Karen Bourgeois
Expertise Conservation des Oiseaux Marins et de la Biodiversité Insulaire (ECOMBI)
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presentations
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SHORT BIO
I am currently an independent researcher (ECOMBI, Expertise Conservation des Oiseaux Marins et de la Biodiversité Insulaire). I have 20 years experience of fieldwork and research in seabird ecology and biology. My research interests focus on seabird biology, ecology and conservation, in particular their behavioural ecology, trophic/foraging ecology, population biology, dynamics and genetics. All the studies I have performed had applications in species and ecosystem conservation. More specifically I have studied 1) the ecology and biology of seabirds by analysing their breeding biology, breeding habitat selection, behaviour, sexual dimorphism, mating systems, diet and foraging strategies, 2) biotic interactions with/among seabirds by investigating predation, habitat competition and olfactive interactions, and 3) the conservation of seabirds by examining the impact of introduced species, habitat degradation, bio-contamination and population dynamics. My presentations are about studies that I undertook during a European Union Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowship which was a collaborative project with Dr. James Russell (BBC, SBS, University of Auckland) and Dr. Eric Vidal (IMBE, Aix-Marseille Université) between 2013 and 2016. I carried out research on seabird population genetics, structure and biogeography, my study species being the grey-faced petrel (Pterodroma gouldi) in New Zealand and the Yelkouan shearwater (Puffinus yelkouan) in the Mediterranean Basin. Humans have had a marked impact on their range and many local populations have gone extinct or contracted to very small sizes. It was crucial to evaluate gene flow and meta-population occurrence to identify threatened populations. In addition, I studied spatio-temporal variation in grey-faced petrel population breeding biology (phenology, chick growth, breeding success) investigating potential biological (genetics), ecological (trophic level, foraging areas) and environmental (ENSO, introduced predators) factors involved in this variation.
Presentations
Spatio-temporal variation in chick growth and breeding success in the grey-faced petrel Pterodroma gouldi
Karen Bourgeois