Marc Pépino

Googling trends in conservation biology.

Web-crawling approaches, that is, automated programs data mining the internet to obtain information about a particular process, have recently been proposed for monitoring early signs of ecosystem degradation or for establishing crop calendars. However, lack of a clear conceptual and methodological framework has prevented the development of such approaches within the field of conservation biology. Our objective was to illustrate how Google Trends, a freely accessible web-crawling engine, can be used to track changes in timing of biological processes, spatial distribution of invasive species, and level of public awareness about key conservation issues. Google Trends returns the number of internet searches that were made for a keyword in a given region of the world over a defined period. Using data retrieved online for 13 countries, we exemplify how Google Trends can be used to study the timing of biological processes, such as the seasonal recurrence of pollen release or mosquito outbreaks across a latitudinal gradient. We mapped the spatial extent of results from Google Trends for 5 invasive species in the United States and found geographic patterns in invasions that are consistent with their coarse-grained distribution at state levels. From 2004 through 2012, Google Trends showed that the level of public interest and awareness about conservation issues related to ecosystem services, biodiversity, and climate change increased, decreased, and followed both trends, respectively. Finally, to further the development of research approaches at the interface of conservation biology, collective knowledge, and environmental management, we developed an algorithm that allows the rapid retrieval of Google Trends data.

Fish dispersal in fragmented landscapes: a modeling framework for quantifying the permeability of structural barriers

Dispersal is a key determinant of the spatial distribution and abundance of populations, but human-made fragmentation can create barriers that hinder dispersal and reduce population viability. This study presents a modeling framework based on dispersal kernels (modified Laplace distributions) that describe stream fish dispersal in the presence of obstacles to passage. We used mark-recapture trials to quantify summer dispersal of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in four streams crossed by a highway. The analysis identified population heterogeneity in dispersal behavior, as revealed by the presence of a dominant sedentary component (48-72% of all individuals) characterized by short mean dispersal distance (<10 m), and a secondary mobile component characterized by longer mean dispersal distance (56-1086 m). We did not detect evidence of barrier effects on dispersal through highway crossings. Simulation of various plausible scenarios indicated that detectability of barrier effects was strongly dependent on features of sampling design, such as spatial configuration of the sampling area, barrier extent, and sample size. The proposed modeling framework extends conventional dispersal kernels by incorporating structural barriers. A major strength of the approach is that ecological process (dispersal model) and sampling design (observation model) are incorporated simultaneously into the analysis. This feature can facilitate the use of prior knowledge to improve sampling efficiency of mark-recapture trials in movement studies. Model-based estimation of barrier permeability and its associated uncertainty provides a rigorous approach for quantifying the effect of barriers on stream fish dispersal and assessing population dynamics of stream fish in fragmented landscapes.

Behavioural Thermoregulatory Tactics in Lacustrine Brook Charr, Salvelinus fontinalis

The need to vary body temperature to optimize physiological processes can lead to thermoregulatory behaviours, particularly in ectotherms. Despite some evidence of within-population phenotypic variation in thermal behaviour, the occurrence of alternative tactics of this behaviour is rarely explicitly considered when studying natural populations. The main objective of this study was to determine whether different thermal tactics exist among individuals of the same population. We studied the behavioural thermoregulation of 33 adult brook charr in a stratified lake using thermo-sensitive radio transmitters that measured hourly individual temperature over one month. The observed behavioural thermoregulatory patterns were consistent between years and suggest the existence of four tactics: two “warm” tactics with both crepuscular and finer periodicities, with or without a diel periodicity, and two “cool” tactics, with or without a diel periodicity. Telemetry data support the above findings by showing that the different tactics are associated with different patterns of diel horizontal movements. Taken together, our results show a clear spatio-temporal segregation of individuals displaying different tactics, suggesting a reduction of niche overlap. To our knowledge, this is the first study showing the presence of behavioural thermoregulatory tactics in a vertebrate.

