Marine Behavioural Ecology

Originated from France, I have always been intrigued by the ocean and especially by sharks. After studying at an agronomic school in Bordeaux, I moved on to study fisheries science in Rennes (France) and investigated the behavioural ecology of great white sharks in South Africa in 2005. I then moved to French Polynesia for a Master’s and then a PhD between 2007 and 2011 during which time, I developed innovative tools (including social network analysis and genetic parentage assignment) and studied the behavioural ecology of reef sharks. I am also the scientific advisor of the Shark Observatory of French Polynesia (ORP), a network of shark observers spread across the islands of French Polynesia since 2011. 

My research interests progressively developed in functional and behavioural ecology of marine predators by investigating how the behaviour at the individual level influences the structure of the population using different approaches such as social and spatial network analysis, molecular ecology, stable isotope analysis, underwater observations, biologging and telemetry. Recently, my research interests expended to understand how the behaviour of predators and their prey influence an ecosystem’s functions and structure.