Martin Leclerc

Assistant Professor,
Université Laval

École supérieure d'aménagement du territoire et du développement regional
E-mail: martin.leclerc.6@ulaval.ca
Institution page
Personal page




Education

  • Post-doc University of Michigan
  • Post-doc Université Laval
  • Post-doc University of Victoria
  • 2013 - 2018 PhD Université de Sherbrooke
  • 2010 - 2012 MSc Université du Québec à Rimouski
  • 2009 - 2010 DESS Université du Québec à Rimouski
  • 2006 - 2009 BSc Université de Sherbrooke


Research

My research aims to better understand the effects of human activities on biodiversity. I primarily use spatial analyses and statistical models to integrate environmental, ecological, and genetic data in order to quantify the influence of climate change, habitat modification, and human harvesting on the behavior, reproduction, and survival of wildlife species. The results of my research provide new insights into important theoretical questions and help develop effective biodiversity management and conservation actions using a One Health approach.



Publications

38- “The landscape of love”: sex-specific habitat-use during the mating season in a solitary large carnivore
Journal Article
Zarzo-Arias, A, Heeres, RW, Hertel, AG, Leclerc, M, Frank, S, Steyaert, SMJG, Kindberg, J, Swenson, JE, Penteriani, V, Pelletier, F, Zedrosser, A
2025 Landscape Ecology (Date Added: 2026-03-10)

37- Family Breakup Dynamics in a Promiscuous Solitary Mammal
Journal Article
Heeres, RW, Boot, W, Delen, E, Tovar Heid, M, Leclerc, M, Frank, S, Kopatz, A, Pelletier, F, Kuipers, H, Weterings, MJA, Zedrosser, A
2025 Ecology and Evolution (Date Added: 2025-09-19)

36- Flexibility in female spatiotemporal behavioral tactics to counter infanticide risk during the mating season
Journal Article
Heeres, RW, Leclerc, M, Frank, S, Kopatz, A, Pelletier, F, Zedrosser, A
2025 Movement Ecology (Date Added: 2025-05-30)

35- Are nonsocial species more social than we think? Seasonal patterns in sociality in a solitary terrestrial carnivore
Journal Article
Heeres, RW, Leclerc, M, Frank, S, Kopatz, A, Pelletier, F, Zedrosser, A
2024 Animal Behaviour (Date Added: 2024-09-01)

34- Offspring mass variation in tree swallows: A case of bet-hedging?
Journal Article
Gossieaux, P, Leclerc, M, Van de Walle, J, Poisson, Y, Toni, P, Landes, J, Bourret, A, Garant, D, Pelletier, F, Bélisle, M
2019 Ecosphere (Date Added: 2020-03-16)

33- Proximity to humans is associated with longer maternal care in brown bears
Journal Article
Van de Walle, J, Leclerc, M, Steyaert, SMJG, Zedrosser, A, Swenson, JE, Pelletier, F
2019 Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology (Date Added: 2019-12-11)

32- Hunters select for behavioral traits in a large carnivore
Journal Article
Leclerc, M, Zedrosser, A, Swenson, JE, Pelletier, F
2019 Scientific Reports (Date Added: 2019-09-14)

31- Sociodemographic factors modulate the spatial response of brown bears to vacancies created by hunting
Journal Article
Frank, SC, Leclerc, M, Pelletier, F, Rosell, F, Swenson, JE, Bischof, R, Kindberg, J, Eiken, HG, Hagen, SB, Zedrosser, A
2018 Journal of Animal Ecology (Date Added: 2018-01-04)

30- Indirect effects of bear hunting: A review from Scandinavia
Journal Article
Frank, SC, Ordiz, A, Gosselin, J, Hertel, A, Kindberg, J, Leclerc, M, Pelletier, F, Steyaert, SMJG, Støen, O-G, Van De Walle, J, Zedrosser, A, Swenson, JE
2017 Ursus (Date Added: 2018-04-08)

