Biosciences Seminar Series - Autumn 2018
08 November 2018 - 1pm - Zoology Museum
From diet and habitat selection to demography: large herbivores in the Alps as a case study
Dr Anne Loison
Large herbivore populations have increased in Europe in the last decades, contributing to the return of large carnivores and possibly to maintaining plant biodiversity, but it also raises concerns regarding diseases, collisions, or competition with human activities (forestry, agriculture). It is therefore crucial to better understand and predict how large herbivores distribute in space and how their population respond to changes in climate , land use and to increasing outdoor activities.
I will present some results on diet, habitat selection and population dynamics, coming from a long term study of mountain herbivores in the French Alps. We have been capturing and marking individuals (chamois, mouflon and roe deer) for >30 years, and equipping them with GPS since the 2000s, and more recently with bio-loggers. I will show new highlights on habitat selection obtained by combining data on trophic niche (assessed from DNA barcoding of faeces), resource characteristics (estimated from field sampling and remote sensing), and individual movement (from GPS collars). I will then present our current projects aiming at (1) connecting individual movement, diet and habitat selection, to demography, (2) understanding the role of mountain herbivores on the dynamics of plant community and (3) at understanding the role of human-animal interactions on animal populations.
I will present some results on diet, habitat selection and population dynamics, coming from a long term study of mountain herbivores in the French Alps. We have been capturing and marking individuals (chamois, mouflon and roe deer) for >30 years, and equipping them with GPS since the 2000s, and more recently with bio-loggers. I will show new highlights on habitat selection obtained by combining data on trophic niche (assessed from DNA barcoding of faeces), resource characteristics (estimated from field sampling and remote sensing), and individual movement (from GPS collars). I will then present our current projects aiming at (1) connecting individual movement, diet and habitat selection, to demography, (2) understanding the role of mountain herbivores on the dynamics of plant community and (3) at understanding the role of human-animal interactions on animal populations.
Hope to see many of you - everyone most welcome to attend!
For the list of forthcoming seminars see here
For the list of forthcoming seminars see here
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