English

Research areas

Computer vision

I am working on the taxonomic identification of current and fossil plant remains (mainly pollen, phytoliths and leaves) using automatic image recognition and deep learning. The aim is to help carry out high-resolution monitoring of changes in biodiversity, climate and landscapes in the present and the past using images collected by scientific workflows such as artificial pollen traps, sediment cores and herbariums.

Interpretation of degraded and complex vegetation signals

Current or fossil plant remains are signals of vegetation and paleo-vegetation. By studying these signals, it is possible to monitor past and present environmental changes. However, the interpretation of certain signals, such as pollen assemblages, is sometimes difficult due to the complexity of the signal or its degradation. Using statistical analyses, I aim to improve the environmental and climatic interpretation of these complex and/or degraded signals.

Species distribution models

I use natural archives (pollens, fossils, etc.) and historical documents (notes, herbariums, archaeological remains, etc.) to take into account both the past and present ecological niches of plants in order to set up models of species distribution. The aim is to better predict the future distribution of plants, to help conserve endangered species or to anticipate the spread of invasive species.

Projects & activities

Scientific projects

Membre du projet "Supporting the agroecological transition of weed management" (PARAD) depuis 2025
Membre du projet Pl@ntNet depuis 2024
Member of FISH-PREDICT project de l'ANR challenge IA-Biodiv from 2022 to 2025
Member of Hominin Sites and Paleolakes Drilling Project (HSPDP) from 2016 to 2020

Teaching and supervision

President of the committee monitoring Letizia Lamperti's thesis in 2023
Reviewer and member of the jury for the M2 BEE master's courses at the University of Montpellier in 2023
Co-supervision of two 6-month master's courses on species distribution models in 2023
191 hours of teaching in 2021-2022 as a temporary teaching and research associate at the University of Aix-Marseille
64 hours of teaching in 2021-2022 as a temporary teaching and research associate at the University of Dijon
Creation and supervision of a 1-month undergraduate internship in 2019
182 hours of teaching from 2016 to 2019 during my PhD at the University of Aix-Marseille

Administration and laboratory

Information technology correspondent for Inria within the Iroko team since 2023
Member of the Laboratory Council at the European Centre for Research and Teaching in Environmental Geosciences (CEREGE) from 2018 to 2020
Member of the board of the Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers Institut Pythéas from 2016 to 2020
Member of the Fundamental and Applied Sciences Council of the University of Poitiers from 2013 to 2015

Popular science

Creation and hosting of a paleontology workshop for the "Science Festival" from 2016 to 2023
Installation of an educational panel on "The Mines of Cayre" with Natura 2000 in 2021
Organiser of the "Lozère Geological Heritage Days" from 2013 to 2019
Clearing, protecting and promoting a dinosaur tracksite in Mende from 2016 to 2018

Association

Organiser and supervisor of palaeontology field courses (1 week/year) in Lozère from 2013 to 2016
President of the Ceregian Association of Postgraduate Students from 2017 to 2018
Member of the Association des Palynologues de Langue Française since 2016
Secretary of the Paleontological Association of the Hauts Plateaux of Languedoc since 2013