29- Hunting promotes spatial reorganization and sexually selected infanticide
Journal Article
Leclerc, M, Frank, SC, Zedrosser, A, Swenson, JE, Pelletier, F
2017 Scientific Reports (Date Added: 2017-04-03)

28- Harvesting as a potential selective pressure on behavioural traits
Journal Article
Leclerc, M, Zedrosser, A, Pelletier, F
2017 Journal of Applied Ecology (Date Added: 2017-03-24)

27- Can hunting data be used to estimate unbiased population parameters? A case study on brown bears
Journal Article
Leclerc, M, Van De Walle, J, Zedrosser, A, Swenson, JE, Pelletier, F
2016 Biology Letters (Date Added: 2017-01-31)

26- Human shields mediate sexual conflict in a top predator
Journal Article
Steyaert, SMJG, Leclerc, M, Pelletier, F, Kindberg, J, Brunberg, S, Swenson, JE, Zedrosser, A
2016 Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (Date Added: 2016-07-05)

25- Quantifying consistent individual differences in habitat selection
Journal Article
Leclerc, M, Vander Wal, E, Zedrosser, A, Swenson, JE, Kindberg, J, Pelletier, F
2016 Oecologia (Date Added: 2016-03-14)

23- Influence of young black spruce plantations on moose winter distribution
Journal Article
Leclerc, M, Lamoureux, J, St-Laurent, M-H
Journal of Wildlife Management (Date Added: 2026-05-26)

22- Acute drought desiccates highly used habitat and drives herbivores into irrigated croplands
Journal Article
Leclerc, M, Ditmer, MA, Stoner, DC, Wang, P, Sexton, JO, Hersey, KR, Carter, NH
Ecological Applications (Date Added: 2026-05-26)

21- Multiscale assessment of the impacts of roads and cutovers on calving site selection in woodland caribou
Journal Article
Leclerc, M, Dussault, C, St-Laurent, M-H
Forest Ecology and Management (Date Added: 2026-05-26)

20- Mating Strategies
label.ris.referenceType.Book Whole_Book Chapter
Steyaert, SMJG, Zedrosser, A, Swaisgood, RR, Filipczykova, E, Crudge, B, Dutta, T, Sharma, S, Ratnayeke, S, Koike, S, Leclerc, M, Derocher, AE, Clapham, M, Spady, T, McLellan, B, Ordiz, A, Fernández-Gil, A, Delibes, M, Swenson, JE
Bears of the World: Ecology, Conservation and Management (Date Added: 2026-05-26)

19- Functional analysis of promoter variants in genes involved in sex steroid action, DNA repair and cell cycle control
Journal Article
Hamdi, Y, Leclerc, M, Dumont, M, Dubois, S, Tranchant, M, Reimnitz, G, Soucy, P, Cassart, P, Ouimet, M, Sinnett, D, Chaieb, MLL, Simard, J
Genes (Date Added: 2026-05-26)

18- Hunting promotes sexual conflict in brown bears
Journal Article
Gosselin, J, Leclerc, M, Zedrosser, A, Steyaert, SMJG, Swenson, JE, Pelletier, F
Journal of Animal Ecology (Date Added: 2026-05-26)

17- Determinants of migration trajectory and movement rate in a long-distance terrestrial mammal
Journal Article
Leclerc, M, Leblond, M, Le Corre, M, Dussault, C, Côté, SD
Journal of Mammalogy (Date Added: 2026-05-26)

16- Analysis of multivariate failure times in the presence of selection bias with application to breast cancer
Journal Article
Leclerc, M, Antoniou, AC, Simard, J, Lakhal-Chaieb, L
Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. Series C: Applied Statistics (Date Added: 2026-05-26)

15- Effects of human-induced disturbances and weather on herbivore movement
Journal Article
Leclerc, M, Tarroux, A, Fauchald, P, Stien, A, Tveraa, T, St-Laurent, M-H
Journal of Mammalogy (Date Added: 2026-05-26)

14- Behavioural strategies towards human disturbances explain individual performance in woodland caribou
Journal Article
Leclerc, M, Dussault, C, St-Laurent, M-H
Oecologia (Date Added: 2026-05-26)

