Université du Québec à Rimouski
Postdoctoral fellow candidate
Supervisor: Dominique Berteaux
Nicolas Lecomte
Start: 2014-01-10
End: 2014-12-15
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Project

Study of the predator guild in the Canadian boreal forest using historical archives
My project aims to study the abundance dynamics of species forming the predator guild in the Canadian boreal forest. The ecological niche concept, in the case of predators, combines information on consumption of preys and competitive interactions. Studying fluctuations in abundance of prey species and their predators constitutes a useful way to model niches and identify consequences of global change. The project aims to study the ecological nice of main predators (e.g., mink, short-tailed weasel, fisher, red fox, Canada lynx, grey wolf) of the Canadian boreal forest, by establishing the link between their abundance dynamics and the boreal cycle (9-10 years), which implicates fluctuations of two important preys species: snowshoe hare, and muskrat. Such an approach involving multiple species on a large spatio-temporal scale, will use the full potential of modeling ecological niches for northern environments. With this approach, the project has two objectives: 1) determine what is the population dynamics of species forming the predator guild in the Canadian boreal forest, and 2) study the effects of climatic variation on this aspect of their ecological niche. In North America, we have the advantage of being able to use long-term data (centuries) on a continental scale (>4000km), which are indicative of the abundance fluctuations of mammals. These data are located in registries of transactions from companies involved in the fur trade. We also have meteorological data available on a large spatio-temporal scale via the network of Environment Canada weather stations. The project is based on extraction and analysis of data from historical archives.

Keywords

Changements climatiques/Climate changes, Mammalogie, biogéographie, Historiobiogéographie, Données Historiques, Gestion de la Faune, Conservation, changements environnementaux

Publications

1- An extensive study of the foraging ecology of beavers (Castor canadensis) in relation to habitat quality
Gallant, D, C H Bérubé, E Tremblay, L Vasseur
2004 Canadian Journal of Zoology

2- White-winged Crossbills Obtain Forage from River Otter Feces
Gallant, Daniel
2004 The Wilson Bulletin

3- Unequal summer use of beaver ponds by river otters: influence of beaver activity, pond size, and vegetation cover
LeBlanc, F.A., D. Gallant, L. Vasseur, L. Léger
2007 Canadian Journal of Zoology

4- Evaluating bridge survey ability to detect river otter Lontra canadensis presence: a comparative study
Gallant, Daniel, Liette Vasseur, Céline H. Bérubé
2008 Wildlife Biology

5- Habitat selection by river otters (Lontra canadensis) under contrasting land-use regimes
Gallant, D., L. Vasseur, M. Dumond, E. Tremblay, C. H. Bérubé
2009 Canadian Journal of Zoology

6- Recent climate-related terrestrial biodiversity research in Canada's Arctic national parks: review, summary, and management implications
McLennan, D.S., T. Bell, D. Berteaux, W. Chen, L. Copland, R. Fraser, D. Gallant, G. Gauthier, D. Hik, C.J. Krebs, I.H. Myers-Smith, I. Olthof, D. Reid, W. Sladen, C. Tarnocai, W.F. Vincent, Y. Zhang
2012 Biodiversity

7- Natal den selection by sympatric arctic and red foxes on Herschel Island, Yukon, Canada
Gallant, Daniel, Donald G. Reid, Brian G. Slough, Dominique Berteaux
2013 Polar Biology

8- Arctic fox versus red fox in the warming Arctic: four decades of den surveys in north Yukon
Gallant, Daniel, Brian G. Slough, Donald G. Reid, Dominique Berteaux
2012 Polar Biology

9- Unveiling the Limitations of Scat Surveys to Monitor Social Species: A Case Study on River Otters
GALLANT, DANIEL, LIETTE VASSEUR, CÉLINE H. BÉRUBÉ
2007 Journal of Wildlife Management