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| Yvan Richard (PhD) |
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| Research |
Habitat fragmentation, one of the major
causes of species extinction worldwide, affects both species'
habitat quality and individual movements between habitats.
Unfortunately, these two effects are too often considered
separately (see
Armstrong 2005) and ignoring one or the other can lead to
erroneous management recommendations. During my PhD and postdoctoral position, I developed an
integrative approach to understand both effects, using the North
Island robin (Petroica longipes) as model species,
a small passerine endemic to New Zealand (right).
I am particularly interested in the modelling of dispersal,
which has been oversimplified in many studies although theory recognised its key role
in species subsistence and evolution, especially in fragmented landscapes.
With advances in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and statistical models,
we can now understand and predict how animals move in relation to landscapes structure and composition
(here).
Since 2005, we have translocated some robins in previously
unoccupied forest fragments to test the hypothesis that the
isolation of forest fragments is the main factor explaining
their occupancy. So far, pairs in previously unoccupied
fragments seem to breed and survive at least as successfully as
"natural" pairs (not translocated), supporting our
hypothesis.
As a side project, I have also been developing a model of fish
movements in the Manawatu river for
Mike
Joy, to understand the distribution of fish species in
relation to wastewater discharges and catchment characteristics.
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| Experience |
| Analyses - computing |
Capture-recapture analyses, Geographic
Information Systems (GIS), spatial analyses, population
modelling, occupancy models, discrete choice modelling,
programming (Python, C++, VBA, Matlab, R), linear and non-linear
models (glm, glmm, artificial neural networks, regression
trees), Bayesian statistics.
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| Teaching |
Lectures on metapopulations, lab demonstrator and exam marker for
Applied Ecology and Resource Management (3rd-year paper
196.315)
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| Field |
Bird catching and banding, mist-netting, radio-tracking, 4WD driving |
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Tools / applications |
IFPC
(Index of Functional Patch Connectivity)
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I developed this tool in Python for ArcGIS
during my PhD to create an index of patch isolation that takes
into account the features of the landscape. Indeed, two patches
can be close to each other, but the amount of individual
movements between them often depends on the presence of
dispersal corridors or barriers.
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SEXIBAM
(Spatially-EXplicit
Individual-BAsed
Model)
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I wrote this program in C++ to model the effects of landscape
configuration, species gap crossing ability and habitat quality
on the persistence of populations in fragmented landscapes. The strength
of this model is an improved representation of individual dispersal behaviour
in complex landscapes, often oversimplified in models of metapopulation dynamics.
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Tool for dispersal choice analysis |
Based on recorded dispersal locations, this tool written in Python for ArcGIS
allows the determination and quantification of landscape connectivity in an objective
and flexible way, including the estimation of species gap crossing ability.
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LECODIPA
(LEast-COst DIspersal PAth) |
Given a series of dispersal locations in a GIS, this tool written in Python for
ArcGIS creates the least-cost paths between them. Convenient for inferring the dispersal
path of individuals, and often better than using straight lines...
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| Coming soon... |
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| Publications |
Boulinier T., McCoy K.D., Richard Y. & Tveraa T. (2000).
Habitat selection based on conspecifics: local reproductive success affects
attendance and prospecting of future potential breeders. Paper presented at the 7th Seabird Group
Conference. Wilhelmshaven, Germany.
Boulton R.L., Richard Y. & Armstrong D.P.(2008).
Influence of food availability, predator density and forest fragmentation on nest survival
of New Zealand robins. Biological Conservation. 141 (2). pp. 580-589 (pdf)
Armstrong, D.P., Richard Y., Ewen J.G. & Dimond W.J. (2008).
Avoiding hasty conclusions about effects of habitat fragmentation.
Avian Conservation and Ecology - Écologie et conservation des oiseaux 3(1): 8. [online] URL:
http://www.ace-eco.org/vol3/iss1/art8/ (pdf)
Morgan K., McArthur N., Johnston R., Richard Y. & Armstrong D.P. (2008).
Using translocation of North Island robins to counter effects of forest fragmentation in
the central North Island of New Zealand. In: Soorae, P.S. Global re-introduction
perspectives: re-introduction case-studies from around the globe.
IUCN/SSC Re-introduction Specialist Group, Abu Dhabi, UAE (pdf)
Lewis, R.M., Armstrong D.P., Joy M.K., Richard Y., Ravine D., Berggren Å. & Boulton R.L. (2009)
Using artificial nests to predict nest survival at reintroduction sites. New Zealand Journal of Ecology.
33(1): pp. 40-51. (pdf)
Richard Y. & Armstrong D.P.
Testing models of landscape connectivity and gap crossing ability using radio-tracking data.
Submitted to Journal of Applied Ecology.
Richard Y. & Armstrong D.P.
The importance of integrating landscape ecology in habitat models:
Isolation-driven occurrence of North-Island robins in a fragmented landscape.
Submitted to Landscape Ecology.
Boulton R.L., Richard Y. & Armstrong D.P.
(submitted). The effect of male incubation feeding, food and
temperature on the incubation behaviour of the New Zealand
robin.
Richard Y., Boulton, R.L. & Armstrong D.P. (in prep.).
Assessing habitat quality from vital rates in fragmented landscapes.
Richard Y. & Armstrong D.P. (in prep.). Natal
dispersal of North Island robins (Petroica longipes) in
a fragmented agricultural landscape.
Richard Y., Boulton R.L. & Armstrong D.P. (in
prep.). Disentangling the relative roles of habitat quality and
landscape connectivity in metapopulation dynamics.
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