Mouvement, Abondance, Distribution
Nicolas COURBIN
- Publication : 30 novembre 2013
Campus du CNRS
1919, route de Mende
34293 Montpellier 5
Tél : 04 67 61 32 XX
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J'étudie les mécanismes de la répartition spatiale des grands herbivores, des grands carnivores et des oiseaux marins dans le but d'approfondir nos connaissances sur les interactions prédateur-proies. J’utilise aussi ces modèles pour évaluer l’impact du développement humain et améliorer les mesures de gestion et de conservation de la faune. Je suis notamment impliqué dans le suivi oiseaux marins des programmes ORNIT-EOF et MIGRALION afin d’évaluer l’impact du développement éolien offshore en Méditerranée. Outil de prédilection les bio-loggers.
Research interests
Movement ecology: animal-habitat relationships, habitat selection, space use.
Predator-prey / human-animal interactions: predator-prey space game, landscape of fear, predator/prey movement strategy.
Biological conservation & human-induced changes in animal behaviour and population.
Population dynamics, Habitat connectivity.
Current Postdoc research
2019 – Present. Postdoctoral researcher, Laboratoire d’Ecologie Alpine, CNRS (Chambéry, France). Effects of human recreational activities on mountain ungulates behaviour (France). Supervised by Dr. Anne Loison (LECA-CNRS).
I studied a chamois population in the Bauges massif (French Alps) exposed to an increase in frequentation and diversification of human nature-based activities. Humans created a complex landscape of fear for chamois, with a mix of lethal (hunting) and nonlethal activities (skiing, hiking). I developed a conceptual framework showing how complex human-induced landscape of fear might shape the tolerance patterns of animals and highlighted potential undesirable effects in a hunting context. I found a diel movement pattern of chamois, moving away from trails during daytime, to avoid human presence. I also highlighted an increased tolerance under specific conditions and a potential deleterious consequence for the most tolerant chamois during the hunting season.
Past research experiences
2015 – 2018. Postdoctoral researcher, Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, CNRS (Montpellier, France). Linking prey field and foraging behavior, and study of dynamics of shearwater populations of Marseille and Hyères archipelagos (France). Supervised by Dr. David Grémillet (CEFE-CNRS) and Dr. Aurélien Besnard (CEFE-EPHE).
I studied the foraging tactics of Scopoli’s shearwater (Calonectris diomedea), tracked by GPS, in a highly dynamic marine environment, where the prey field in terms of abundance and distribution change in few days. I determined whether the low environmental predictability shape the individual specialization in foraging, combining resource selection functions and stable isotope analyses. I also assessed the population dynamics of both Scopoli’s shearwater and yelkouan shearwater (Puffinus yelkouan) populations of Marseille archipelagos (Calanques National Park) and Hyères archipelagos (Port-Cros National Park) using capture-recapture model. (photo credit E. Boncourt)
2013 – 2015. Postdoctoral researcher, Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, CNRS (Montpellier, France) and WildCRU, Oxford University (England). Interactions between lions (Panthera leo) and zebras (Equus quagga) in a semi-arid woodland savannah (Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe). Supervised by Dr. Simon Chamaillé-Jammes (CEFE-CNRS) and Prof. David Macdonald (WildCRU) and Dr. Andrew Loveridge (WildCRU).
I studied the habitat selection patterns of GPS tracked lions and zebras and their spatial interactions around artificial pumped waterholes. More specifically, I assessed the spatially reactive responses of zebras after an encounter with lions and how zebras altered their fine-scale habitat selection and their spatial distribution to decrease risk. I also focused my research on the diel migration patterns in zebra and how these diel shift can decrease their predation risk by lions.
2013. Postdoctoral researcher, Université Laval (Québec, Canada). Plastic response of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in their winter habitat selection. Supervised by Prof. Steeve D Côté (Université Laval) and Dr. Christian Dussault (Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs, Québec).
I studied the plasticity in deer foraging habitat selection in the overbrowsed landscape of Anticosti island (Québec, Canada), by contrasting deer behaviors between two winters with opposite weather conditions (mild versus harsh winter).
2006 – 2013. PhD in behavioral ecology, Université Laval (Québec, Canada). Interactions between gray wolf (Canis lupus), forest-dwelling caribou (Rangifer tarandus) and moose (Alces alces) in managed boreal forest. Supervised by Prof. Daniel Fortin (Université Laval) and Dr. Christian Dussault (Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs, Québec).
