Ph.D. Sébastien Descamps
Current activities
Editorial activities
Academic editor for PLoS One (http://www.plosone.org/)
On-going projects:
2011-2014: Response of Antarctic seabirds to a changing environment: From oceanographic conditions to foraging behaviour and demography
collaboration between NPI (S. Descamps, P.I., and Ø. Varpe), NINA (P. Fauchald and T. Tveraa), UiT (N.G. Yoccoz), CEBC-CNRS (H. Weimerskirch and Y. Cherel), Windsor University (O.P. Love) and IPHC-CNRS (Y. Ropert-Couderc)
project funded by the Norwegian Research Council (NARE)
The main goal of this project is to understand the interactions between changes in oceanographic conditions (and in particular in sea-ice dynamics) and Antarctic seabird foraging, and their effects on seabird demography and population dynamics. Our project takes place in the Svarthamaren Antartic petrel colony (Tor station), accessible from the Troll research station. This colony is the largest known inland seabird colony on the Antarctic continent and constitutes a large portion of the world population of Antarctic petrels.
2011-2012: The response of arctic and alpine bird communities to climate change
collaboration between NPI (S. Descamps) and LECA-CNRS (S. Lavergne)
project funded by the Norwegian Research Council (AURORA)
Arctic and alpine ecosystems will be among the most severely affected under a warming climate. A good understanding of the consequences of climate change on arctic and alpine species coexistence and persistence is thus of paramount importance and urgently needed. Using large data sets on bird communities, population trends and life-histories in both the French Alps and the Svalbard archipelago, as well as a recently developed phylogeny of European birds and up-to-date niche modeling methodologies, we will study the response of Arctic and Alpine avifauna to a warming world. Our work will also aim at determining how phylogenetic relatedness and ecological similarity among species affect their coexistence, and how evolutionary trade-offs between traits can affect, and eventually impede, bird response to climate change.
2010-2015: SEAPOP (www.seapop.no) - Seabird mapping and monitoring on Spitsbergen
project funded by the the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, and the Norwegian Oil Industry Association.
SEAPOP (SEAbird POPulations) is a new and long-term monitoring and mapping programme for Norwegian seabirds that was established in 2005. The programme represents a new initiative for these activities in Norway, Svalbard and adjacent sea areas, and will provide and maintain base-line knowledge of seabirds for an improved management of this marine environment. The data analyses aim to develop further models of seabird distribution and population dynamics using different environmental parameters, and to explore the degree of covariation across different sites and species. This knowledge is urgently needed to distinguish human influences from those caused by natural variation.
2010-2014: Avian cholera in the Arctic: threats and opportunities
collaboration with Carleton University (M. Forbes, P.I.), Environment Canada (G. Gilchrist, C. Soos), UQAR (J. Bêty) and Windsor University (O.P. Love)
co-supervision of Loreleï Guéry (Ph.D. candidate) with J. Bêty (UQAR, Canada)
2010- : Arctic Peregrine Falcon population dynamics
collaboration with University of Alberta (A. Franke, P.I.), UQAR (J. Bêty) and Laval University (J.-F. Therrien)
Career
2010- : research scientist at the Norwegian Polar Institute
2007-2010: post-doctoral fellow (Carleton University, Ottawa / Environment Canada)
2002-2006: Ph.D. candidate (Université Lyon I, France / Université du Québec à Rimouski)
1999-2001: field biologist for the french polar institute
Areas of interest and expertise
Population dynamics, demography, life-history strategies, individual heterogeneity, climate change and seabirds.
References/Bibliography
2012
Descamps S., Jenouvrier S., Gilchrist H.G. & Forbes M.R. 2012 Avian cholera: a threat to the viability of an Arctic seabird colony? PLoS One 7(2): e29659.
2011
Franke A., Therrien J.-F., Descamps S. & Bêty J. 2011. Climatic conditions during outward migration affect apparent survival of an arctic top predator, the Peregrine Falcon. Journal of Avian Biology 42: 544-551.
Gaston A.J. & Descamps S. 2011. Population change in a marine bird colony is driven by changes in recruitment. Avian Conservation and Ecology 6: 5.
Fast P.L. F., Fast M., Mosbech A., Sonne C., Gilchrist H.G. & Descamps S. 2011. Effects of implanted satellite transmitters on behavior and survival of female common eiders. Journal of Wildlife Management 75: 1553-1557.
Descamps S., Bêty J., Love O.P. & Gilchrist H.G. 2011. Individual optimization of reproduction in a long-lived migratory bird: a test of the condition-dependent model of clutch size and laying date. Functional Ecology 25: 671-681.
