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Scales, otoliths and various biological tissues are collected continuously on the ORE DiaPFC.

These samples feed the Biological Resources Centre CRB COLISA: COLlection of Ichtyological SAmples.

The interest of this collection lies in the nature of the samples, their quantity (over 400,000 samples) and their geographical origin (the whole of France), as well as their historical perspective (since the 1970s).

Colisa and the ORE DiaPFC are responsible for safeguarding this heritage, publicising its richness and facilitating access to it for scientists.

The biological and environmental information contained in this collection makes it possible to carry out retrospective spatio-temporal analyses.

Scales and otoliths, as hard structures, are biological recorders of the life history of fish (age, growth, reproduction, living environment, etc.). The biological tissues are mainly used for genetic analysis.

    On a scientific level, this collection contributes to the current and retrospective characterisation of fish individuals or populations, with regard to life history traits, changes in the genetic diversity of these populations and changes in the environmental conditions in which they evolve.

 At a final level, it helps to define operations to protect and manage exploited populations: definition of quotas (TACs), opening periods for fishing, etc. Similarly, the information contained and researched in the samples is used to revisit the management of populations, some of which are protected (IUCN red list) or considered to be heritage species.At the same time, Colisa manages and makes available to scientists the national collection of scales from salmonid catch declarations (amateur and professional fishing).This collection, which began in 1984, covers all the rivers in France.

The Colisa online catalogue: https://colisa.fr/ references the various hard tissue samples in the collection and provides access to a summary of the samples available.

A form for requesting samples or expertise is also available.

Contact: Colisa-Contact@inrae.fr
CRB website: https://colisa.hub.inrae.fr/