2005. Master in marine ecology / oceanography, Université de la Méditerranée (Marseille, France).
Publications
Peer-reviewed articles
18. Clairbeaux M, Cheung W, Mathewson P, Porter W, Courbin N, …, Grémillet D. 2021. Meeting Paris agreement objectives will temper seabird winter distribution shifts in the North Atlantic Ocean. Global Change Biology, 27:1457-1469
17. Courbin N, Chinho T, Pichegru L, Verma-Grémillet A, Péron C, Grémillet D. 2020. The dance of the Cape gannet may contain social information on foraging behaviour. Animal Behaviour, 166:95-108.
16. Grémillet D, Gallien F, El Ksabi N, Courbin N. 2020. Sentinels of coastal ecosystems: the spatial ecology of European shags breeding in Normandy. Marine Biology, 167:1-11.
15. Grémillet D, Collet J, Weimerskirch, Courbin N, Ryan PG, Pichegru L. 2019. Bird-borne ship radar detectors show surprisingly few vessel encounters in Cape gannets competing with fisheries. PLoS ONE, 14:e0210328.
14. Courbin N, Loveridge AJ, Fritz H, Macdonald DW, Patin R, Valeix M and Chamaillé-Jammes S. 2019. Zebra diel migrations reduce encounter risk with lions over selection for safe habitats. Journal of Animal Ecology, 88:92-101.
13. Courbin N, Besnard A, Péron C, Saraux C, Fort J, Perret S, Tornos J and Grémillet D. 2018. Short-term prey field lability constrains individual resource specialization and foraging site fidelity in a marine predator. Ecology Letters, 21:1043-1054.
12. Valls-Fox H, Chamaillé-Jammes S, de Garine-Wichatitsky M, Perrotton A, Courbin N, Miguel E, Guerbois C, Caron A, Loveridge AJ, Stapelkamp B, Muzamba M and Fritz H. 2018. Surface water availability and cattle herding shape the human-wildlife interface at the edge of a protected area. Animal Conservation, 21:365-375.
11. Amélineau F, Fort J, Mathewson PD, Speirs DC, Courbin N, Perret S, Porter WP, Wilson RJ and Grémillet D. 2018. Energyscapes and prey fields shape a North Atlantic seabird wintering hotspot under climate change. Royal Society Open Science, 5:171883.
10. Courbin N, Dussault C, Veillette A, Giroux M-A and Côté SD. 2017. Coping with strong variations in winter severity: plastic habitat selection of deer at high density. Behavioral Ecology, 28:1037-1046.
9. Courbin N, Loveridge AJ, Macdonald DW, Fritz H, Valeix M, Makuwe E and Chamaillé-Jammes S. 2016. Reactive responses of zebras to lion encounters shape their predator-prey space game at large scale. Oikos, 125:829-838.
8. Fortin D, Buono P-L, Schmitz O, Courbin N, Losier C, St-Laurent MH, Drapeau P, Heppell S, Dussault C and Mainguy J. 2015. A spatial theory for characterizing predator-multiprey interactions in spatially structured landscapes. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 282:20150973.
7. Courbin N, Fortin D, Dussault C and Courtois R. 2014. Forestry-induced changes in habitat network connectivity shape behavioral interactions in the wolf-caribou-moose system. Ecological Monographs, 84:265-285.
6. Courbin N, Fortin D, Dussault C, Fargeot V and Courtois R. 2013. Multi-trophic resource selection function enlightens the behavioural game between wolves and their prey. Journal of Animal Ecology, 82:1062-1071.
5. Fortin D, Buono P-L, Fortin A, Courbin N, Tye Gingras C, Moorcroft PR, Courtois R and Dussault C. 2013. Movement responses of caribou to human-induced habitat edges lead to their aggregation near anthropogenic features. The American Naturalist, 181:827-836.
4. Basille M, Courtois R, Bastille-Rousseau G, Courbin N, Faille G, Dussault C, Ouellet JP and Fortin D. 2011. Effets directs et indirects de l’aménagement de la forêt boréale sur le caribou forestier au Québec. Le Naturaliste Canadien, 135:45-52.
3. Duchesne T, Fortin D and Courbin N. 2010. Mixed conditional logistic regression for habitat selection studies. Journal of Animal Ecology, 79:548-555.
2. Courbin N, Fortin D, Dussault C and Courtois R. 2009. Landscape management for woodland caribou: the protection of forest blocks influences wolf-caribou co-occurrences. Landscape Ecology, 24:1375-1388.
1. Courbin N, Fablet R, Mellon C and de Pontual H. 2007. Are hake otolith macrostructures randomly deposited? Insights from an unsupervised statistical and quantitative approach applied to Mediterranean hake otoliths. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 64:1191-1201.
Technical reports
3. Courbin N, Gallien F, Purenne R and Grémillet D. 2018. Ecologie spatiale des cormorans huppés des Îles Saint-Marcouf. Rapport scientifique du Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, Janvier 2019, Montpellier, France. 38p.
