Staff
Marjorie Couton
Dr. Marjorie Couton
About Me
My main research interests are linked to molecular ecology. I have always been interested in using DNA to get information on ecosystems at the individual level (species detection), at the population level (population genetics) or at the community level (diversity assessments). During my PhD, I used molecular tools such as metabarcoding to detect introduced species in ports and marinas and to evaluate their contribution to marine communities. Now, my goal is to assess the diversity and distribution of groundwater amphipods across Switzerland. I plan to apply metabarcoding techniques to environmental DNA from groundwater samples in order to characterize the amphipod diversity in these environments but also to assess groundwater biodiversity in a broader perspective.
Curriculum Vitae
| 2021- |
Postdoc researcher working on groundwater biodiversity with eDNA-based methods at Eawag, Dübendorf (Switzerland) |
| 2017-2020 |
PhD on the use of eDNA metabarcoding for the detection and surveillance of marine non-indigenous species at Station biologique de Roscoff (France) |
| 2015-2017 |
Msc in Bioinformatics at the university of Nantes (France) |
| 2010-2012 |
Msc in Freshwater Ecology and Population Genetics at the university of Tromsø (Norway) |
| 2007-2010 |
Bsc in Environmental Biology at the university of Nantes (France) |
Publications
Knüsel M, Alther R, Couton M, Altermatt F. (2024). Temporal consistency and spatial variability in detection: implications for monitoring of macroinvertebrates from shallow groundwater aquifers. Subterranean Biology 49:139-161. doi:10.3897/subtbiol.49.132515
Blackman R, Couton M, Keck F, Kirschner D, Carraro L, Cereghetti E, Perrelet K, Bossart R, Brantschen J, Zhang Y, Altermatt F. (2024). Environmental DNA: The next chapter. Molecular Ecology 33:e17355. doi:10.1111/mec.17355
Couton M, Studer A, Hürlemann S, Locher N, Knüsel M, Alther R, Altermatt F. (2023). Integrating citizen science and environmental DNA metabarcoding to study biodiversity of groundwater amphipods in Switzerland. Scientific Reports 13:18097. doi:10.1038/s41598-023-44908-8
Couton M, Viard F, Altermatt F. (2023). Opportunities and inherent limits of using environmental DNA for population genetics. Environmental DNA 5:1048-1064. doi:10.1002/edn3.448
Couton M, Hürlemann S, Studer A, Alther R, Altermatt F. (2023). Groundwater environmental DNA metabarcoding reveals hidden diversity and reflects land-use and geology. Molecular Ecology 32:3497-3512. doi:10.1111/mec.16955
Keck F, Couton M, Altermatt, F. (2023). Navigating the seven challenges of taxonomic reference databases in metabarcoding analyses. Molecular Ecology Resources 23:742-755. https://doi.org/10.1111/1755-0998.13746
Couton M, Lévêque L, Daguin-Thiébaut C, Comtet T, Viard F. (2022). Water eDNA metabarcoding is effective in detecting non-native species in marinas, but detection errors still hinder its use for passive monitoring. Biofouling 1-17. doi:10.1080/08927014.2022.2075739
Couton M, Baud A, Daguin‐Thiébaut C, Corre E, Comtet T, Viard F. (2021). High‐throughput sequencing on preservative ethanol is effective at jointly examining infraspecific and taxonomic diversity, although bioinformatics pipelines do not perform equally. Ecology and Evolution 11(10):5533-5546. doi:10.1002/ece3.7453
Couton M. (2020). High-throughput sequencing techniques for the detection and survey of marine non-indigenous species: a valuable addition to traditional methods? PhD thesis. Sorbonne Université. Institutional Repository
Couton M, Comtet T, Le Cam S, Corre E, Viard F. (2019). Metabarcoding on planktonic larval stages: an efficient approach for detecting and investigating life cycle dynamics of benthic aliens. Management of Biological Invasions 10(4):657-689. doi:10.3391/mbi.2019.10.4.06
Charrier NP, Couton M, Voordouw MJ, Rais O, Durand-Hermouet A, Hervet C, Plantard O, Rispe C. (2018). Whole body transcriptomes and new insights into the biology of the tick Ixodes ricinus. Parasites & Vectors 11(1):1-15. doi:10.1186/s13071-018-2932-3
Præbel K, Couton M, Knudsen R, Amundsen P-A. (2016). Genetic consequences of allopatric and sympatric divergence in Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus (L.)) from Fjellfrøsvatn as inferred by microsatellite markers. Hydrobiologia 783(1):257-267. doi:10.1007/s10750-016-2648-3
Couton M. (2012). Adaptive radiation of the European whitefish Coregonus lavaretus (L.) in the Pasvik watercourse: the genetic description of a new morph. Msc thesis. Universitetet i Tromsø. Institutional Repository
This member of staff no longer works at Eawag. Please contact info@eawag.ch for further information.
Focalpoints
Environmental DNA (eDNA)
Metabarcoding
Community Ecology
Population Genetics
Biological Invasions