<p>  </p> <p>The rise of technology as a data source for ecological research and biodiversity conservation has led to a host of new opportunities, and new challenges, for researchers, conservationists, policymakers, and land managers. As these technologies have become more common and more capable, researchers need improved methods and improved theoretical frameworks to integrate these technologies with each other; with social science and policy; and with land-use planning. This thesis proposes several of these conceptual and theoretical frameworks—one for integration of heterogeneous data and another for the integration of ecological data with economic decision-making and policy analysis. It then suggests new methodologies for data quality assurance. Lastly, it demonstrates the applicability of acoustic monitoring in a key land-use context: agriculture in a premium crop that is grown in global biodiversity hotspots. </p>

Le nombre croissant de travaux réalisés ces dernières années a montré que la bioacoustique est particulièrement intéressante pour le suivi d’espèces discrètes. L’émergence de dispositifs d’enregistrement autonomes, associée à de nouvelles méthodes d’analyse, ont récemment participé à l’accroissement des études dans ce domaine. Au cours des 30 dernières années, le Loup gris (Canis lupus), mammifère carnivore aux mœurs discrètes connu pour ses hurlements de longue portée, a fait l’objet de nombreuses études acoustiques. Ces dernières visaient notamment à améliorer son suivi, qui s’avère complexe du fait des grandes capacités de déplacement des loups, de l’étendue de leurs territoires et de la diversité des milieux dans lesquels ils vivent. Cependant, la bioacoustique passive a jusqu’alors très peu été exploitée pour le suivi du Loup. C’est dans ce contexte que la présente thèse s’est organisée autour de trois axes de recherche. Les deux premiers axes portent sur l’apport de la bioacoustique passive pour le suivi du Loup gris en milieu naturel. En combinant des analyses acoustiques, statistiques et cartographiques, le premier objectif a été d’élaborer une méthode pour l’échantillonnage spatial de vastes zones d’étude, afin d’y détecter des hurlements de loups à l’aide de réseaux d’enregistreurs autonomes. Ce même dispositif a ensuite permis, dans un second temps, de tester la possibilité de localiser les loups grâce à leurs hurlements. Les expérimentations conduites en milieu de moyenne montagne (Massif des Vosges) et de plaine (Côtes de Meuse), sur deux zones d’étude de 30 km² et avec un réseau de 20 enregistreurs autonomes, ont permis de démontrer l’intérêt de la bioacoustique passive pour le suivi du Loup gris. En effet, près de 70% des émissions sonores (son synthétique aux propriétés similaires à celles de hurlements de loups) ont été détectés par au moins un enregistreur autonome en milieu de moyenne montagne et plus de 80% en milieu de plaine, pour des distances enregistreurs– source sonore atteignant respectivement plus de 2.7 km et plus de 3.5 km. Grâce à un modèle statistique et à un Système d’Information Géographique, la probabilité de détection des hurlements a pu être cartographiée sur les deux zones. En moyenne montagne, elle était forte à très forte (>0.5) sur 5.72 km² de la zone d’étude, contre 21.43 km² en milieu de plaine. Les sites d’émission ont été localisés avec une précision moyenne de 315 ± 617 (SD) m, réduite à 167 ± 308 (SD) m après l’application d’un seuil d’erreur temporelle défini d’après la distribution des données. Le troisième axe de travail porte quant à lui sur l’application d’indices de diversité acoustique pour estimer le nombre d’individus participant à un chorus et ainsi contribuer au suivi de l’effectif des meutes. Les valeurs obtenues pour les six indices (H, Ht, Hf, AR, M et ACI) étaient corrélées avec le nombre de loups hurlant dans les chorus artificiels testés. De bonnes prédictions de l’effectif ont été obtenues sur des chorus réels avec l’un de ces indices (ACI). L’influence de plusieurs biais sur la précision des prédictions de chacun des six indices a ensuite pu être étudiée, montrant que trois d’entre eux y étaient relativement peu sensibles (Hf, AR et ACI). Finalement, les résultats obtenus avec les enregistreurs autonomes montrent le potentiel des méthodes acoustiques passives pour la détection de la présence de loups mais aussi pour les localiser avec une bonne précision, dans des milieux contrastés et à de larges échelles spatiale et