Steeve Côté

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Caribou Ungava

Centre d'études nordiques

Research projects on alpine ungulates

Postdoctorate fellow, Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, United-Kingdom.
Ph.D., Université de Sherbrooke

Research interests:

Behavioural ecology of large herbivores, evolution of life-history strategies, wildlife management, conservation biology and population genetics.

Courses at Laval University:

Fall

• BIO-10062   Gestion et conservation de la faune (discharged until 2011)

• BIO-22231   Écologie comportementale (1^er cycle)
  
• BIO-66425   Écologie comportementale (2^e et 3^e cycles)
  

Ongoing research projects :

I am interested in population ecology, conservation biology and behavioural ecology. My research projects aim to understand the effects of individual differences at the behavioural and genetic levels on reproductive success, habitat selection and population dynamics. A major goal of my research is to produce knowledge useful for the conservation and management of large mammals.

1. Ecology and behaviour of mountain goats in Alberta. This long-term study investigates the factors affecting individual variations in reproductive success in both sexes and population dynamics. It also addresses the mechanisms of selection of life-history traits. The project has already accumulated 22 years of data.
   
   Collaborators: Dr. M. Festa-Bianchet, Université de Sherbrooke and Dr. D. Coltman, University of Alberta. Part of the funding comes from ACA.
   
   
   

   Maternal group of mountain goats, Caw Ridge, Alberta, June 1998.
   
   

2. Ecology of white-tailed deer on Anticosti Island. This project is part of the NSERC-Produits forestiers Anticosti industrial research Chair that I'm holding. The main goal of this Chair is to develop forest and wildlife management methods suited to high deer densities. We are particularly interested in the patterns of deer habitat use and foraging behaviour in relation to forest structure and population density, winter resources selection and deer nutrition. We are also testing the effect of hunting regimes on population size and assessing how habitat quality affects body condition and social development of deer. Finally, we are investigating the impacts of deer browsing on other components of the boreal ecosystem. This project was initiated in early summer 2001. http://www.cen.ulaval.ca/anticosti/
   
   
3. Ecology and demography of caribou in Québec-Labrador. This project investigates patterns of space use, body condition, reproduction, genetics and demography of the Rivière George and the Rivière-aux-Feuilles caribou herds using satellite tracking and field observations. We are also pursuing experiments on the effects of climate changes on the habitat of caribou.
   
   Collaborators : Dr. M. Festa-Bianchet, Université de Sherbrooke, Dr. J.-P. Tremblay, Université Laval, Dr. C. Dussault, Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune.
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Effects of trophy hunting on the social structure of African  ungulate populations, Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe. Our aim is to study male reproductive effort, vigilance behaviour and habitat selection in relation to population density and hunting pressure in impala, greater kudu and sable antelope.
   
   Collaborator : Dr. H. Fritz, CEBC, France.
   
   
5. Climate changes and denning behaviour of grizzly bears in Alberta. We are assessing the impacts of global warming on the denning ecology and habitat selection of grizzly bears using satellite telemetry.
   
   Collaborator : Dr. G. Stenhouse, Alberta Natural Resources Service.
   
   
6. Space use of mountain goats in Jasper National Park, Alberta. We are studying the distribution and movements of mountain goats in the Marmot Basin area using satellite telemetry.
   
   Collaborator : Dr. J. Wilmshurst, Jasper National Park.
   
   
7. Foraging behaviour and space use of black-tailed deer on Haida Gwaii archipelago, British Columbia. Using a translocation experiment on islands of Haida Gwaii archipelago, we are testing the hypothesis that the loss of fear behaviour is a mecanism allowing deer to ajust to a resource reduction at high densities.
   
   Collaborators : Dr. J.-L. Martin et al., CETE-CNRS, Montpellier, France.

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Recent publications :

• Shafer, A.B.A., J.M. Northrup, K.S. White, M.S. Boyce, S.D. Côté, and D.W. Coltman. 2012. Habitat selection predicts genetic relatedness in an alpine ungulate. Ecology, in press.

• Beguin, J., D. Pothier, and S.D. Côté. 2010. Deer browsing and soil disturbance induce cascading effects on plant communities: a multilevel path analysis. Ecological Applications 21: 439-451.

• Shafer, A.B.A., S.D. Côté, and D.W. Coltman. 2010. Hot spots of genetic diversity descended from multiple Pleistocene refugia in an alpine ungulate. Evolution 65: 125-138.

• Hamel, S., S.D. Côté, and M. Festa-Bianchet. 2010. Maternal characteristics and environment affect the costs of reproduction in female mountain goats. Ecology 91: 2034-2043.

• Shafer, A.B.A., J. Poissant, S.D. Côté, and D.W. Coltman. 2011. Does reduced heterozygosity influence dispersal? A test using spatially structured populations in an alpine ungulate. Biology Letters 7: 433-435.

• Singh, N.J., C. Bonenfant, N.G. Yoccoz and S.D. Côté. 2010. Sexual segregation in Eurasian wildsheep. Behavioral Ecology 21: 410-418.

Complete list of publications

Festa-Bianchet, M. et S.D. Côté. 2008. Mountain goats: ecology, behavior
and conservation of an alpine ungulate. Island Press, 265 p.

Science, February 2011

Proceedings of the Royal Society B 276, November 2009

New Scientist, April 2001

New Scientist, July 1999

Canadian Journal of Zoology 85 (9), 2007

Le naturaliste canadien 129 (1), 2005

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Écoscience 11 (4), 2004