Honorary Research Associate

Dr Lorien Pichegru PhD (Strasbourg, France) John Day Building: 2.15 Tel: +27 (0)21 650 3619 Fax: +27 (0)21 650 3295 Email: lorien.pichegru@uct.ac.za

Lorien’s research focuses on seabird foraging ecology and life history traits in relation to prey availability and local competition with industrial fisheries. She uses animal-borne miniaturized recorders such as GPS recorders combined with pressure sensors, cameras, etc, to determine the at-sea behaviour of several species of seabirds endemic to South Africa, all threatened with extinction. As part of the Island Closure Task Team (Department of Agriculture, Forests and Fisheries) she is currently investigating whether the recent drastic decreases in African penguin numbers, now Endangered, could be reduced by excluding fishing from penguin foraging areas.  She wishes to gain an understanding of penguin-prey interaction in relation to ocean-physical processes to optimize the use of the marine resources by fisheries and marine predators and to help refine conservation strategies. She monitors penguin colonies in Algoa Bay, off Port Elizabeth, with the extensive help of many students and colleagues as well as rangers from South African National Parks.

Lorien obtained her PhD from the University of Strasbourg, France, in 2008, spent five years as a post-doctorate fellow at the FitzPatrick and is now a research associate of the institute.

Current students

Doctoral

Alistair McInnes: At-sea behavioural responses of African Penguins in relation to small-scale variability in prey distribution: implications for Marine Protected Areas (Supervisors: Lorien Pichegru & Peter Ryan).

Masters (Dissertation)

Noelle Tubbs: Heat tolerance in the African Penguin (Spheniscus demersus) in the face of climate change (Supervisors: Lorien Pichegru, Peter Ryan and Jonathan Green (University of Liverpool UK)).

Paige Potter (Nelson Mandela Metropole University): The dynamics of anchovy and sardine in Algoa Bay and their influences on response variables in two threatened avian predators (Supervisors: P.A. Pistorius, N.A. Strydom & Lorien Pichegru)

Masters (Coursework: Conservation Biology)

Lea Cohen: Environmental conditions, foraging effort and chick growth in Cape gannets: insight from a long-term study (Supervisors: Lorien Pichegru, Peter Ryan & David Grémmilet).

Honours

Dan Danckwerts (Rhodes University): Comparative foraging behaviour and diets of African penguins from two colonies in Nelson Mandela Bay (Supervisors: Lorien Pichegru & Christopher McQuaid).

Shana Mian (Rhodes University): Mate choice in African penguins: is mating assortative? (Supervisors: Lorien Pichegru & Christopher McQuaid).

BSc

Bonnie Lei: (Harvard University): Penguins and temperatures.

Recent peer-reviewed publications

Lorien Pichegru's list of publications [PDF: updated February 2013]

In press

Pichegru, L. 2013. Increasing breeding success of an Endangered penguin: artificial nests or culling predatory gulls? Bird Conservation International IP IF 1.25

2013

Pichegru, L, Cook, T., Handley, J., Voogt, N., Nupen, L, Watermeyer, J. & McQuaid C.D. 2013. Sex-specific foraging behaviour and a field sexing technique for Endangered African penguin. Endangered Species Research 19:255-264

2012

Cook, T.C., Hamann, M., Pichegru, L., Bonadonna, F., Grémillet, D. & Ryan, P.G. 2012. When seabirds hit the bottom: investigating fine-scale four-dimensional foraging behaviour in small flighted divers. Marine Biology 159:373-387

Hamann, M., Grémillet, D., Ryan, P.G., Bonadonna, F., van der Lingen, C.D. & Pichegru, L. 2012. A hard-knock life: the foraging ecology of Cape cormorants amidst shifting prey resources and industrial fishing pressure. African Journal of Marine Science 34:233-240.

Moseley, C., Grémillet, D., Connan, M., Ryan, P.G. Mullers, R.H.E., van der Lingen, C.D., Miller, T.W., Coetzee, J.C., Crawford, R.J.M., Sabarros, P., McQuaid, C., & Pichegru, L. 2012. Body condition and foraging ecology of two populations of seabirds historically feeding on different diet. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 422-423:29-38.

Pichegru, L., Ryan, P.G., van Eeden, R., Reid, T., Grémillet, D. & Wanless, R. 2012. Industrial fishing, no-take zones and endangered penguins. Biological Conservation 156:117-125.

Ryan P.G., Edwards L.C. & Pichegru L (2012) African penguins Spheniscus demersus, bait balls and the Allee effect. Ardea 100:89-94.

2011