Frédéric Silvestre

@fsilvestrelab.bsky.social

Professor at the University of Namur, Belgium Head of the Department of Biology Head of the Laboratory of Evolutionary and Adaptive Physiology Ex-President of the Royal Belgian Zoological Society Travel and Nature Photographer Documentary Videographer

In last July, our team has been busy collecting and studying Kryptolebias marmoratus (the mangrove rivulus) in their natural habitat in South Florida, across 4 wild mangrove sites: 📍 Emerson Point Preserve📍 Fort de Soto📍 Long Key📍 Vero Beach sciences-unamur.be/bio/system-e...

Field trip in South Florida in July 2025

Scientific Mission to South Florida - Epigenetics and Environmental Stress in Mangrove Rivulus and Cassiopea Jellyfish - July-August 2025 From July 16 to August 6, 2025, members of the Research Unit i...

sciences-unamur.be

Our PhD student Justine Bélik has published as a preprint the first epigenetic clock in the mangrove rivulus, and the first ever on a self-fertilizing species. With this clock, we're able to predict the chronological age of the fish with a mean absolute error of 28.7 days.

Epigenetic aging in a self-fertilizing vertebrate, the mangrove rivulus Kryptolebias marmoratus

Background: Since Horvath (2013) and Hannum (2013), DNA methylation has emerged as a reliable biomarker for estimating age. Predictive models, called epigenetic clocks, are being built across the tree...

biorxiv.org

We're searching for 2 PhD candidates to work on our new project about the conservation of Beluga whales in the Saint-Laurent river. Two positions are open, in Montreal and in Namur. The candidates should show an interest in conservation biology, ecotoxicology, molecular biology and bioinformatics.

Bild

US national parks are among the most wonderful and spectacular of the planet. This action at Yosemite, a park that I know well and that I love, is a brilliant symbol of resistance against the fascism that has taken place at the WH. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/24/u...

Protesters Display Upside-Down American Flag at Yosemite

Organizers said the inverted flag, historically used as a sign of distress, was meant to draw attention to the Trump administration’s cuts to the National Park Service.

nytimes.com

Our former post-doc Anthony Mathiron published a new article in the Belgian Journal of Zoology. This article shows that cortisol (the stress hormone) level can predict behaviors associated with fish personality traits. belgianjournalofzoology.eu/BJZ/article/...

Water-borne cortisol levels show individuality and predict bold/shy behaviors in the self-fertilizing fish Kryptolebias marmoratus | Belgian Journal of Zoology

belgianjournalofzoology.eu