M/F – 36-month fixed-term doctoral contract – Development of methods to better predict the impact of harvesting on exploited animal populations.

Job Description

Thesis Subject

This PhD project is part of a collaboration between the French Biodiversity Agency (OFB) and the Centre for Functional and Evolutionary Ecology (CEFE). It focuses on the population dynamics of species exploited by humans, with the aim of developing appropriate management strategies. Specifically, the project aims to develop, explore, and evaluate new statistical analysis and diagnostic methods that integrate different data sources to improve estimates of population size, temporal trends in population changes, and other demographic parameters (survival, fecundity, reproductive success, etc.). Integrated Population Models (IPMs) are increasingly used in ecology. They offer clear advantages, such as the ability to estimate parameters that are difficult to assess from separate datasets and to improve their precision. However, they require particular care to avoid unrealistic results. The ultimate goal of this work is to better assess the sustainability of harvesting (hunting or fishing) across different taxa with diverse life-history traits. This is essential for generalizing adaptive management approaches. IPMs have already been used to predict the impact of harvesting on animal population dynamics. This collaboration aims to refine these approaches by accounting more precisely for different types of harvesting, considering their timing, spatial distribution, targeted categories of individuals, etc., across a wide demographic spectrum (fast vs. slow species) and three major vertebrate groups (mammals, birds, and fish). The expected outcomes are primarily methodological: proposing new methods or improving existing ones to enhance our understanding of population parameters and the impact of harvesting on population dynamics. The project will also help estimate parameters that are currently unknown or imprecise for many species, providing key information for policymakers when making decisions about national and European regulations in the context of adaptive management. In the longer term, one of the operational goals is to be able to predict population trajectories based on harvesting (intensity, sex/age categories, etc.), while accounting for other pressures such as climate change, in order to propose robust management scenarios aligned with population objectives. The project will also help identify which data should be collected (and the associated sampling designs) to address these challenges.
To achieve these objectives, the project will rely on the development of models integrating multiple data sources collected by the OFB (including long-term monitoring of wild ungulates, waterfowl, woodcock and snipe, or salmonids) or provided by partners and field stakeholders (e.g., hunting associations). Several case studies with diverse demographic dynamics will be used to ensure that results are generalizable to a wide range of exploited species.
________________________________________
Activities
• Literature review
• Analysis of capture-mark-recapture data, fecundity, population structure and size, and hunting harvest data
• Development and fitting of integrated population models
• Development of simulations to validate model relevance
• Writing international scientific articles
________________________________________
Expected Skills
• Knowledge of and/or interest in wildlife management
• Strong skills in statistical modeling, particularly within a Bayesian framework
• Expertise in demography and animal population dynamics
• Previous experience with integrated population models is a plus, as well as experience working on exploited species
________________________________________
Soft Skills
• Ability to work actively in collaboration with local and remote partners
• Autonomy in work, particularly in data management and analysis

Your Work Environment

The PhD student will be a key link in the partnership between CEFE and OFB. They will be based at CEFE within the HAIR (Human-Animal Interactions) team, which is highly specialized in population dynamics modeling.
Supervision will be provided by Aurélien Besnard (CEFE, EPHE research director, HAIR team) and Kévin Le Rest (OFB, research officer in the Research and Scientific Support Department).
The PhD student will also interact with other collaborators involved in the partnership and will travel to several OFB sites, particularly in Pérols (34), Châteauvillain (52), and Nantes (44), where several researchers work on adaptive management of exploited species.
They will also collaborate closely with Maryline Pellerin (OFB, research officer), especially on issues and data related to wild ungulates.
Note that a postdoctoral researcher has recently been recruited for a duration of two years as part of this project. The PhD student will work closely with this postdoctoral researcher.

Compensation and benefits

Compensation

2300 € gross monthly

Annual leave and RTT

44 jours

Remote Working practice and compensation

Pratique et indemnisation du TT

Transport

Prise en charge à 75% du coût et forfait mobilité durable jusqu’à 300€

About the offer

About the CNRS

The CNRS is a major player in fundamental research on a global scale. The CNRS is the only French organization active in all scientific fields. Its unique position as a multi-specialist allows it to bring together different disciplines to address the most important challenges of the contemporary world, in connection with the actors of change.

CNRS

The research professions