Founding members
The IndoCet Consortium was founded in November 2014, in Reunion island, France, by Adèle de Toma-Cadinouche, Alexandre Zerbini, Andy Willson, Anjara Saloma, Claire Garrigue, François-Xavier Mayer, Ken Findlay, Laurène Trudelle, Laurent Mouysset, Michel Vély, Olivier Tyack, Sabrina Fossette, Salvatore Cerchio and Violaine Dulau.
Adèle de Toma-Cadinouche
Regional coordinator, IOC
I am currently a regional coordinator for the Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) project for the IOC countries.
Alexandre Zerbini, Ph.D.
Marine biologist, NOAA
I have been studying marine mammals since 1992. I studied taxonomy of southern minke whale species while a masters student in Brazil. I pursued a Ph.D. at the University of Washington and graduated in 2006. My research has focused on …
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… population abundance and assessment of killer, fin and humpback whales in the North Pacific and of humpback whales the west South Atlantic Ocean and, more recently, in satellite telemetry of large whales. I have been a member of the scientific committee of the International Whaling Commission since 2000 and have chaired two of the IWC’s subcommittees. I am also a member of the IUCN Cetacean Specialist Group.
Andy Willson
Senior Marine Consultant, Five Oceans Environmental Services (5OES)
Based in Oman my primary interests are in the ecology of marine vertebrates in the northern Indian Ocean area and development of research and mitigation solutions to address threats. As part of a team within 5OES this work is entertained through …
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… consultancy contracts with the private sector, collaborations on conservation funded projects and research tasks with academic institutions.
I am currently working on a part time post-graduate degree with the University of Exeter looking into the spatial ecology and management considerations for the Endangered Arabian Sea humpback whale. This study draws from small boat surveys and satellite tagging conducted with partners at the Environment Society of Oman to define areas of important habitat according to modeling techniques. This work is supporting the development of a whale management and mitigation plan designed by 5OES with the Port of Duqm situated in prime humpback whale habitat in Oman. Efforts support an ecosystem based approach to conservation management in the Arabian Sea including mapping benthic habitats, understanding population trends and ecology of Critically Endangered loggerhead turtles and use of spatial monitoring techniques to evaluate threats from bycatch.
Anjara Saloma
PhD Student, Antananarivo Univ., Paris-Sud Orsay Univ., Cétamada
Mad. Fr.
I have been working for marine mammal research and conservation programs in Madagascar since 2011. I am involved in scientific research programs (tagging, acoustic studies, photo-identification) and in all programs related to community-based development.
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My PhD project is about humpback whale mother and calf communication processes. Acoustic signals ensure biological functions essential to the survival of individuals. If acoustic communication in humpback whales is widely studied for male songs, there is a huge gap regarding the social sounds, especially the vocalizations between mothers and calves. My study investigates the vocal repertoire of the mother and her calf in relationship with the social context in order to get more knowledge on social interactions of large marine mammals.
Claire Garrigue, Ph.D.
Marine biologist, Opération Cétacés
The goal of my work is to determine the population status of humpback whales that over-winter in the lagoons of New Caledonia. The field methodology for this long-term study (now running for over 18 years) is based on photo-identification, …
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… biopsies, sampling, acoustic recordings and more recently, satellite tagging. My research has focused on population dynamics, reproductive behavior, habitat use and conservation biology. I am interested in understanding how environmental features and habitat variables influence the movement and behavior of humpback whale population around the archipelago during the reproductive period. In addition to this work, I have been involved in Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin and dugong research projects. I have initiated aerial surveys for dugongs around the main island of New Caledonia, aimed at determining the species’ distribution and patterns of seasonal occurrence, and identifying critical habitats.
François-Xavier Mayer
Scientific supervisor, Cétamada
As one of the founding members of the Cétamada association, my main activity is dedicated to marine mammal research and conservation in the Indian Ocean, and particularly in Madagascar’s coastal areas. I’ve worked for many years for the establishment …
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… of Madagascar’s humpback whale fluke catalogue and in 2012, I was involved in the creation of a tool (Cetanet: www.cetanet.org) to manage humpback whale data sets in Madagascar, in collaboration with the Cirad in Reunion island. I supervise all the scientific projects implemented by Cétamada, such as satellite tagging, habitat use, behavioral studies, and marine habitat studies. I am also involved in all the environmental education programs for local communities and play a major role in the community-based development program related to marine mammal conservation.
