Periodic Reporting for period 1 - EcoEvoProspectS (Ecology and Evolution of Prospecting Strategies)
Reporting period: 2017-05-01 to 2019-04-30
In a second part of the project, I have applied a statistical method to identify and quantify prospecting movements at a very fine spatial scale using GPS tracking data from Yellow-Nosed albatrosses nesting in Amsterdam Island (French Subantarctic island). This method showed that although albatrosses are very faithful to their nesting site, individuals which have failed breeding still visit other nesting sites within the same cliff or in neighbouring cliffs. This notably allowed the identification of a new nesting cliff within the island of Amsterdam, a cliff that was thought to be unoccupied so far. An analysis of the at-sea distribution and behavior of failed and successful breeding Yellow-Nosed Albatrosses showed that the two groups partly shared foraging areas and did not differ in their time allocated to foraging, flying and resting on the water. The main results will be presented in manuscripts that will be submitted to high-ranked international peer-reviewed journals
Finally, I have used Rangeshifter software to understand population dynamics and predict range expansion of invasive species.