Concordia University
Ph.D. candidate
Supervisor: Robert Weladji
Start: 2017-09-05
End: 2024-01-16
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Project

Mitigation of conflicts between humans and common mesopredators, and the integration of cognitive studies in their management
Expanding urbanization and the further reach of recreational activities in natural habitats increase the frequency and intensity of interactions between humans and wildlife. These often have a negative impact on one side or the other, leading to what is called human-wildlife conflicts. Animal behaviour and cognition have the potential to provide new understanding and tools to manage such conflicts. We first conducted a meta-analysis to explore and evaluate the efficacy of various mitigation methods to alleviate conflicts involving. Lethal methods and physical means are the main methods evaluated in the literature, and cognition-based methods are still rare. Using field experiments, we look at the problem-solving and learning abilities of a common nuisance species, the raccoon. We recorded wild individuals interacting with cognitive puzzles in three Québec’s national parks. We compared animals from recreation zones with high human activities and infrastructures, to preservation zones, with limited activity and trails. Individual variations was high and other factors had some effect on performance. Learning is ‘better’ in raccoons from recreation areas, indicating that a dynamic mitigation strategy is needed to avoid temporary solutions. Overall, we highlight the need for field-based cognition studies and how it can inform better wildlife management.

Keywords

Animal behaviour, Mammals, Mesopredators, Human-wildlife conflict, Conservation, Cognition, protected areas

Publications

1- Zoo soundscape: Daily variation of low‐to‐high‐frequency sounds
Pelletier, Catherine, Robert B Weladji, Louis Lazure, Patrick Paré
2020 Zoo Biology

2- Activity budget and spatial distribution of Bennett's wallabies ( Macropus rufogriseus ) in open versus closed exhibit designs
Beaudin‐Judd, Julie, Robert B. Weladji, Louis Lazure, Patrick Paré
2019 Zoo Biology

3- GASTRO-DUODENAL PERFORATIONS AND COELOMITIS IN A GROUP OF JUVENILE SPINY SOFTSHELL TURTLES (Apalone spinifera)
Lair, Stephane, Émilie L. Couture, Shannon T. Ferrell, Marion Desmarchelier, Louis Lazure
2017 Journal of Herpetological Medicine and Surgery

4- Drinking and Flying: Does Alcohol Consumption Affect the Flight and Echolocation Performance of Phyllostomid Bats?
Dara N. Orbach, Nina Veselka, Yvonne Dzal, Louis Lazure, M. Brock Fenton
2010 PLoS ONE

5- Decline in the Winter Population of Gray Bats (Myotis grisescens) in Florida
Gore, Jeffery A., Louis Lazure, Mark E. Ludlow
2012 Southeastern Naturalist

6- High duty cycle echolocation and prey detection by bats
Lazure, Louis, M. Brock Fenton
2011 Journal of Experimental Biology

7- Fate of native and introduced seeds consumed by captive white-lipped and collared peccaries (Tayassu pecari, Link 1795 and Pecari tajacu, Linnaeus 1758) in the Atlantic rainforest, Brazil
Lazure, L., M. Bachand, C. Ansseau, JS. Almeida-Cortez
2010 Brazilian Journal of Biology

8- Known Range Expansion and Morphological Variation in the Southern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys volans) in Quebec
Lazure, Louis, Patrick Paré, Nathalie Tessier, Patrice Bourgault, Geneviève Dubois, Pierre Canac-Marquis, François-Joseph Lapointe
2016 The Canadian Field-Naturalist

9- Methods to mitigate human–wildlife conflicts involving common mesopredators: a meta‐analysis
Lazure, Louis, Robert B. Weladji
2023 The Journal of Wildlife Management