The lab

The Laboratory of Ecology and Conservation of Amphibians (LECA) studies the ecology of amphibians and aquatic organisms with a particular interest in the processes of intraspecific diversification, food webs and the effects of global changes (climate and invasive species introductions)

Our approaches are mainly focused on ecology in the broad sense (behavioural, dispersal, trophic, functional and evolutionary ecology, demography and population dynamics) but also integrate components in biogeography, morphology, physiology, genomics and paleontology.

We focus our research on amphibians and other associated organisms of freshwater aquatic environments (karst ponds, mountain lakes, small rivers in particular). Our research is conducted in the field with a current main focus in Balkans, the Alps and the Romanian and Ukrainian Carpathians as well as in the laboratory.

A central interest of the laboratory is the study of intra- and interspecific diversity with a focus on paedomorphosis, an alternative process to metamorphosis and leading to the reproduction of newts and salamanders that retain their gills and other aquatic traits.

Another speciality of the laboratory is the use of automatized numerical analysis techniques of behavioural patterns by video-tracking.

In the face of widespread amphibian declines, much of our work is rooted in conservation biology, aiming to determine the effect of environmental stressors on diversity patterns and population functioning. We are thus studying at multiple scales how introduced species and climate change can impact native species and their environment.

Our laboratory is part of the FOCUS Research Unit of the University of Liège, which is composed of 11 laboratories working on complementary themes in the study of aquatic environments. FOCUS gathers nearly 100 members at different stages of their career as well as many master students. Within FOCUS, our team works particularly with the LETIS and COU laboratories. We also collaborate with more than twenty other laboratories in Belgium and abroad.

The University of Liège (ULiège) offers a complete range of teaching and research in its 11 faculties, welcoming more than 25,000 students, including more than 2,000 doctoral students, and more than 3,500 researchers and teachers. FOCUS is present on the city centre campus and the Sart-Tilman campus and provides access to research stations.