13- The influence of environmental conditions on the selection of spring migration routes by caribou
Journal Article
Mac Hugh, C, Taillon, J, Leblond, M, Côté, SD, Leclerc, M
Ecosphere (Date Added: 2026-05-26)

12- SNP Set Association Testing for Survival Outcomes in the Presence of Intrafamilial Correlation
Journal Article
Leclerc, M, Simard, J, Lakhal-Chaieb, L
Genetic Epidemiology (Date Added: 2026-05-26)

11- Combining space use with diet data to investigate foraging tactics of black bears in response to the pulsed availability of migratory caribou calves
Journal Article
Nowack, L, Bonin, M, Leclerc, M, Michelot, C, Dussault, C, Taillon, J, Pisapio, J, Côté, SD
(Date Added: 2026-05-26)

10- Don't poke the bear: using tracking data to quantify behavioural syndromes in elusive wildlife
Journal Article
Hertel, AG, Leclerc, M, Warren, D, Pelletier, F, Zedrosser, A, Mueller, T
Animal Behaviour (Date Added: 2026-05-26)

9- Ecological implications from spatial patterns in human-caused brown bear mortality
Journal Article
Steyaert, SMJG, Zedrosser, A, Elfström, M, Ordiz, A, Leclerc, M, Frank, SC, Kindberg, J, Støen, O-G, Brunberg, S, Swenson, JE
Wildlife Biology (Date Added: 2026-05-26)

8- Selection of summer feeding sites and food resources by female migratory caribou (Rangifer tarandus) determined using camera collars
Journal Article
Beland, S, Vuillaume, B, Leclerc, M, Bernier, M, Cote, SD
PLoS ONE (Date Added: 2026-05-26)

7- Long-term benefits of burns for large mammal habitat undermined by large, severe fires in the American West
Journal Article
Mills, KL, Leclerc, M, Ditmer, MA, Steel, ZL, Stoner, DC, Sexton, JO, Wang, P, Hersey, KR, DeBloois, D, Schroeder, CA, Schoenecker, KA, Young, JK, Andreasen, AM, Longshore, KM, Jackson, PJ, Hall, DB, Engebretsen, K, Carter, NH
Ecography (Date Added: 2026-05-26)

6- Are VNTRs co-localizing with breast cancer-associated SNPs?
Journal Article
Leclerc, M, Neuhausen, SL, Schayek, H, Laitman, Y, Antonis, AC, Friedman, E
Breast Cancer Research and Treatment (Date Added: 2026-05-26)

5- Linking weather conditions and winter tick abundance in moose
Journal Article
Pouchet, C, Fernandez-Prada, C, Dussault, C, Leclerc, M, Tremblay, J-P, Côté, SD
Journal of Wildlife Management (Date Added: 2026-05-26)

4- Variation in prevalence and intensity of macroparasites in moose and their interactions with winter tick load in eastern Canada
Journal Article
Pouchet, C, Fernandez-Prada, C, Dussault, C, Leclerc, M, Tremblay, J-P, Côté, SD
Wildlife Biology (Date Added: 2026-05-26)

3- Navigating the wildland-urban interface: Sensory pollution and infrastructure effects on mule deer behavior and connectivity
Journal Article
Ditmer, MA, Carter, NH, Hersey, KR, Leclerc, M, Wittemyer, G, Stoner, DC
Basic and Applied Ecology (Date Added: 2026-05-26)

2- Conceptual and methodological advances in habitat-selection modeling: guidelines for ecology and evolution
Journal Article
Northrup, JM, Vander Wal, E, Bonar, M, Fieberg, J, Laforge, MP, Leclerc, M, Prokopenko, CM, Gerber, BD
Ecological Applications (Date Added: 2026-05-26)

1- Evidence of migratory coupling between grey wolves and migratory caribou
Journal Article
Michelot, C, Leclerc, M, Taillon, J, Dussault, C, Hénault Richard, J, Côté, SD
Oikos (Date Added: 2026-05-26)