Animal communication and acoustic environments

My research focuses on how animals communicate and coordinate their behaviour in complex environments, and how these systems are affected by human pressures. As a field biologist and bioacoustician with a background in conservation biology, I investigate animal communication using approaches that combine behavioural ecology, bioacoustics, and biologging.

Much of my work relies on experimental and observational studies conducted in natural environments. I use animal-borne multi-sensor tags to record fine-scale behavioural and acoustic data, which I analyse using signal-processing and quantitative approaches. These high-resolution datasets provide a detailed view of how animals move, interact, and communicate within their acoustic landscapes.

Studying behaviour using biologging

My interest in biologging developed during my PhD at the Paris-Saclay Institute of Neuroscience (CNRS / Paris-Saclay University) and the Department of Zoology and Animal Biodiversity at the University of Antananarivo under the supervision of Dr. Isabelle Charrier, Prof. Olivier Adam, Prof. Aristide Andrianarimisa, and Dr. Chloé Huetz. Working with humpback whales, I used multi-sensor tags (CATS cam tags and Acousonde tags) to study mother-calf behaviors and communication.

During this work, I developed an automated approach to detect suckling behaviour from accelerometer data. This method allowed us to characterise suckling behaviour in detail, including its temporal patterns, laterality, and behavioural context. I also investigated swimming behaviour in mothers and calves, describing how calves develop locomotor abilities and how mothers assist them in navigating their three-dimensional environment. In parallel, I analysed humpback whale vocalisations and linked calls to behavioural contexts, providing, for instance, evidence supporting the use of begging calls by humpback whale calves.

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

From marine mammals to primates

Following my PhD, I joined the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Konstanz as an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow in the group of Prof. Meg Crofoot. There, I expanded my research to terrestrial systems by studying vocal signalling and group behaviour in Verreaux’s sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi).

Now a continuing collaboration, I investigate the information encoded in sifaka vocalisations and analyze patterns of call use within and across groups to understand their social and ecological functions, using biologging approaches similar to those I used in marine systems. 

Current research: bioacoustics and human impacts

Since January 2026, I have been a Chargé de recherche (*Assistant Professor–level, research-only position in the French academic system) at the Research Unit in Environmental Acoustics (UMRAE, Cerema, Université Gustave Eiffel). My research builds on my background in bioacoustics and behavioural ecology while addressing questions related to the impacts of human activities on wildlife.

I am particularly interested in how renewable energy infrastructures affect animal behaviour and acoustic communication, and in developing bioacoustic approaches to assess and mitigate these impacts.

Across these systems, my work combines behavioural observations, bioacoustics, ecoacoustics, and targeted biologging to better understand animal movements, activities, vocalisations, and acoustic environments.

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