A new approach to the three-dimensional and fine-scale habitat modeling
Three-dimensional habitat modeling for deep-sea diving marine mammals: the case of the southern elephant seal and the Blainville’s beaked whale My PhD purpose is to propose a new approach to the three-dimensional and fine-scale habitat modeling for two deep-sea diving marine mammals, using information from different tags deployed on these animals. For the elephant seals, the CEBC has a wide range of data types over a time series close to 20 years. In a first part, data from a new tag, a miniature echo sounder, will be explored and synthesized, in collaboration with a Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) team in St-Andrews, which developed the tag. New information on intermediate trophic levels can be derived from these data, which will then be incorporated into the elephant seal’s feeding habitat modelling. The modelling approach will then be applied to a much smaller data set, on Blainville’s beaked whales, which should lead to propose a dynamic mapping of the species. This latter approach would allow developing the available management tools applied to beaked whales, which will address decisive conservation issues. PhD supervisors :Christophe Guinet (CEBC) et Mark Johnson (SMRU, Écosse) martin.tournier(at)cebc.cnrs.fr
