I am a scientist working in the South Pacific. The research I have developed over the last twenty years is on the ecology and conservation of marine mammals. Most of them were carried out in the South West Pacific Ocean in collaboration with the South Pacific Whale Research Consortium, IRD (French Research Institute for Development and the NGO Operation Cetaces.

 

The majority of my work focuses on the IUCN subpopulation of Humpback Whales classified by IUCN as an endangered species, with the aim of assessing its status and estimating existing connectivity in the South Pacific, and identifying its migratory routes nutrition areas. I am also interested in dugongs, small delphinids and sperm whales.

 

The issues I address relate to population dynamics, connectivity, reproductive behavior, habitat use, migration, and human impact. In order to answer these questions, various tools are used including demographic methods (to evaluate the abundance and trends of populations by capture-recapture based on visual and / or genetic identifications), molecular (genetic analysis to know the links kinship), acoustic (to estimate connectivity through song transmission) and telemetry (to study movements, habitats and human impact).

 

These complementary methods make it possible to obtain the knowledge necessary for the implementation of effective management for the conservation of populations.