2. Courbin N, Gallien F and Grémillet D. 2018. Ecologie spatiale des cormorans huppés des Îles Chausey. Rapport scientifique du Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, Novembre 2018, Montpellier, France. 38p.
1. Courbin N, Grémillet D and Besnard A. 2018. Etude de la dynamique des populations de puffins de Scopoli et yelkouan du Parc National des Calanques et du Parc National de Port-Cros. Rapport scientifique du Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, Avril 2018, Montpellier, France. 107p.
Book chapters
2. Fortin D., C. Hébert, J.-P. Légaré, N. Courbin, K. Swiston, J. Hodson, M.-L. Leblanc, C. Dussault, D. Pothier, J.-C. Ruel and S. Couturier. 2011. Partial harvesting in old-growth boreal forests and the preservation of animal diversity from ants to woodland caribou. In Woodlands: Ecology, Management and Conservation, eds. E. B. Wallace, pp 115-136. Nova Science Publishers, New York, NY, USA.
1. Fortin D., K. Dancose, N. Courbin, L. Harvey, J.-S. Babin, S. Courant, J. F. Wilmshurst and D. Frandsen. 2010. The use of ecological theory to guide bison management. In European bison conservation in Białowieża Forest, eds. R. Kowalczyk, D. Ławreszuk, and J. M. Wójcik, pp 201-210. Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, Białowieża, Poland.
Proceedings
2. Courbin N., D. Fortin, C. Dussault and R. Courtois. 2011. Considérations multi-trophiques pour une meilleure stratégie de conservation du caribou - Étude des relations loup-caribou sur la Côte-Nord. In Actes du colloque «le caribou forestier : un enjeu de biodiversité et de développement durable», pp 111-113. Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune, Chicoutimi (Québec, Canada).
1. Fortin D., P.-L. Buono, A. Fortin, N. Courbin, C. T. Gingras, P. R. Moorcroft, R. Courtois and C. Dussault. 2011. Sélection de l’habitat hivernal du caribou forestier à l’échelle provincial. In Actes du colloque «le caribou forestier : un enjeu de biodiversité et de développement durable», pp 31-33. Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune, Chicoutimi (Québec, Canada).
Thesis and Dissertations
Courbin N. 2013. Interactions entre le loup gris, le caribou forestier et l'orignal en forêt boréale aménagée (Interactions between gray wolf, forest-dwelling caribou and moose in managed boreal forest). Ph.D. Thesis, Université Laval, Québec (Québec, Canada).
Courbin N. 2005. Méthodes d'analyse quantitative des signaux structuraux sur les otolithes. Applications aux merlus du golfe du Lion (Quantitative analysis approaches for structural signals on otoliths. Applications to Mediterranean hake). Master’s (degree 2) dissertation. Université de la Méditerranée, Marseille (France).
Courbin N. 2004. Destinations et modalités de la dispersion des jeunes goélands leucophées (Larus Michahellis) nés dans le Languedoc-Roussillon (Destinations and dispersion of young yellow-legged gulls (Larus Michahellis) from Languedoc-Roussillon). Master’s (degree 1) dissertation. Université de la Méditerranée, Marseille (France).
Popularization articles
6. Courbin N., D. Fortin, C. Dussault, R. Courtois and O. Bichet. 2013. Les changements de la connectivité de l’habitat du caribou forestier suite à la coupe forestière influencent les interactions loup-caribou-orignal.Chaire de recherche industrielle CRSNG-Université Laval en sylviculture et faune, Bulletin d’information 21.
5. Fortin D., P.-L Buono, A. Fortin, N. Courbin, C.T. Gingras, P.R. Moorcroft, R. Courtois, C. Dussault and A. Allard-Duchene. 2013. Comment l’effet de lisière lié aux perturbations anthropiques modifie-t-il la répartition des populations du caribou forestier? Chaire de recherche industrielle CRSNG-Université Laval en sylviculture et faune, Bulletin d’information 20.
4. Basille M., R. Courtois, G. Bastille-Rousseau, N. Courbin, G. Faille, C. Dussault, J.-P. Ouellet and D. Fortin. 2011. Direct and indirect effects of boreal forest management on the forest-dwelling caribou in Québec. Le Naturaliste Canadien, 135:46-52.
3. Fortin D., C. Hébert, J.-P. Légaré, N. Courbin, K. Swiston, J. Hodson, M.-L. Leblanc, C. Dussault, D. Pothier, J.-C. Ruel, S. Couturier and A. Allard-Duchene. 2011. La cpptm appliquée en forêt boréale permet-elle de conserver la biodiversité animale? Chaire de recherche industrielle CRSNG-Université Laval en sylviculture et faune, Bulletin d’information 14:2.
