At-sea associations among marine predators

I am studying local enhancement (where seabirds use other birds or marine predators as cues to find food) in both the California Current and the sub-Antarctic. This behavior has numerous socio-cognitive implications (which I recently reviewed in Monier 2024).

I am analyzing the distribution of these predators to identify groups of species that spatially co-occur. After establishing that associations among these species can change (over time and in response to the environment), I then test how the selective benefits of such associations change.

Antarctic Voyage

Myself, alongside our documentarian Kevin Schreck, about to board the ship to South Georgia

We produced a documentary about our work in the Antarctic! The trailer for Antarctic Voyage can be viewed here: https://www.antarcticvoyagemovie.com (and is narrated by yours truly).

The data we collected in this film will be compared to surveys from the same area in the 1980s and 1990s (published in Monier et al. 2020) to examine how changes to the climate and landscape over time have impacted the behavior and distribution of sub-Antarctic birds and mammals.

Antarctic Voyage has screened in more than six US states and four countries and was recently awarded “Best Cinematography” at the Dunedin International Film Festival!

Interested in hosting a screening?
Contact me at: monier.samantha@gmail.com