My research interest

As a field biologist and bioacoustician animated by curiosity-driven science, I am interested in understanding the dynamics of animal communication, social interactions, and animal cognition. With a background in conservation biology, I am also interested in the impacts of human activities. In addition to conducting research, I am deeply passionate about science communication, aiming to bridge the gap between scientific knowledge and public understanding.

Favoring experimental studies in a natural setting, I use animal-borne multi-sensor tags to examine animal behavior. I integrate high-resolution data with signal processing techniques. I’m always eager to take on the challenge of finding new approaches to exploit the high-resolution data collected from tags.

My expertise in biologging

I built my expertise in biologging during my doctoral studies at the Paris-Saclay Institute of Neuroscience (CNRS/Paris-Saclay University, France) and the Department of Zoology and Animal Biodiversity (University of Antananarivo, Madagascar), focusing on humpback whale mother-calf interactions. Supervised by Dr. Isabelle Charrier, Prof. Olivier Adam, Prof. Aristide Andrianarimisa, and Dr. Chloé Huetz, I studied mother-calf behaviors and communication using animal-borne multi-sensor tags (CATS cam tags and Acousonde tags). 

One significant achievement was the development of an automatic detection method for studying suckling behavior using accelerometer data. This method allowed detailed insights into suckling modalities, temporal patterns, laterality, and spatial and behavioral contexts. Moreover, I comprehensively investigated the swimming behavior of both calves and mothers, uncovering how their activities evolve with age and how mothers assist calves in their 3D environment. Additionally, I analyzed humpback whale vocalizations, associating specific calls with well-defined contexts and hypothesizing about their biological functions. I provided evidence supporting the use of begging calls by humpback whale calves.

Jeff Gibbs, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Currently...

Having been awarded the Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship in January 2024, I joined Prof. Dr. Meg Crofoot’s team at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Konstanz, Germany, as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow. My research focuses on investigating the vocal signaling and group behavior of Verreaux’s Sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi). Applying the techniques I used to study mother-calf interactions in humpback whales, I aim to understand the information conveyed by Sifaka’s calls and analyze the pattern of vocalization usage within and across groups to assign functions to calls. Additionally, I serve as Research Associate at Cétamada in Sainte Marie, Madagascar, where I pursue my work on humpback whales and participate in outreach activities and project developments.

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