Prof. Ken Findlay
Research Chair: Oceans Economy, Cape Peninsula Univ. of Technology
I am currently the Research Chair: Oceans Economy at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in Cape Town, South Africa and previously directed the MRI Whale Unit of The University of Pretoria.
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I have been integrally involved in marine mammal research in the Southern African region, in the Arabian Sea region, the Western Indian Ocean and in the Southern Ocean. I am a member of the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and a member of both the IUCN Cetacean Specialist Group and Sirenian Specialist Group. I was integrally involved in the IWC’s IDCR and SOWER Antarctic survey programmes between 1991 and 2005 and in the IWC’s Comprehensive Assessment of Humpback Whales since 2000.
Laurène Trudelle, Ph.D.
Marine biologist, Paris Sud University
I have completed a PhD in Marine Ecology from the University of Paris-Saclay (France) in February 2016. My primary research interests are marine mammal ecology, behaviour, distribution and, particularly, the relationships between animals and their habitats.
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During my PhD, my research mainly focused on humpback whale movements and habitat use during the breeding season. Based on at-sea behavior sightings and satellite telemetry datasets, I identified the movements of humpback whales in Madagascar breeding grounds and characterized their breeding habitats according to sex and reproductive status. I have also initiated a number of international collaborations to carry out a comparative study of habitat utilization by humpbacks whales from different breeding grounds in the Southern Hemisphere (Brazil, Madagascar, as well as eastern and western Australia). Since 2007, I have acquired good field experience with cetaceans including visual surveys, photo-ID collection, tag management, and biopsy sampling.
Laurent Mouysset
Administration manager, Globice association
I’ve been Globice’s coordinator since 2010. I’m also its administration manager. I coordinate our teams and the field work. I’m also in charge of environmental education programs, communication and external relations with our partners.
Michel Vély
President, Megaptera association
I am a veterinarian. I am a founding member of Megaptera. It was created in 1998, in Mayotte, to protect humpback whales and whale sharks. I’ve been a member of the IWC’s Scientific Committee since 2008.
Olivier Tyack
Environmental consultant
I am currently the coordinator of IOC’s ISLANDS project. During my professional career, I’ve coordinated the IUCN Islands Initiative within the IUCN Ecosystem Management Programme, as well as an EU project on Environmental Education for …
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… Sustainable Development in the Indian Ocean Region at the University of Liege. I’ve also spent two years in Dakar as an environment consultant for several NGOs and a regional project coordinator in the UNESCO regional office.
I completed a Master’s of Science In Marine Environmental Protection at the University of Bangor (Wales, UK), focusing on management tools such as sensitivity mapping around islands.
Sabrina Fossette, Ph.D.
Scientific advisor, Megaptera
I have been Megaptera’s scientific advisor since 2009. I have a PhD in behavioral and movement ecology. For the past 15 years, I have been working on a range of marine species such as humpback whales, sperm whales, …
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… marine turtles and jellyfish, and have studied their migratory behavior and physiology and how it is influenced by oceanographic conditions and human impacts. Since 2011, I have been running several projects on humpback whales and sperm whales in the Southwest Indian Ocean (Comoros, Mayotte, Mauritius) looking at their diving behavior and migratory pathways.
Salvatore Cerchio, Ph.D.
Marine biologist, New England Aquarium
I have been studying cetaceans for 36 years around the world. I have been working in Madagascar since 2004, studying cetaceans from humpback whales to coastal dolphins to Omura’s whales. Currently I am a visiting Scientist …
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… with the New England Aquarium and Guest Investigator at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Violaine Dulau, Ph.D.
Research director, Globice
My PhD was dedicated to sperm whale ecology in the Mediterranean Sea and addressed a wide range of topics related to the species’ distribution, social structure, diving and acoustic behavior, and population genetics.
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Since I’ve settled in Reunion, my main objective, as scientific manager for Globice, has been to provide a scientific baseline for the conservation of local cetacean populations. My research interests mainly focus on habitat use, residency, abundance and connectivity of island-associated populations using a variety of techniques including photo-identification, genetics, passive acoustics and satellite tracking. I work mainly on Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins, spinner dolphins, sperm whales and humpback whales.
