The beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) of the St. Lawrence Estuary (SLE) in Quebec, Canada, lives in a marine ecosystem heavily impacted by human activities and has shown no signs of recovery for several decades. Also known as the white whale or white dolphin, the beluga has a life expectancy of around 70 years. Infectious diseases and an increase in post-partum mortality in females have been observed, but the exact causes remain undetermined. However, exposure to contaminants is thought to be one of the causes of the increase in early mortality observed in recent years.

One of the main limitations to assessing the health of individuals in this population in relation to contaminant exposure is the lack of a method for determining the age of live beluga whales in the ESL.

Until now, the most reliable method for determining their age was to count the growth streaks on the inside of their teeth. The expertise of Namur-based researchers at Professor Frédéric Silvestre's Laboratoire de Physiologie Évolutive et Adaptative (LEAP) will enable the development of a new "epigenetic clock" and its use to estimate the age of living belugas, ultimately improving conservation strategies to help this threatened population recover.

The project is entitled: "Une horloge épigénétique pour estimer l'âge des belugas du Saint-Laurent et son impact sur l'accumulation de contaminants, le stress et la santé de cette population menacée"

Epigenetics is the study of changes in gene activity, not involving modification of the DNA sequence, that can be transmitted during cell divisions. One of the elements that "regulate" gene expression is methylation: a chemical group that attaches itself to certain places on the DNA strand to promote or limit gene expression. In recent decades, it has been discovered that methylation changes in a predictable way during aging, according to a pattern known as the "epigenetic clock". Once this clock has been established for a given population of individuals, it is therefore possible to deduce an individual's age by looking for the presence or absence of methylation on DNA. All it takes is a few cells, such as skin cells.

A team of top scientists from both regions is involved.

• Pr Frédéric Silvestre and Dr Alice Dennis - UNamur, Belgium
• Dr Krishna Das - ULiège, Belgium
• Dr Jonathan Verreault - Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada
• Dr Stéphane Lair - Université de Montréal, Canada
• Dr Magali Houde - Environment and Climate Change Canada
• Dr Véronique Lesage - Fisheries and Oceans Canada
• Dr Robert Michaud - Group for Research and Education on Marine Mammals (GREMM), Quebec, Canada

The research team will validate this new method and investigate the link with contaminant accumulation, physiological stress and overall health in this threatened population, comparing the ESL population with a healthier population of belugas from the Canadian Arctic.

In summary, this research aims to better understand how biological age, as measured by the epigenetic clock, influences the vulnerability of belugas to environmental stressors and their health.

This project will address fundamental research questions never before explored in beluga whales,

A new PhD student will join the Namur team, under the supervision of Frédéric Silvestre and will work in collaboration with researcher Justine Bélik on the basis of the EpiClock she developed for the mangrove rivulus.

Along with a project on mangrove rivulus in Florida and Belize, and one on fish and invertebrate populations in the Ecuadorian mountains, this is the third scientific project to use Namur researchers' expertise in ecological epigenetics in wild animals to help preserve biodiversity.

Collaborative research F.R.S.-FNRS - FRQ (Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles - Québec)

The F.R.S.-FNRS has launched PINT-Bilat-P calls for bilateral research projects with the Fonds de Recherche du Québec. These calls are part of a drive to develop strategic partnerships. The aim of this bilateral research program is to create a leverage effect for scientific excellence and to encourage researchers from the Wallonia-Brussels Federation and Quebec to develop innovative joint research projects.

• Long-term effects of pollution in our rivers, oceans and lakes
• Understanding epigenetics to conserve biodiversity

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