Postdoctoral Fellow

Dr Timothée R. Cook PhD (France) John Day building 2.15 Tel: (+27) (0) 21 650 3619 Fax: (+27) (0) 21 650 3295 Email: timothee.cook@uct.ac.za / timothee.cook@gmail.com

About Tim

During his MSc and PhD - graduated 2008 (CEBC-CNRS Chizé and La Rochelle University, France) - Tim focused on understanding how ecological factors influence the foraging behaviour of marine top predators. The approach was comparative and involved studying the differences in resource acquisition strategies between habitats in relation to variations in morphology within a group of closely related cormorant species. The study of sexual differences supplemented this approach by focusing on the hypothesis that there is a division of niches between the sexes associated with a specialization in the behaviour and morphology of each sex.

Tim joined the Percy FitzPatrick Institute after receiving in 2009 a NRF/DST Centre of Excellence post-doctoral fellowship from the institute. In 2012 he received a Claude Léon Foundation post-doctoral fellowship to pursue his work at the institute. His reserach focuses on the foraging ecology of South African species of marine cormorants (Peter Ryan coordinator). The goal is 1) fundamental, i.e. to describe foraging strategies, and 2) applied, i.e. to explore how cormorants are reacting to changes in their environment, in the context of global change and intensification of human activities within the Benguela upwelling ecosystem.

Research Websites

http://sites.google.com/site/timotheecook/

Research interests

Seabird Research

Tim has many research interests but is particularly attracted by the study of the behavioural and evolutionary ecology of animals. He has specialised in the study of foraging strategies in general, using electronic activity recorders and is involved in research on the diving behaviour and physiology of air-breathing vertebrates. He also works on sexual trophic dimorphism, exploring its function for the species and how it evolves. Eventually, Tim is convinced that one of his roles as ecologist is to put his knowledge at the service of those who are more actively involved in developing conservation management plans.

Main collaborators

Prof Peter G Ryan (Percy FitzPatrick Institute, University of Cape Town, South Africa)
Dr Yan Ropert-Coudert  (DEPE-CNRS, Strasbourg, France)
Dr Akiko Kato (DEPE-CNRS, Strasbourg, France)
Dr Charles-André Bost (CEBC-CNRS, Chizé, France)
Dr François Brischoux (CEBC-CNRS, Chizé, France)

Recent peer-reviewed publications

2012

Cook, T.R., Hamann, M., Pichegru, L., Bonadonna, F., Grémillet, D. & Ryan, P.G. 2012. GPS and time-depth loggers reveal underwater foraging plasticity in a flying diver, the Cape Cormorant. Marine Biology 159:373-387. IF 2.011 DOI: 10.1007/s00227-011-1815-3. [DOI Hyperlink].

2010

Cook, T.R., Kato, A., Tanaka, H., Ropert-Coudert, Y., Bost, C.-A. 2010. Buoyancy under control: underwater locomotor performance in a deep diving seabird suggests respiratory strategies for reducing foraging effort. PLoS ONE 5(3): e9839. [DOI Hyperlink].

2009

Brischoux, F., Cook, T.R. 2009. Juniors seek an end to the impact factor race. BioScience 59: 638-639. [DOI Hyperlink].

Cook, T.R. 2009. Review: Atlas des oiseaux nicheurs de la Grande Comore, de Mohéli et d'Anjouan (Louette M., Abdéréman H, Yahaya I and Meirte D [eds]). Ostrich 80: 205-207. [DOI Hyperlink].

Cook, T.R., Davaine, P. 2009. Freshwater fishing in seabirds from the Subantarctic Kerguelen Islands. Marine Ornithology 37: 245–247. [PDF]