2. Courbin N., D. Fortin, C. Dussault and R. Courtois. 2009. Des espions au service de la conservation. Le Couvert Boréal, 5:33.
1. Courbin N., D. Fortin, C. Dussault and R. Courtois. 2008. Les blocs de protection: la voie des caribous... et de loups! Chaire de recherche industrielle CRSNG-Université Laval en sylviculture et faune, Bulletin d’information 10.
Oral communications (selection)
Courbin N, Besnard A and Grémillet D. 2018. Tracking seabird-prey interactions in a changing world. Invited plenary speaker at the British Ornithologists’ Union Conference “Seabirds: Towards a sustainable future with renewable energies”, Peterborough (England), 11 October 2018.
Courbin N, Besnard A, Péron C, Saraux C, Authier M, Fort J and Grémillet D. 2017. Short-term prey field lability constrains individual resource specialization and foraging site fidelity in a marine predator. 6th International Bio-Logging Science Symposium, Konstanz (Germany), 25-29 September 2017.
Courbin N, Besnard A, Péron C, Saraux C, Authier M, Fort J and Grémillet D. 2016. A brief history of specialization of individual foraging and feeding strategies of Scopoli shearwaters in the Gulf of Lion and their reproductive outcomes. Sfécologie 2016, International Conference of Ecological Science, Marseille (France), 24-27 October 2016.
Courbin N, Besnard A, Péron C, Saraux C, Fort J and Grémillet D. 2016. A brief history of individual foraging strategies of Scopoli shearwaters in the Gulf of Lion and their reproductive outcomes. 6th International Albatross and Petrel Conference, Barcelona (Spain), 19-23 September 2016.
Fortin D., P.-L. Buono, O. Schmitz, N. Courbin, C. Losier, M.H. St-Laurent, P. Drapeau, S. Heppell, C. Dussault, V. Brodeur and J. Mainguy. 2016. Spatial interaction between wolf, caribou and moose in harvested boreal forest. Gordon Research Conferences - Predator-prey interactions, Ventura (California, USA), 24-29 January 2016.
Courbin N., S. Chamaillé-Jammes, A.J. Loveridge, D.W. Macdonald, M. Valeix, H. Fritz et R. Patin. 2015. Stratégie d'évitement des lions par les zèbres: comportements proactifs et réactifs. Journée thématique "Déplacement animal", CEFE-CNRS, Montpellier (France), 25 Septembre 2015.
Chamaillé-Jammes S., N. Courbin, A.J. Loveridge, D.W. Macdonald, H. Fritz and E.T. Makuwe. 2015. Reactive responses of zebras to lions encounters shape their predator-prey space game at large scale. 13th Annual Savanna Science Networking Meeting, Skukuza (South Africa), 8-12 March 2015
Courbin N., A.J. Loveridge, D.W. Macdonald, H. Fritz, M. Valeix, E.T. Makuwe and S. Chamaillé-Jammes. 2014. Zebra flights after an encounter with lions shape the lion-zebra spatial game in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe. BES-SFE Joint 2014 Annual Meeting, Lille (France), 9-12 December 2014.
Courbin N. 2014. Invited at UCL - French Embassy 'State of Nature' COnference-Debat Series 2014, Beyond biodiversity indicators workshop, Londres (UK), 9 October 2014.
Fortin D., P.-L. Buono, N. Courbin, M.-C. Labbé, M. Basille, C. Dussault and J.D. Forester. 2014. Spatial game between gray wolves, caribou and moose in the boreal forest. 99th Ecological Society of America annual meeting, Sacramento (California, USA), 10-15 August 2014.
Courbin N. 2013. Connectivité de l'habitat et interactions entre le loup gris, le caribou forestier et l'orignal en forêt boréale aménagée. Invited speaker at CEFE-CNRS, Montpellier (France), 23 September 2013.
Courbin N., V. Fargeot, D. Fortin, C. Dussault and R. Courtois. 2010. Wolf-prey encounter risk: a point of view. Ecologie 2010, Montpellier (France), 2-4 September 2010.
Courbin N., D. Fortin, C. Dussault and R. Courtois. 2010. Impacts of landscape connectivity modifications on predator-prey relationships clarified by graph theory. 5th annual meeting of Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution, Québec (Québec, Canada), 9-12 May 2010.
Courbin N., D. Fortin, C. Dussault and R. Courtois. 2009. Management implications of forest-dwelling caribou habitat on wolf-caribou interactions. 16th annual conference of the Wildlife Society, Monterey (California, USA), 20-24 September 2009.