Publications

Scientific publications

Bourel B., Joly A., Servajean M., Bettinger S., Sanabria-Fernández J. A., Mouillot D., 2025. From presence-only to abundance species distribution models using transfer learning. Ecology Letters, in rewiev.
Moreau, J.D., Trincal, V., Bourel, B., Philippe, M., Vullo, R., Jacquet, A., Durlet, C., Forel, M.B., Néraudeau, D., Charbonnier, S., Belkacem, D., 2024. Multiproxy palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the Bathonian Castelbouc sauropod tracksite (Causses Basin, southern France): insight into a Middle Jurassic insular ecosystem. Geobios, 84, 65-82.
Moreau J.D., Trincal V., Baretc L., Bourel B., Jacquet A., 2022. Dinosaur footprints from the Early Jurassic of Le Mazel (Lozère, Southern France). Annales de Paléontologie, 108, 102537.
Bonnefille R., Bourel B., 2021. Lower to Mid-Pliocene pollen data from East African hominid sites, review and data. In: Lézine A.-M., Ivory S.J., Gosling W.D., Scott L. (Eds), The African Pollen Database (APD) and tracing environemental change: State of Art.Palaeoecology of Africa 35, CRC Press, 135-155.
Moreau J.D., Trincal V., Deconinck J.-F., Philippe M., Bourel B., 2021. Lowermost Jurassic dinosaur ecosystem from the Bleymard Strait (southern France): sedimentology, mineralogy, palaeobotany and palaeoichnology of the Dolomitic Formation. Geological Magazine, 158(10), 1-17.
Bourel B., Barboni B., Shilling A., Ashley G., 2021. Vegetation dynamics of Kisima Ngeda freshwater spring reflect hydrological changes in northern Tanzania over the past 1200 years: Implications for paleoenvironmental reconstructions at paleoanthropological sites. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 580, 110607.
Bourel B., 2020. Pollen use for the spatial high-resolution reconstruction of Plio-Pleistocene Hominini environments in the East African Rift (Ethiopia and Tanzania). Thesis. CEREGE, Université d’Aix-Marseille, Aix-en-Provence, 258 p. NNT/NL : 2020AIXM0366/028ED251.
Bourel B., Marchant R., de Garidel-Thoron T., Tetard M., Barboni D., Gally Y., Beaufort L., 2020. Automated recognition by multiple convolutional neural networks of modern, fossil, intact and damaged pollen grains. Computers & Geoscience, 140, 104498.
Moreau J.D., Trincal V., Fara E., Baret L., Jacquet A., Barbini C. Flament R., Wienin M., Bourel B., Jean A., 2020. Middle Jurassic tracks of megaherbivorous dinosaurs in a deep karst cave from France. Journal of Vertebrate Palaeontology, 39(6), e1728286.
Bourel B., Novello A., 2020. Bilobate phytolith size matters for taxonomical and ecological identification of sub-Saharan African grasses: A case study on 15 species. Review of Paleobotany & palynology, 275, 104114.
Saylor S., Gibert L., Deino A., Alene M., Levin E., Melillo S., Peaple M., Feakins S., Bourel B., Barboni D., Novello A., Sylvestre F., Mertzman S., Haile-Selassie Y., 2019. Age and context of mid-Pliocene hominin cranium from Woranso-Mille, Ethiopia. Nature, 573, 220-224.
Barboni D., Ashley G., Bourel B., Arraiz H., Mazur J.-C., 2019. Springs, palm groves, and the record of early hominins in Africa. Review of Paleobotany & palynology, 266, 23-41.
Bourel B., Moreau J.-D., Trincal V. (2016). Fossiliferous Holocene tufa of Mende (Lozère, southern France): implication for the Atlantic vegetation of the Causses Basin. Bulletin de la Société géologique de France, 187, 225-235.
Moreau J.D., Trincal V., Gand G., Néraudeau D., Bessière G., Bourel B., 2014. Two new dinosaur tracksites from the Hettangian dolomitic Formation of Lozère, Languedoc-Roussillon, France. Annales de Paléontologie, 100, 361-369.

Popular science publications

Moreau J.-D., Trincal V., Fara E., Baret L., Jacquet A., André D., Wienin M., Barbini C., Fara E., Flament R., Chailloux D., Lemaitre P., Bourel B., Blanchard S., 2020. Des empreintes de dinosaures dans les karsts des Grands Causses : grottes de Malaval et Castelbouc IV. Spelunca, 160, 38-46.
Moreau J.-D., Lemonnier M., Trincal V., Baraini-Gizard C., Jacquet A., Bessière G., Sallé V., Bourel B., 2019. Sur les traces des dinosaures de Cans-Et-Cévennes et ses environs. Mende, France : Les Editions de l'Association Paléontologique des Hauts Plateaux du Languedoc. ISBN: 978-2-9560422-1-1.
Moreau J.-D., Trincal V., Bessière G., SalléV., Bourel B., Jeanneau J., Baret L., 2017. Les empreintes de dinosaures de Mende : de la fouille à l'étude paléontologique. Mende, France : Les Editions de l'Association Paléontologique des Hauts Plateaux du Languedoc. ISBN: 978-2-9560422-0-4.

