
My research activities are anchored in community ecology, behavioural ecology, spatial ecology and conservation ecology. I study interspecific interactions, their role in the functioning of communities, and consequences of human activities and global changes on these interactions.
I study interspecific interactions in communities of African large mammals.






I am particularly interested by :
- Predator-prey interactions
- Intraguild carnivore interactions
- Interactions between elephants and other large herbivores
- The role of scavenging and the interaction between scavenging and active hunting

Most of my research is carried out in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe, a CNRS Long-Term Socio-Ecological Research (LTSER) site, and I recently started to work in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park and Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa. My research is mostly empirical (behavioural observations, use of GPS collars, camera trapping, field experiments). I strongly collaborate with the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) at Oxford University, and more recently with the Wildlife Ecology Lab at Nelson Mandela University.

In particular, I study the mechanisms underlying habitat selection, movements and foraging strategies of large herbivores and carnivores. In this context, I am particularly interested in the link between individual behaviour and the functioning of populations, communities and food webs. Ultimately, I am trying to take into account the multi-species context of savanna ecosystems by considering the effects of predator-predator interactions and the composition of prey community in foraging strategies, space use and movements of animals.
Finally, I try to understand how human activities inside protected areas (e.g. water management), outside protected areas (e.g. trophy hunting), and climate changes shape the network of interspecific interactions. In a research project funded by the ANR, I am studying the role of climatic and environmental conditions on the hunting success of African large carnivores.
PhD and Master students I had/have the chance and pleasure to (co)supervise (in chonological order) - Thanks to all!
Completed theses

Stéphanie Périquet
- PhD thesis entitled: "Sharing the top: how do spotted hyaenas cope with lions?"

Nicolas Ferry
- PhD thesis entitled: "Processes involved in the functioning of large mammal communities : the role of the African elephant in the ecology of predator-prey relationships"

Moreangels Mbizah
- PhD thesis entitled: "The effect of resource abundance and dispersion on the ecology of African lions in a semi-arid landscape"

Elise Say-Sallaz
- PhD thesis entitled: "Ecology of predator-prey and predator-predator interactions in a multi-specific context"

Mellina Sidous
- Master thesis: "Effects of management practices on the coupling between predator and prey population dynamics"
On going theses

Aïssa Morin
- PhD thesis : "Responses of large mammal communities to anthropogenic activities: impacts of climate change, management practices and disturbance on interspecific interactions."

Elisa Sandoval-Seres
- PhD thesis : "Impact of interspecific interactions on African wild dogs in an ecosystem with artificial perennial water provision"

Romain Dejeante
- PhD thesis : "Role of sociality in space use of large mammals"

Terry-Lee Honiball
- PhD thesis : "Social dynamic of spotted hyaena in fenced protected areas: implications for conservation management of a socially intelligent species"

Amauréé Jansen van Vuuren
- PhD thesis: "The role of spotted and brown hyaenas activity hotspots on predator behaviour"

Teddy Chief Chikwane
- Master thesis: "Role of large carcasses on the structure and funtioning of the vertebrate scavenger guild"

