Challet M., Fourcassié V., Blanco S., Fournier R., Theraulaz G., Jost C. A new test of random walks in heterogeneous environments. Naturwissenschaften 92 : 367-370 (2005). (doi : 10.1007/s00114-005-0001-1, download Erratum Fig 1, Code to simulate Random walks and to illustrate the property used in this paper (use R to run the simulations))
- Challet, M., Jost C., Grimal A., Lluc J., Theraulaz G. How temperature influences displacemnts and corpse aggregation behaviors in the ant Messor sancta. Insectes sociaux, 52, 305-315, 2005 (doi : 10.1007/s00040-005-0821-1)
- Garnier S, Jost C, Jeanson R, Gautrais J, Asadpour M, Caprari G, Theraulaz G. Aggregation Behaviour as a Source of Collective Decision in a Group of Cockroach-Like-Robots. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 3630, 196-178, 2005
- Jeanson, R. , Rivault, C., Deneubourg, J.L., Blanco, S., Fournier, R., Jost, C. & Theraulaz, G. Self-organised aggregation in cockroaches. Animal Behaviour 69, 169-180, 2005 (doi : 10.1016/j.anbehav.2004.02.009 )
- Gautrais, J., Jost, C., Jeanson, R., Theraulaz, G. How individual interactions control aggregation patterns in gregarious arthropods. Interaction Studies 5, 245-269, 2004. (doi : 10.1007/s00285-008-0198-7)
In ecology (PhD and Post-doc)
- Jost, C., Devulder, G., Vucetich, J.A., Peterson, R.O., Arditi, R. The wolves of Isle Royale display scale-invariant satiation and ratio-dependent predation on moose. Journal of Animal Ecology 74, 809-816, 2005 (doi :10.1111/j.1365-2656.2005.00977.x).
- Arditi R, Callois J-M, Tyutyunov Y, Jost C. Does mutual interference always stabilize predator–prey dynamics ? A comparison of models. C. R. Biologies 327 : 1037–1057, 2004 (doi : 10.1016/j.crvi.2004.06.007)
- Jost, C., Lawrence, C., Campolongo, F., van de Bund, W., Hill, S., DeAngelis, D. L. The effects of mixotrophy on the stability and dynamics of a simple planktonic food web model. Theoretical Population Biology 66, 37-51, 2004 (doi :10.1016/j.tpb.2004.02.001)
- Y. Tyutyunov, I. Senina, R. Arditi & C. Jost. 2002. Extinction risk assessment of harvested pike-perch population in the Azov Sea. Ecological Modelling 149 : 297-311 (doi : 10.1016/S0304-3800(01)00478-1)
- C. Jost & R. Arditi. 2001. From pattern to process : identifying predator-prey interactions. Population Ecology 43 : 229-243 (doi : 10.1007/s10144-001-8187-3)
- C. Jost & S. Ellner. 2000. Testing for predator dependence in predator-prey dynamics : a nonparametric approach. Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond. B 267 : 1611-1620. (doi :10.1098/rspb.2000.1186, get the dataset)
- C. Jost & R. Arditi. 2000. Identifying predator-prey processes from time series data. Theoretical Population Biology 57 : 325-337 (doi : 10.1006/tpbi.2000.1463)
- C. Jost. 2000. Predator-prey theory: hidden twins in ecology and microbiology. Oikos 90 : 202-208 (doi : 10.1034/j.1600-0706.2000.900125.x)
- S. Ponsard, R. Arditi, C. Jost. 2000. Assessing top-down and bottom-up control in a litter-based soil macroinvertebrate food chain. Oikos 89 : 524-540 (doi : 10.1034/j.1600-0706.2000.890312.x)
- C. Jost, O. Arino & R. Arditi. 1999. Behavior of the (0,0) equilibrium in a ratio-dependent predator-prey model. Bulletin of Mathematical Biology 61 : 19-32 (doi : 10.1006/bulm.1998.0072, Erratum)
- M. M. Dacorogna, U. A. Müller, C. Jost, O. V. Pictet, R. B. Olsen & J. R. Ward. 1995. Heterogeneous real-time trading strategies in the foreign exchange market. The European Journal of Finance 1 : 383-403 (doi : 10.1080/13518479500000026)
My academic documents (downloadable)
