In recent months, the commune of Gesves, in the province of Namur, was confronted with the presence of a herd of mouflons, wild sheep recognizable by their impressive spiral horns. At the origin of this one: a male and a female probably escaped from a private hunt, who settled and reproduced in the meadows of this rural commune in 2019, until forming a full-fledged herd of 17 individuals in 2024.

While these sheep won the affection of the locals, local farmers deplored the damage caused to their crops. Their complaints led in August 2024 to a destruction authorization from the Department of Nature and Forestry (DNF). Several individuals were also shot during the hunting season.

Touched by the fate of these animals, a handful of local residents have been carrying out a veritable rescue operation for the seven mouflons still present on the meadows since January. The maneuver promised to be complex, to say the least: on the one hand, it was necessary to gather the official authorizations required to capture and transport the mouflons to a suitable location, and on the other hand, to set up an infrastructure to capture them.

Alongside this initiative, the mobilized local residents - including Nathalie Kirschvink, a veterinarian and professor at UNamur's Faculty of Medicine - called on the expertise of the laboratories of UNamur's Environmental and Evolutionary Biology Research Unit (URBE) to clarify a crucial question: the origin of the mouflons. Indeed, in our regions, mouflons are considered game and therefore huntable, while mouflons from certain lineages benefit from protection.

Nathalie Kirschvink therefore entrusted fresh samples made up of hair and dung to Alice Dennis, professor and researcher at the URBE. Sequencing the DNA contained in these samples enabled Alice Dennis and technician Jérôme Lambert to identify kinship links between the Gesves bighorn sheep and those from a Corsican lineage, whose genome had already been described in the scientific literature.

This expertise lies at the heart of URBE's research, which uses the tools of molecular ecology to study both the physiology of organisms (such as snails for Alice Dennis) and their interactions with their environment. The methodology used can be applied to very concrete, local cases, such as that of the Gesves bighorn sheep, but, more broadly, serve to better understand genetic diversity between species with a view to safeguarding biodiversity.

The FAB's regular actions in the Belgian university context include awarding grants, prizes and subsidies, organizing a chair, contributing to the organization of colloquia, doctoral schools or study days. It collaborates with a network of Belgian and foreign partners: individuals, public and private associations, institutions and companies.

In consultation with the Department of Biology at the University of Namur, the Fonds Adrien Bauchau has awarded financial assistance for the first time in the amount of 25,000 euros to support a young professor or post-doctoral fellow in biology at the institution in the early stages of their professional career.

In May 2025, the FAB Board of Directors awarded this grant to Professor Eli Thoré, an academic in the Unité de Recherche Environnementale et Evolutive (URBE), for the development of his work.

The 2025 Scholarship has been awarded to Justine Bélik, whose thesis promoter is Professor Frédéric Silvestre, for her participation in the 3rd international EPIMAR 2025 "Epigenetics in marine and aquatic research" congress, organized at the end of May 2025 in Barcelona, Spain.

The grant is intended for a young researcher to enable his/her participation in a conference abroad. The amount awarded depends on the cost of this participation; it can be up to €750.

The Biology Department conducts cutting-edge international scientific research. This is divided between 5 research units tackling a variety of themes: cell biology (URBC), microbiology (URBM) or methodology and didactics (UMDB). The two award-winning researchers are part of the Environmental and Evolutionary Biology Research Unit (URBE) and are members of the Institute of Life, Earth and Environment (ILEE), which is committed to addressing pressing environmental issues.

Professor Frédéric Silvestre, Justine Bélik's thesis sponsor, heads the Laboratory of Evolutionary and Adaptive Physiology (LEAP). This laboratory studies the impacts of environmental change on aquatic organisms at different levels, from the perspective of integrative physiology.

Professor Eli Thoré heads the Adaptive Biodynamics Laboratory (LAB). He uses an integrative approach to understand how animals respond to environmental changes, particularly those induced by human activity in space and time.

In her doctoral thesis, Julie Duchêne (PhD in History UNamur/FNRS-FRESH) has brought out of the shadows the unexplored history of the relationship between humans and wolves in the Walloon and Luxembourg territories during the pivotal period that saw the extinction of the species there (18th-early 20th century).

What's at stake in this research?

• To understand the complexity of this coexistence in our regions,
• To identify the influence of human activities on the lives of wolves and of wolves on human activities,
• To decipher the mechanisms that led to the extinction of Canis lupus.

To achieve this, the researcher has deployed a pioneering multidisciplinary methodology in Belgium, combining on the one hand historical and documentary analyses, and on the other morphological and DNA analyses of naturalized 19th-century wolves preserved within a dozen partner institutions, museums and venues in Wallonia. Thanks to collaboration between the E-BIOM laboratory and the University of Namur, 13 specimens were thus studied according to a rigorous protocol, respectful of the integrity of the historical pieces.

While ancient DNA is often degraded by time, conservation conditions or the products used during naturalization, 9 out of 13 samples yielded results.