Publications
Display of 1 to 30 publications on 64 in total
Long‐term high densities of African elephants clear the understorey and promote a new stable savanna woodland community
Journal of Vegetation Science . 32 ( 6 )
DOI: 10.1111/jvs.13101
Journal article
see the publicationClimate Effects on Prey Vulnerability Modify Expectations of Predator Responses to Short- and Long-Term Climate Fluctuations
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution . 8
Journal article
see the publicationDisentangling the roles of bottom-up and top-down drivers in the trade-off between food acquisition and safety in prey with multiple predators
Functional Ecology .
Journal article
see the publicationEffect of ecological factors on fine‐scale patterns of social structure in African lions
Journal of Animal Ecology . 89 ( 11 ) : 2665-2676
Journal article
see the publicationDisentangling the roles of bottom‐up and top‐down drivers in the trade‐off between food acquisition and safety in prey with multiple predators
Functional Ecology .
Journal article
see the publicationPopulation responses of roe deer to the recolonization of the French Vercors by wolves
Population Ecology . 62 ( 2 )
Journal article
see the publicationHeterogeneity of water physico-chemical characteristics in artificially pumped waterholes: do African herbivores drink at the same locations and does it lead to interference competition?
Journal of Arid Environments . 173 : 104014
Journal article
see the publicationCan an herbivore affect where a top predator kills its prey by modifying woody vegetation structure?
Oecologia . 192 ( 3 ) : 779-789
Journal article
see the publicationPredator Effects on Herbivore Dynamics and Behavior - What Mechanisms Lead to Trophic Cascades in Savannas?
Savanna woody plants and large herbivores .
Book chapter
see the publicationNon-consumptive effects of predation in large terrestrial mammals: Mapping our knowledge and revealing the tip of the iceberg
Biological Conservation . 235 : 36-52
Journal article
see the publicationTrophy hunting bans imperil biodiversity
Science . 365 ( 6456 ) : 874-874
Journal article
see the publicationZebra diel migrations reduce encounter risk with lions at night
Journal of Animal Ecology . 88 ( 1 ) : 92-101
Journal article
see the publicationWorld Scientists’ Warning of a Climate Emergency
Bioscience . 70 ( 1 ) : 8-12
Journal article
see the publicationApplying the resource dispersion hypothesis to a fission–fusion society: A case study of the African lion ( Panthera leo )
Ecology and Evolution . 9 ( 16 ) : 9111-9119
DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5456
Journal article
see the publicationA tendency to simplify complex systems
Biological Conservation . 233 : 1-11
Journal article
see the publicationDrivers of diurnal rest site selection by spotted hyaenas
Journal of zoology . 304 ( 2 ) : 132-140
DOI: 10.1111/jzo.12504
Journal article
see the publicationManaging the Livestock–Wildlife Interface on Rangelands
Rangeland Systems. Processes, Management and Challenges. .
Book chapter
see the publicationThe landscape of anthropogenic mortality: how African lions respond to spatial variation in risk
Journal of Applied Ecology . 54 ( 3 ) : 815-825
Journal article
see the publicationDrivers of foot-and-mouth disease in cattle at wild/domestic interface: Insights from farmers, buffalo and lions
Diversity and Distributions . 23 ( 9 ) : 1018-1030
DOI: 10.1111/ddi.12585
Journal article
see the publicationInterspecific interference competition at the resource patch scale: do large herbivores spatially avoid elephants while accessing water?
Journal of Animal Ecology . 85 ( 6 ) : 1574-1585
Journal article
see the publicationConservation of large predator populations: Demographic and spatial responses of African lions to the intensity of trophy hunting
Biological Conservation . 204 : 247-254
Journal article
see the publicationReactive responses of zebras to lion encounters shape their predator-prey space game at large scale
Oikos . 125 ( 6 ) : 829-838
DOI: 10.1111/oik.02555
Journal article
see the publicationDemography of plains zebras (Equus quagga) under heavy predation
Population Ecology . 57 : 201-204
Journal article
see the publicationLandscapes of Coexistence for terrestrial carnivores: the ecological consequences of being downgraded from ultimate to penultimate predator by humans
Oikos . 124 ( 10 ) : 1263-1273
DOI: 10.1111/oik.02224
Journal article
see the publicationSpotted hyaenas switch their foraging strategy as a response to changes in intraguild interactions with lions
Journal of zoology . 297 ( 4 ) : 245-254
DOI: 10.1111/jzo.12275
Journal article
see the publicationSpatiotemporal patterns of lion space use in a human-dominated landscape
Animal Behaviour . 101 : 27-39
Journal article
see the publicationSurface-water and elephant ecology : lessons from a waterhole-driven ecosystem, Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe
Elephants and savanna woodland ecosystems : a study from Chobe National Park, Botswana . 978-0-470-67176-4
Book chapter
see the publicationSocial relationships affect dispersal timing revealing a delayed infanticide in African lions
Oikos . 123 ( 9 ) : 1049-1056
DOI: 10.1111/oik.01266
Journal article
see the publicationDiet quality in a wild grazer declines under the threat of an ambush predator.
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences . 281 ( 1785 ) : 20140446
Journal article
see the publicationMovement-based analysis of interactions in African lions
Animal Behaviour . 90 : 171-180
Journal article
see the publication