[EDUC Research] 54th conference of the French Society for the Study of Animal Behavior (SFECA) (10-13/06/25)

General presentation

In 2025, Université Paris Nanterre launched a call for scientific seminars aimed at federating research communities involving the alliance's foreign universities. The "54th conference of the French Society for the Study of Animal Behavior (SFECA)" (10-13/06/25), was awarded a grant from the EDUC network, enabling the development of partnerships on a European scale around scientific and technological projects.
 
 

Context and scientific relevance

The annual conference of the French Society for the Study of Animal Behavior (SFECA) represents a unique opportunity to bring together the local, national, and international scientific community around the most recent advances in ethology. This event, scheduled to take place at our university and organized by the Laboratoire Ethologie Cognition Développement (LECD) in partnership with the Institut Francilien d'Éthologie, illustrates the dynamism and diversity of research into human and non-human animal behavior, a key field for addressing contemporary societal, ecological, and ethical issues.

 

Major scientific and thematic issues

The conference program covered a wide range of topics, from animal cognition to ethics and animal welfare, including human ethology and the impact of anthropization. The plenary lectures offered original perspectives on social communication in insects (Prof. Patrizia d'Ettorre), primate cognition and the evolution of human language (Dr. Adrien Meguerditchian), as well as the amazing tool-handling abilities observed in their natural environment in Goffin's cockatoos (Dr. Mark O'Hara & Berenika Mioduszewska).

Thematic symposiums have provided an opportunity to explore specific topics such as development, communication, human-animal relationships, and the impacts of anthropization. Numerous discussions featured renowned speakers such as Marine Grandgeorge (animal mediation, University of Rennes - Alliance EDUC), Isabelle Charrier (acoustic communication), and Odile Petit (animal welfare).

 

Speakers and program

Public lecture:
Prof. Emeritus Gérard Leboucher (topic: bird intelligence)

Plenary lectures:
Prof. Patrizia d'Ettorre, University of Paris 13 Villetaneuse
Dr. Adrien Meguerditchian, CNRS Aix Marseilles University
Dr. Mark O’Hara, Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna

1) Cognition (Lucie Rigaill, Associate Professor, LECD & Céline Rochais, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Rennes - Alliance EDUC)
Speakers: Julie Duboscq (CR CNRS Musée de l’homme) & Bastien Lemaire (Post-doc Université Rennes - Alliance EDUC and Université Caen Normandie)
2) Development and aging (Irene Lorenzini, MCF LECD & Audrey Besegher, Doctoral student LECD)
Speakers: Prof. Jeffrey Lockman (The University of Texas at Austin, USA), Sara Hoummady (Dr. Vet Unilasalle Rouen)
& Virginie Durier (CR CNRS, University of Rennes - Alliance EDUC)
3) Communication (Nicole Geberzahn, PR LECD & Fanny Rybak, MCF Institut des Neurosciences Paris-Saclay)
Speakers: Isabelle Charrier (DR CNRS Institut des Neurosciences Paris-Saclay) & Louise Peckre (MCF Université Sorbonne Paris Nord)
4) Animal Ethics and Welfare (Charlotte de Mouzon, Dr LECD & Amélie Romain, Dr Bureau d’étude AKONGO)
Speakers: Odile Petit (DR CNRS, University of Tours)
5) Human Ethology (Carla Aime Jubin, Post-doc LECD & Oulmann Zerhouni, Prof University of Rouen)
Speakers: Michel Raymond (DR CNRS University of Montpellier) & Jean Décéty (Prof University of Chicago)
6) Human-Animal Relations (Margot Poirier, PhD student, LECD & Marine Grandgeorge, Assistant Professor, University of Rennes - Alliance EDUC)
Speakers: Marine Grandgeorge (Assistant Professor, University of Rennes - Alliance EDUC) & Xavier Boivin (CR INRA) 

Website of the event: https://sfeca2025.sciencesconf.org/

 

Scientific rationale

By bringing together researchers, practitioners, public actors, and digital experts, this study day aims to promote multidisciplinary and forward-looking reflection on the importance of
data management in public contracts. The insights of our Italian colleagues will be particularly valuable, such as those of Gabriella Racca from the University of Turin and Giorgio
Mancuso from the University of Cagliari, a university at the forefront of research on digital administration.
This day will also be an opportunity to launch the first event organized by the French Association of Public Digital Law (AFDPN), created this year to promote, structure, and enhance research in France and French-speaking countries on the implications, in public law, of the use of digital technologies by administrations.