Descamps S., Forbes M.R., Gilchrist H.G., Love O.P. & Bêty J. 2011. Avian cholera, post-hatching survival and selection on hatch characteristics in a long-lived bird. Journal of Avian Biology 42: 39-48.
Buttler I.E., Gilchrist H.G., Descamps S. & Forbes M.R. 2011. Handling stress affects survival and reproduction of breeding female Common Eiders during an avian cholera outbreak Journal Wildlife Management 75: 283-288
2010
Bêty J., Gauthier G., Descamps S. & Giroux J.-F. 2010. Correlation between sequential variables: a reply to Schroeder et al. The American Naturalist 176: 838-840
Mabille G., Descamps S. & Berteaux D. 2010. Predation as a probable mechanism relating winter weather to population dynamics in a North American porcupine population. Population Ecology 52: 537-546
Descamps S., Yoccoz N.G., Gaillard J.-M., Gilchrist H.G., Erikstad K.E., Hanssen S.A., Cazelles B., Forbes M.R. & Bêty J. 2010. Detecting population heterogeneity in effects of North Atlantic Oscillations on seabird body condition: get into the rhythm. Oikos 119:1526-1536
Love O.P., Gilchrist H.G., Descamps S., Semeniuk, C.A.D. & Bêty J. 2010. Climate-linked plasticity and fitness consequences of timing of breeding in an Arctic bird. Oecologia 164: 277-286.
Hamel S., Gaillard J.-M., Yoccoz S., Loison A., Bonenfant C. & Descamps S. 2010. Fitness costs of reproduction depend on life speed: empirical evidence from mammalian populations. Ecology Letters 13:915-935
2009
Gaston A.J., Descamps S. & Gilchrist H.G. 2009. Reproduction and survival of glaucous gulls breeding in an Arctic seabird colony. Journal of Field Ornithology 80:135-145
Descamps S., Gilchrist H.G., Bêty J., Butler E.I. & Forbes, M.R. 2009. Costs of reproduction in a long-lived bird: large clutch size is associated with low survival in the presence of an infectious disease. Biology Letters 5: 278-281
Descamps S., Le Bohec C., Le Maho Y., Gendner J.-P. & Gauthier-Clerc M. 2009. Relating demographic performance to breeding site location in King Penguin. Condor 111: 81-87
Descamps S., Berteaux D., McAdam A.G. & Gaillard J.-M. 2009. Survival costs of reproduction vary with age in North American red squirrel Proceedings of the Royal Society of London –B 276: 1129-1135
2008
Kerr T.D. & Descamps S. 2008. Why do North American Red Squirrel Tamiasciurus hudsonicus Mothers Relocate their Young? A Predation-Based Hypothesis. Canadian Field Naturalist 122: 65-66
Descamps S., Boutin S., Berteaux D. & Gaillard J.-M. 2008. Age-variation in survival, reproductive success and offspring quality in red squirrels: evidence of senescence. Oikos 117: 1406-1416
Descamps S., Boutin S., Berteaux D., McAdam A.G. & Gaillard J.-M. 2008. Cohort effects in red squirrels: the influence of density, food abundance and temperature on future reproductive success. Journal of Animal Ecology 77: 305-314
2007
Descamps S., Boutin S., Berteaux D. & Gaillard J.-M. 2007 Female red squirrels fit William’s hypothesis of increasing reproductive effort with increasing age. Journal of Animal Ecology 76: 1192-1201
2006
Descamps S., Boutin S., Berteaux D. & Gaillard J.-M. 2006. Best squirrels trade a long life for an early reproduction. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London -B 273: 2369-2374
2005
Descamps S., Gauthier-Clerc M., Le Bohec C., Gendner, J.-P. & Le Maho Y. 2005. Impact of predation on King Penguin Aptenodytes patagonicus in Crozet Archipelago. Polar Biology 28: 303-310
Gendner, J.-P., Gauthier-Clerc M., Le Bohec C., Descamps S. & Le Maho Y. 2005. A new application for transponders in studying penguins. Journal of Field Ornithology 76: 138-142.
2004
Gauthier-Clerc M., Gendner J.P., Ribic A., Fraser W.R., Woehler E.J., Descamps S., Gilly C., Le Bohec C. & Le Maho Y. 2004. Long-term effects of flipper-bands on penguins. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London -B (Suppl.) 271: S423-S426
2002
Descamps S., Gauthier-Clerc M., Gendner J.-P. & Le Maho Y. 2002. The annual breeding cycle of unbanded king penguins Aptenodytes patagonicus on Possession Island (Crozet). Avian Science 2: 87-98
Descamps S., Blondel J., Lambrechts M., Hurtrez-Boussès S. & Thomas F. 2002. Asynchronous hatching in a blue tit population: a test of some predictions related to ectoparasites. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 80: 1480-1484