The dynamics of sediment fluxes in the fluvial and marine environments are still poorly known, particularly at a regional scale. Measurement techniques as well as numerical models still require research in order to assess these fluxes from their continental source to the shelf edge; this reseach would also benefit from improved and shared monitoring networks. SunRISE gathers a large community of French and European research laboratories, consulting companies and governing agencies in order to address i) climate change related issues, particularly in the current context of coastal vulnerability, ii) European Directives issues, for which pertinent state indicators and monitoring strategies have to be developed. SunRISE is organized around 5 worpackages (WP) aiming at identifying which are the priority research topics to address in order to tackle the following issues : “sediment fluxes at a regional scale in a changing climate”, and “definition of state indicators for the physical parameters describing the marine environment”. WP1 will define the priority processes to account for, WP2 will define the necessary innovations in terms of observation, WP3 will investigate the various modelling approaches, WP4 will work on the research needed in order to come up with state indicators. The last WP is transversal and will help define the main orientations of projects to be designed to answer 2016 ANR and/or H2020 calls for proposals. The financial support sought from the ANR will contribute to fund workshops aiming at writing these projects. The originality of this network lies in the fact that it will bring together Frecnh and European teams working at defining integrative descriptors of the physical regional and coastal environment. Such a structure is essential in order to lead coordinated action at the European level, in particular in the framework of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). The strong participation of European partners (who accepted to lead three of the five WPs on their own budgets) illustrates this initiative relevance.

Biodiversity in Afrotropical forests is declining dramatically due to deforestation and intensified bushmeat trade. At the same time there is an increased frequency of outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases (EID) that have a natural reservoir in wild small mammals. The effect of biodiversity changes on the risk of spillover of these EID to humans is not yet clear. Higher biodiversity may reduce transmission rates in the small mammal community (“dilution effect”) or may facilitate it (“amplification effect”). Biodiversity changes may also be associated with changes in human behaviour that affect contact rates with wildlife. BIODIV-AFREID will explore these relations in different forest sites in DR Congo and Côte d'Ivoire. The consortium consists of European and African partners with strong zoological, ecological, biomedical, virological and anthropological expertise, vast experience in field work in Africa and a history of earlier collaborations. We will investigate a range of viral pathogens but with a focus on two contrasting EID that are of major concern: Monkeypoxvirus (found in a variety of small mammals and with frequent human infections) and Ebola virus (with rare spillover events to humans and the reservoir not yet identified with certainty). In areas where these EID have been reported before, we will select sites with differences in forest degradation and bushmeat hunting and describe the biodiversity of small mammal communities (WP1) and the presence and prevalence of the viruses in these communities (WP2). The work will be based on newly collected material as well as considerable amounts of samples that different partners collected during earlier fieldwork. We will then test hypotheses about dilution and amplification effects (WP3) and about the ecological and anthropological conditions that facilitate spillover to humans (WP4). Two additional WP include activities to ensure stakeholder engagement (WP5) and project coordination (WP6). With BIODIV-AFREID, the relations between biodiversity and emergence of new infectious will be better understood and these insights can form a basis for more targeted conservation and public health strategies.

Summary