• Species confirmed : All the specimens analyzed belong to the species Canis lupus lupus, ruling out the hypothesis of dogs or hybrids.
• Kinship identified : Two wolves, including one kept by the de Bonhome family in Mozet, present a proven kinship.
• Dominant haplotypes: The majority of wolves belong to haplotypes H4 and H8, from a metapopulation historically present from western France to Germany.
• Discovery of an extinct haplotype: The Habay wolf, preserved by the de Beaulieu family, has a unique genetic profile, probably from a now-extinct population.
• Higher past genetic diversity: Wolves from the 18th and 19th centuries show greater genetic diversity than current populations.
• Wallonia, a historical crossroads: Even then, the region was at the crossroads of two major lupine dispersal routes: one from France, the other from Germany.

This study highlights the importance of heritage collections for better understanding the evolutionary history of species and contemporary conservation issues.

Deconstructing preconceived ideas about the wolf for a better-informed debate

The historical and scientific analysis carried out by Julie Duchêne also helps to qualify certain preconceived ideas about the wolf, often relayed in current debates.

• Attacks on human beings have existed, but they remain marginal and to be put into perspective. Complaints mainly concerned the loss of livestock (sheep, cows, horses, etc.).
• The wolf doesn't just live in the forest. Historically, it also frequented fields, roads, ponds and moors. Its presence depends on many factors, not a single habitat.
• The confrontations are not one-sided. They are also the result of human expansion into natural environments, not just wolf incursions.
• Populations did not seek to exterminate the species. They aimed for regulation, integrating lupine nuisances as well as other natural hazards.
• The wolf plays a positive ecological role, regulating populations of large herbivores, which promotes forest regeneration.
• The wolf's extinction is not due solely to eradication policies. It is the result of a combination of factors, including increasing human pressure on natural environments.

Julie Duchêne's research was also used to set up the exhibition "Même pas peur! Une évolution de l'image du loup à travers les siècles", developed by third-year history bachelor students as part of the Cultural Project course. The exhibition makes stops at :

• From May to early June 2025: Floreffe Seminary
• From June to September 2025: Pairi Daiza
• From October 2025 to May 2026: Gaumais Museum

Image credit | Jörgen Wiklund

Unlike previous lab-based studies, this large-scale experiment took place in a Swedish river and combined realistic pharmaceutical exposure with state-of-the-art telemetry to track the behaviour of 279 juvenile salmon (smolts) during their seaward migration. The salmon were exposed to either the anti-anxiety drug clobazam (a benzodiazepine), a common painkiller, both, or neither. The drugs were delivered via slow-release implants, at doses mimicking concentrations previously measured in wild fish from polluted rivers.

The researchers found that clobazam-exposed salmon crossed migration barriers two to eight times faster than the other groups. Surprisingly, a higher proportion—more than double—of these fish reached the sea alive. But is that good news?

“At first glance, it may seem like a positive effect,” says Prof. Thoré, who contributed to the data analysis, interpretation, and publication of the study. “But such behavioural changes could carry hidden costs. Moving faster might mean the fish take more risks or use up energy less efficiently—something that could compromise their chances of surviving the return journey to spawn. Not to mention the knock-on effects this may have on other species and the wider ecosystem.”

This is the first time the behavioural effects of psychiatric drugs have been tested at large scale on migrating fish in their natural habitat. Prof. Thoré was involved in the project during his postdoctoral research at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) and remains actively engaged in the collaboration today.

“This is part of a long-term partnership between UNamur and SLU,” he says. “We’re working together on several projects to better understand how pharmaceutical pollutants affect wild animal behaviour and ecology, and how we can mitigate these effects. It’s a productive collaboration, and I see it evolving into a long-term, structural link between our institutions.”

Pharmaceutical residues such as clobazam are frequently detected in European rivers—including Belgian waterways. A 2022 global survey found that one in four rivers worldwide contains pharmaceutical concentrations considered unsafe for aquatic life. Rivers in Brussels were ranked among the top 20% most contaminated.

“Drugs like clobazam are designed to act on the brain in low doses—and they do the same when fish absorb them,” says Prof. Thoré. “Our findings show that even very low, environmentally relevant concentrations can alter migration and behaviour in a species that’s ecologically, economically, and culturally important, like salmon.”

As Prof. Thoré explained in an interview with De Standaard:

Eli Thoré is an assistant professor and expert in animal behaviour and environmental pollution research at the University of Namur (Belgium), where he leads the Laboratory of Adaptive Biodynamics (LAB) as part of the Research Unit in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology (URBE). He is also a member ot the Institute of Life, Earth and Environment (ILEE). His team takes an integrative approach to understanding how animals respond to environmental changes, particularly those driven by human activity, including pharmaceutical pollution. By focusing on animal behaviour alongside its underlying mechanisms and broader ecological consequences—and by connecting these different scales—his team strives to advance scientific knowledge and contribute to thriving ecosystems that can catalyse sustainable development.

Read the article published in Science: Pharmaceutical pollution influences river-to-sea migration in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)