Effects Of Lake Warming On Behavioural Thermoregulatory Tactics In A Cold-Water Stenothermic Fish

Despite some evidence of within-population phenotypic variation in fish thermal behaviour, the occurrence of alternative tactics of this behaviour is rarely explicitly considered when studying natural populations. Brook charr provide an example of within-population variability in behavioural thermoregulation as revealed by a recent study on a lacustrine population of this species. The objectives of the present study were (i) to determine the influence of natural variability in the lakes thermal profiles on the expression of thermoregulatory tactics, and (ii) to determine the vertical and horizontal movements of individuals at different periods of the day to better understand the spatio-temporal behaviour associated with each thermoregulatory tactic. During summer 2010, 30 adult brook charr were equipped with thermo-sensitive radio transmitters to monitor their selected temperatures and daily movements. These individuals exhibited the same four behavioural thermoregulatory tactics observed in 2003 and 2005, but the expression of two of these was weaker in 2010. This result was associated with lake warming, which constrained the expression of two thermoregulatory tactics: brook charr significantly decreased their selected temperatures and daily movements when the mean daily epilimnion temperature was above 22.4°C. This study shows for the first time that the expression of behavioural thermoregulatory tactics is related to the lakes thermal regime and that the tactics are plastic through time.

Heat transfer in fish: are short excursions between habitats a thermoregulatory behaviour to exploit resources in an unfavourable thermal environment?

ABSTRACT Temperature is the primary environmental factor affecting physiological processes in ectotherms. Heat-transfer models describe how the fishs internal temperature responds to a fluctuating thermal environment. Specifically, the rate coefficient (k), defined as the instantaneous rate of change in body temperature in relation to the difference between ambient and body temperature, summarizes the combined effects of direct thermal conduction through body mass, passive convection (intracellular and intercellular fluids) and forced convective heat transfer (cardiovascular system). The k-coefficient is widely used in fish ecology to understand how body temperature responds to changes in water temperature. The main objective of this study was to estimate the k-coefficient of brook charr equipped with internal temperature-sensitive transmitters in controlled laboratory experiments. Fish were first transferred from acclimation tanks (10°C) to tanks at 14, 19 or 23°C (warming experiments) and were then returned to the acclimation tanks (10°C; cooling experiments), thus producing six step changes in ambient temperature. We used non-linear mixed models to estimate the k-coefficient. Model comparisons indicated that the model incorporating the k-coefficient as a function of absolute temperature difference (dT: 4, 9 and 13°C) best described body temperature change. By simulating body temperature in a heterogeneous thermal environment, we provide theoretical predictions of maximum excursion duration between feeding and resting areas. Our simulations suggest that short (i.e. <60 min) excursions could be a common thermoregulatory behaviour adopted by cold freshwater fish species to sustain body temperature below a critical temperature threshold, enabling them to exploit resources in an unfavourable thermal environment. Summary: Quantification of fish body temperature in step change experiments enables theoretical predictions of maximum excursion duration between feeding (warm) and resting (cold) areas relative to the temperature tolerance of the species.

Assessing the detectability of road crossing effects in streams: mark–recapture sampling designs under complex fish movement behaviours

Summary Most reviews of stream fish connectivity have highlighted the urgent need for standardized methods to quantify the effects of barriers such as road crossings on fish movement and incorporate the complexity of fish behaviours. A question that has not been fully addressed yet in field assessments of fish stream connectivity is which conditions influence the detectability of road crossing effects. Failure to detect existing road crossing effects can result from shortcomings in sampling design that lead to low statistical power. Here, we propose general barrier dispersal models to allow for asymmetry in barrier permeability and changes in movement behaviours of fish confronting a barrier. Despite the increased realism of these ecological assumptions, it remains to be determined whether asymmetric barriers and altered movement behaviours can be unambiguously detected using mark–recapture trials. We used simulations within a modelling framework that explicitly incorporates barrier and behavioural effects to assess the statistical power of various mark–recapture sampling designs under different combinations of design and ecological constraints. Key insights from our simulations are that (i) the spatial extent of the study reach critically affects detectability of barrier effects; (ii) the number of recaptured individuals that cross a barrier has greater effect on detectability than the total number of recaptures on both sides of the barrier; and (iii) detectability of asymmetry in barrier permeability and of altered movement behaviours increases with both linear fish density and effect size. Synthesis and applications. The proposed dispersal models, incorporating asymmetric barrier permeability and changes in movement behaviours of fish confronting a barrier, are of broad importance in the quantification of habitat connectivity in streams and rivers. Our simulation approach provides precise guidelines for improving the sampling design by adjusting the spatial extent of the study reach based on a priori knowledge of ecological constraints. This study highlights the importance of evaluating the detectability of the effects of barriers such as road crossings and carefully planning the sampling design of mark–recapture studies before conducting costly field trials and provides quantitative tools to help achieve these goals.