Conferences

Scientific talks

Bourel B., Joly A., Servajean M., Bettinger S., Sanabria-Fernández J. A., Mouillot D., 2025. From presence-only to abundance species distribution models using transfer learning. BioSpace25 - Biodiversity insight from Space, 13th February 2025, ESA-ESRIN, Frascati (Italy).
Bourel B., Joly A., Bonnet P., Goëau H., Affouard A., Lombardo J.C., Chouet M., Gresse H., Botella C., Deneu B., Estopinan J., Leblanc C., Garcin C., Marcos D., Servajean M., Munoz F., Salmon J., 2024. The challenges of creating, managing and storing large datasets in environmental sciences. International Workshop on Biological Data Integration and AI, 13th Decembre 2024, University of Clermont Auvergne (France).
Bourel B. , 2024 . Using hybrid AI to overcome the challenges of automatic identification of modern and fossil pollen in real-life conditions. BioChronos seminar of the Department of Palaeo-ecosystems, Climate, and Societies, 10th October 2024, University of Montpellier (France).
Bourel B. , Barboni B., Mazur J.-C., 2024 . More objective inference of regional vegetation subtypes using pollen assemblages from the East African Rift (Ethiopia). Mediterranean Palynology Societies Symposium 2024, 17th July 2024, Salamanca (Spain).
Bourel B. , Joly A., Servajean M., Bettinger S., Mouillot D, 2024 . Improving and regularizing species abundance prediction models with deep learning. Inria-Brasil Workshop, 31th May 2024, Montpellier (France).
Bourel B., Joly A., Bonnet P., Goëau H., Affouard A., Lombardo J.C., Chouet M., Gresse H., Botella C., Deneu B., Estopinan J., Leblanc C., Garcin C., Marcos D., Servajean M., Munoz F., Salmon J., 2023. Pl@ntNet : Management of large databases and integration of microscopic images. 12th Scientific and Technical Days of the INRAE microscopists network, 24th November 2023, Montpellier (France).
Saylor S., Gibert L., Deino A., Alene M., Levin E., Melillo S., Peaple M., Feakins S., Bourel B., Barboni D., Novello, Sylvestre F., Mertzman S., Haile-Selassie Y., 2020. A wet basin during dry times: a new Pliocene lake record from the Afar region, Ethiopia. American Geophysical Union Meeting 2020, 10th December 2020, Virtual scientific conferences.
Melillo S., Vazzana A., Benazzi S., Ryan T., Saylor B., Gibert L., Deino A., Alene M., Levin L., Peaple M., Feakins S., Bourel B., Barboni D., Novello A., Sylvestre F., Haile-Selassie Y., 2020 The first cranium of Australopithecus anamensis. 89th Annual Meeting of American Association of Physical Anthropologists, 17th April 2020, Los Angeles (California).
Bourel B., 2019. Automated recognition of pollen grains from the modern and fossil records by multiple convolutional neural networks. 26th congress of the Doctoral School Environmental Sciences (ED 251), 30th April 2019, Aix-Marseille University (France).
Bourel B., 2018. Les pollens, témoins de l'évolution des environnements et du climat. The conferences of museum, 18th Octobre 2018, Natural History Museum of Aix-en-Provence (France).
Bourel B., 2017. Vegetation dynamics and climate variability during the Pliocene from the pollen record of the ICDP-HSPDP Nord Awash cores, Afar region (Ethiopia). Palynology Seminar, 21th September 2017, Addis Ababa University of Natural Science (Éthiopie).
Bourel B., 2016. Les plantes fossiles des travertins Holocène de Mende. 4th Lozerian Geological Heritage Days, 16th July 2016, Mende (France).

