Movement, Abundance, Distribution

The MAD team

Panorama equipe

 

In the MAD team, we conduct studies that together aim at understanding the emergence of animal distribution patterns across  spatial and temporal scales and at different levels of organisation, from individuals to populations and communities. At the individual level, we have a strong focus on movement behaviour, studied directly (biologging), indirectly (genetics) or theoretically (models). At higher levels, we are concerned by how animal (re)distribution patterns affect abundance and how we measure it. On a more applied side, we consider that many conservation and management issues can be better grasped, and hopefully resolved, by a better understanding of the spatial-temporal dynamics of the distribution of animals, and sometimes humans and human activities. Most of our work is conducted on birds and mammals.
 
In particular, we:
 
  • study the movement of individual animals to decipher where, why and how they move, from routine movements to dispersal events         
  • link space use to demography, trying to scale-up individual movements to population distribution and abundance patterns
  • focus on how species interactions in general, and predation (or lack thereof)  in particular, are key to explain movement, distribution and abundance, and their consequences on ecosystem processes and biodiversity.
  • investigate how individuals adjust, in particular through behavioural adjustments, to the human footprint on the landscapes
  • are concerned by whether protected areas (PA) and PA networks are efficient to protect moving animals.
 
If any of these research topics match your interests, contact us!