Vincent Biard

• MSc Biology
• PhD Student at University of Eastern Finland

Elucidating the evolutionary and ecological characteristics of distinct populations constitutes a cornerstone in the classification of ecotypes, and in assessing their specific responses to environmental changes and potential impacts from human activities. In this study, two complementary approaches were deployed to investigate the existence of a p...

Site fidelity is commonly observed in pinnipeds and has direct consequences for individual space use and population dynamics. Here, we used photo-identification recapture data to quantify site fidelity of the endangered Saimaa ringed seal (Pusa hispida saimensis) over four successive moulting seasons. We identified 337 seals based on their permanen...

The timing and effect of a range of environmental variables on the annual molt of ringed seals (Pusa hispida saimensis) in Lake Saimaa were studied in 2013–2019. Molting patterns were investigated by mixed models run on photoidentification data collected by camera trapping and digital camera surveys. Photoperiod was the predominant environmental va...

The conservation and management of biological diversity rely heavily on clear definitions of appropriate target units, such as populations, subspecies and species. However, the nomenclature of the grey seal [Halichoerus grypus (Fabricius 1791)] has for many years been misled by two persistent assumptions; that there was no type specimen for the spe...

Background Foraging rates directly influence animals’ energetic intake and expenditure and are thus linked to body condition and the ability to survive and reproduce. Further, understanding the underlying processes driving a species’ behaviour and habitat use is important as changes in behaviour could result from changes in environmental conditions...

The Saimaa ringed seal (Pusa hispida saimensis) is a subspecies of ringed seal, landlocked in Lake Saimaa, Finland. The small population of less than 500 seals is facing many human-induced threats, including chemical contaminants. Mercury, in particular, has previously been suggested to be one of the chemicals affecting the viability of this endang...

Background Foraging rates directly influence animals’ energetic intake and expenditure and are thus linked to body condition and the ability to survive and reproduce. Further, understanding the underlying processes driving a species’ behaviour and habitat use is important as changes in behaviour could result from changes in environmental conditions...

The harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), a highly mobile cetacean species of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabits basins that vary broadly in salinity, temperature, and food availability; such variation can drive divergent adaptation among local populations. To shed light on range-wide population structure and local adaptation, we generated ddRAD seq...

The harbour porpoise ( Phocoena phocoena ), a highly mobile cetacean species of the Northern hemisphere, inhabits basins that vary broadly in salinity, temperature, and food availability, and can drive divergent adaptation among local populations. To shed light on range-wide population structure and local adaptation, we generated ddRAD sequencing d...

Seasonal changes in diel haul-out patterns of the lacustrine Saimaa ringed seal (Pusa hispida saimensis) were studied using a combination of satellite telemetry and camera traps during 2007-2015. We found the haul-out activity patterns to vary seasonally. Our results show that during the ice-covered winter period before the seals start their annual...

Fragmentation of isolated populations increases the risk of inbreeding and loss of genetic diversity. The endemic Saimaa ringed seal ( Pusa hispida saimensis ) is one of the most endangered pinnipeds in the world with a population of only ~ 400 individuals. The current genetic diversity of this subspecies, isolated in Lake Saimaa in Finland for ca....

Wildlife camera traps and crowd-sourced image material provide novel possibilities to monitor endangered animal species. The massive data volumes call for automatic methods to solve various tasks related to population monitoring, such as the re-identification of individual animals. The Saimaa ringed seal (Pusa hispida saimensis) is an endangered su...

Through habitat loss or degradation, climate change and other anthropogenic activities affect pinnipeds breeding and moulting. Therefore, studying site fidelity pattern is essential for the conservation and management of these populations. We conducted photo-identification with ringed seals for more than a decade in the most densely populated parts...

Wildlife camera traps and crowd-sourced image material provide novel possibilities to monitor endangered animal species. However, massive image volumes that these methods produce are overwhelming for researchers to go through manually which calls for automatic systems to perform the analysis. The analysis task that has gained the most attention is...

Fragmentation of isolated populations increases the risk of inbreeding and loss of genetic diversity. The endemic Saimaa ringed seal ( Pusa hispida saimensis ) is one of the most endangered pinnipeds in the world with a population of only ~400 individuals. The current genetic diversity of this subspecies, isolated in Lake Saimaa in Finland for ca....

The Saimaa ringed seal (Pusa hispida saimensis) is one of the few pinniped species living in a freshwater environment and is exclusive to Lake Saimaa, Finland. The endangered population of approximately 400 individuals shows spatial genetic sub-structuring, potentially due to the high fragmentation of its lacustrine habitat. To further investigate...

Demographic history analyses are generally based on modern DNA. However such material may not be appropriate for demographic investigation as modern DNA would generally reveal the background of the most recent demographic changes, masking previous events. Ancient DNA could help to counteract this problem and give information on relatively old demog...