Popular science talks

Botella C., Bourel B., Mouillout D., Rovellotti O., 2024 . Round-table conference. Technological progress and environmental ethics: a dilemma for ecological research and biodiversity management? Days of «research and biodiversity management in times of ecological crisis » by AdNatura and BiodivOc, 10th December 2024, University of Paul-Valéry (Montpellier, France).

Scientific posters

Bourel B., Joly A., Servajean M., Bettinger S., Sanabria-Fernández J. A., Mouillot D., 2025. Using occurrence data to improve species abundance predictions with neural networks. BioSpace25 - Biodiversity insight from Space, 13th February 2025, ESA-ESRIN, Frascati (Italy).
Bourel B., Joly A., Servajean M., Bettinger S., Mouillot D, 2024. Knowledge transfer from presence-only data to abundance predictions using deep neural networks. International congress in Ecology and Evolution 2024, 21-25th October 2024, Lyon (France).
Bourel B., Marchant R., de Garidel-Thoron T., Tetard M., Barboni D., Gally Y., Beaufort L., 2019. Automated recognition by multiple convolutional neural networks of modern, fossil, intact and damaged pollen grains. The Mediterranean Palynological Societies Symposium 2019, 9-11th July2019, Bordeaux (France).
Bourel B., Novello A., 2016. The dimensions of bilobate phytoliths in 15 Poaceae species of Central Africa: Can it be relevant for paleoenvironmental studies? 10th International Meeting on Phytolith Research, 12-14th September 2016, Aix-en-Provence (France).
Bourel B., Barboni D., Gail A., 2015. Pollen study of vegetation dynamics and spring activity during the last 1100 years (Eyasi, Tanzania). XXIV Symposium of Association of French Language Palynologists, 14-16th September 2015, Pontarlier (France).
Bourel B., Novello A., 2014. Introduction to phytoliths and their paleo-archaeological applications. 2nd Lozerian Geological Heritage Days, 16-17th August 2014, Florac (France).
Bourel B., Moreau J.-D., 2013. Angiosperms of the Cenozoic tufa of Mende (Lozère, France). 1st Lozerian Geological Heritage Days, 2-4th August 2013, Marvejols (France).

Curriculum Vitae

Academic titles

2020: PhD in Environmental Sciences, specialising in Ecology and Biological Anthropology. European Centre for Research and Teaching in Environmental Geosciences (CEREGE), Aix-en-Provence, France.
2015: Master's degree in Ecology-Biodiversity, specialising in Palaeontology and Palaeoanthropology. University of Montpellier and Poitiers, France ( Rank : 3/25).
2013: Bachelor's degree in Earth and Environment, specialising in Geosciences. University of Poitiers, France (Rank : 3/29).

Parcours

2023: Permanent Researcher in machine learning applied to ecology and paleoecology. Inria Montpellier, France.
2022-2023 : Post-doctorate on species distribution models using Convolutional Neural Network (1.5 years). Montpellier Computer Science, Robotics and Microelectronics Laboratory, Montpellier, France.
2021: Full-time temporary teaching and research associate at the Dijon Biogeosciences Laboratory (4 months - 64 hours of teaching). Biogeosciences Laboratory, Dijon, France.
2016-2020: Doctoral student in East African palynology in relation to Hominini sites (3.5 years - 182 hours of teaching). CEREGE, Aix-en-Provence, France.
2016: Palynology and anthracology engineer on East Africa (1 month). CEREGE, Aix-en-Provence, France.
2015: Assistant-engineer in scientific communication and popular science (1 month). CEREGE, Aix-en-Provence, France.
2015: Palynology internship on a freshwater resurgence in Tanzania (6 months). CEREGE, Aix-en-Provence, France.
2014: Internship on the biometry of phytoliths of North African grasses (6months). Palaeontology Evolution Palaeoecosystems Palaeoprimatology Laboratory (PALEVOPRIM), Poitiers, France.
2013: Internship on macro-remains of Meso-Neolithic vegetation in France (2 months). Paleontological Association of the Hauts Plateaux of Languedoc, Mende, France.
2013: Internship on late Pleistocene plants and Homo migrations in Arabia (2 months). PALEVOPRIM, Poitiers, France.

Introduction