BRANTA — Deborah Pardo
Demography, global change and senescence in two
extremely long-lived species
Institution: Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, France
Supervisors: Christophe Barbraud & Henri Weimerskirch
Details: PhD 2012 (Completed)
Address: 24 traverse de la Marionne, 15 domaine de saint Julien, 13012 Marseille, France (Jan 2013) Email
Subject Keywords: Albatross, survival, breeding probability and success, climate change, fisheries,
non-breeders, Capture-Mark-Recapture
Species Keywords: Black-browed albatross Thalassarche melanophrys, Wandering albatross Diomedea exulans
Abstract
This thesis investigates the effects of age-related in particular associated with senescence in two extremely long-lived species: the black-browed albatross (Thalassarche melanophrys) and the wandering albatrosses (Diomedea exulans). Initially we seek to determine the variations of different life-history traits, demographic and morphological age. A multi-trait and multi-state approach allows us to model changes in traits with age, taking into account the effects of sex or reproductive status of the previous year in capture-recapture models. In a second step, we relate these patterns to age-dependent changes in the environment in terms of climatic fluctuations, oceanographic and anthropogenic activities (industrial fishing), to determine whether based on their age individuals are influenced differentially. Finally the differential variations identified in demographic traits due to environmental fluctuations according to age are incorporated into population matrix models to determine if and how extreme events can alter the dynamics and structure of populations. This work based on data collected from longitudinal and transversal for 50 years in the French Southern Territories brings new elements on the evolutionary ecology of senescence in the wild and how age can affect the population response to global changes in these highly endangered species.
Published Papers
Pardo D., Barbraud C. Authier M. & Weimerskirch H. In press (Jan 2013). Evidence for an age-dependent influence of environmental variations on a long-lived seabird's life-history traits. Ecology.
Pardo D., Weimerskirch H. and Barbraud C. In revision (Jan 2013). When celibacy matters: improved performance of demographic estimates when accounting for non-breeders. PlosOne.
Pardo D., Barbraud C. & Weimerskirch H. In revision (Jan 2013). Evolution of life-history trade-offs with ageing: a multi-trait approach in the Wandering Albatross. Journal of Animal Ecology.
Péron G., Gaillard J-M., Charmantier A., Barbraud C., Aubry L., Bonenfant C., Cam E., Choquet R. Grobois V., Loison A., Pardo D., Plard F., Pradel R., To├»go C., Viallefont A. & Gimenez O. In revision (Jan 2013). How does senescence vary with life history when individual heterogeneity in survival is accounted for? American Naturalist.