Research Fellows
The REDUCE project unites a multidisciplinary group of professionals and organizations, each playing a key role in achieving its goals. Meet the team behind the initiative.
Assessing Seabird-Fishery Interactions with Bird-Borne Sensors and Vessel Tracking Systems
Specific objectives of this PhD/postdoc?
1. Interactions between shearwaters and fishing vessels
2. Compare different techniques of detecting seabird-fishery encounters (GLS, radar detectors or seabird movement data)
Assessing Seabird-Fishery Interactions with Bird-Borne Sensors and Vessel Tracking Systems
Specific objectives of this PhD/postdoc?
1. Interactions between shearwaters and fishing vessels
2. Compare different techniques of detecting seabird-fishery encounters (GLS, radar detectors or seabird movement data)
Specific objectives of this PhD/postdoc?
TBD
Specific objectives of this PhD/postdoc?
TBD
Specific objectives of this PhD/postdoc?
1. ML tools: ML model training, validation and testing for main bycatch species identification
2. Cross-validation: comparative analysis of ML models.
3. Expandable analysis: Create an easy-to-use system for analyzing different features and areas.
Distribution and abundance modelling of cetaceans occurring in the Eastern Atlantic and their interaction with commercial fisheries.
Specific objectives of this PhD/postdoc?
1. Cetacean Habitat Models for the Eastern Atlantic
2. Spatial Bycatch Risk Assessment for cetaceans in the Eastern Atlantic
3. Bycatch Estimates for Iberian harbour porpoise
4. Dynamic ocean management measures for the conservation of the Iberian harbour porpoise
Study of the movement ecology of pelagic sharks in the Western Mediterranean and Atlantic Ocean and its relationship with fisheries. Main topics: species distribution modeling and bycatch risk assessment
Specific objectives of this PhD/postdoc?
1. Monitor the presence and distribution of pelagic sharks in the Western Mediterranean and Atlantic Ocean using a multiplatform approach.
2. Study the distribution of pelagic sharks in relationship with mesoscale structures
3. Assessing the risk of bycatch
4. Asses dynamic ocean management approaches to support shark conservation
Fisheries research and management, with a focus on understanding various aspects of fishing activities, including distribution, illegal practices, ghost gear impact to inform sustainable fisheries management practices
Specific objectives of this PhD/postdoc?
1. Examining fishing effort distribution and assessing harbor responsibilities in the eastern central Atlantic: a comprehensive method utilizing vessel tracking Systems.
2. Identifying illegal fishing activities in west african waters via seabird movements: integration of vessel tracking systems, satellite imagery, and bird-borne radar detection.
3. Identifying fishing practices (métiers) through vessel movement patterns and machine learning techniques.
Pelagic health assessment, spatial distribution of demersal sharks and rays
Specific objectives of this PhD/postdoc?
1. Spatio-temporal distribution of demersal chondrichthyans in West Africa
2. Predictive health assessment for post-release mortality in pelagic sharks
Bayesian spatial distribution models, sea turtles
Specific objectives of this PhD/postdoc?
1. Bayesian species distribution models for animal telemetry
2. Spatio-temporal distribution of sea turtles in West Africa
3. Assessing bycatch of sea turtles in West Africa
4. Dynamic ocean management approaches to support sea turtle conservation
Postdoctoral researcher in bycatch ecology and fisheries research
Specific objectives of this PhD/postdoc?
1. Methods for bycatch ecological data analysis
2. Effectiveness of EMS
3. Bycatch interactions with fishing gears
4. methods for bycatch monitoring
Industrially focused PhD project with DataFish.
Specific objectives of this PhD/postdoc?
1. Electronic monitoring systems (EMS) database optimization,
2. Machine learning model-assisted tagging of bycatch events from EMS to accelerate the labelling of EMS images,
3. Deep learning model development for bycatch (megafauna) species detection and classification from images
4. Combining deep learning (DL) models for bycatch estimation
5. Comparative analysis of DL models versus fisheries observers’ data
Parasites and epibionts as ecological and health indicators
Specific objectives of this PhD/postdoc?
1. To make a health assessment of sharks and marine turtle to be released after capture
2. To gather information on ectoparasites and epibionts that assist in informing on ecological, populational and behavioral traits of by-caught / stranded animals
Post-release mortality of smooth hammerhead sharks in coastal (off Australia) and pelagic (western Africa) regions.
Specific objectives of this PhD/postdoc?
1. Horizontal and vertical movements
Explore the long-term movement of smooth hammerheads, describing the species migratory movements and diving behaviour, while also identifying high use areas along NSW coast and in the open ocean of the NA, allowing to compare the two distinct environments.
2. Post-release survivability
Assess the at-vessel mortality rate and post-release survivability of smooth hammerheads caught on SMART drumlines in NSW and in pelagic longlines (NA); describe factors affecting survivability, along with sub-lethal effects and recovery periods. Data from NSW will be used as a baseline for comparisons with data from pelagic longlines.
3. Capture probability on SMART drumlines
Describe the spatiotemporal variability of hammerhead captures on SMART drumlines, assessing biotic (e.g., sex and size of individuals) and abiotic (e.g., water temperature) factors influencing capture probability, and inferring about the species’ spatiotemporal distribution along a rapidly changing coastal environment (i.e., NSW).
4. Trophic ecology
Use stable isotope analysis from tissue samples of hammerheads captured in NSW and in the NA, aiming to assess and compare the species trophic ecology in an oceanic vs. a coastal environment, describing foraging habitats and the most likely prey items
Modelling bycatch and tagging carcasses, cetaceans
Specific objectives of this PhD/postdoc?
1. Coordination of CIIMAR activities
2. Data processing for modelling bycatch risk
3. Assessment of health indicators and tagging of bycaught cetaceans
ML model developping
Statistical modelling (impact (e.g. PBR), risk, habitat)
Strandings task plus statistical modelling