temporelle. L’utilisation des indices de diversité acoustique ouvre également de nouvelles perspectives pour l’estimation de l’effectif des meutes. Prometteuses, l’ensemble des méthodes émergeant de ce travail nécessite à présent quelques investigations complémentaires avant d’envisager une application concrète pour le suivi du Loup gris dans son milieu naturel / The growing number of studies carried out in recent years has shown that bioacoustics is particularly interesting for the monitoring of secretive species. The emergence of autonomous recording devices, combined with new methods of analysis, have recently contributed to the increase of studies in this field. Over the last 30 years, many bioacoustic studies have been developed for the Grey wolf (Canis lupus), a secretive large carnivore known for its howls spreading over distances up to several kilometers. These researches notably aimed to improve its monitoring, which is complex because of the strong wolf dispersal capacities over long distances, the large extent of their territories and the various natural contexts in which they live. In this context, this PhD thesis was organized around three research axes. The first two axes focused on the contribution of passive bioacoustics for the Grey wolf monitoring in the field. By combining acoustic, statistical and cartographic analysis, the first objective was to develop a spatial sampling method adapted to large study areas for the detection of wolf howls by using autonomous recorders. Then, the same protocol was used to investigate the possibility to localize wolves thanks to their howls. Field experimentations, conducted in mid-mountain (Massif des Vosges) and lowland (Côtes de Meuse) environments, in two study areas of 30 km² and with an array of 20 autonomous recorders, demonstrated the high potential of passive bioacoustics for the Grey wolf monitoring. Indeed, nearly 70% of broadcasts (synthetic sound with similar acoustic properties to howls) were detected by at least one autonomous recorder in mid-mountain environment and more than 80% in lowland environment, for sound source-recorders distances of up to 2.7 km and 3.5 km respectively. By using statistical model and Geographic Information System, the detection probability of wolf howls was modeled in both study areas. In the mid-mountain environment, this detection probability was high or very high (greater than 0.5) in 5.72 km² of the study area, compared with 21.43 km² in lowland environment. The broadcast sites were localized with an overall mean accuracy of 315 ± 617 (SD) m, reducing until 167 ± 308 (SD) m after setting a temporal error threshold defined from the data distribution. The third axe focused on the application of acoustic diversity indices to estimate the number of howling wolves in choruses and thus to contribute to pack size monitoring. Index values of the six indices (H, Ht, Hf, AR, M, and ACI) were positively correlated with the number of howling wolves in the artificial tested choruses. Interesting size predictions based on real choruses were obtained with one of the indices (ACI). The effects of several biases on the reference values for the acoustic indices were then explored, showing that three of them were relatively insensitive (Hf, AR and, ACI). Finally, results obtained with autonomous recorders confirm the real potential of passive acoustic methods for detecting the presence of wolves but also for localizing individuals with high precision, in contrasting natural environments, at large spatial and temporal scales. The use of acoustic diversity indices also opens new perspectives for estimating pack sizes. All of the promising methods emerging from this thesis require now further investigations before considering a concrete application for monitoring the Grey wolf in its natural environment

<p>Human society is presently beset by an array of anthropogenic social-ecological crises that threaten the sustainability of the social-ecological systems that sustain our livelihoods. While research alone will not rectify these issues, it can help to answer key questions that must be addressed to develop effective solutions. To address such questions in a cohesive, compelling manner, social-ecological research can be bounded, structured, and distilled through innumerable organizing principles or theoretical frameworks. For this dissertation, I focused on the geographic region of Tierra del Fuego and sought to draw from the array of disciplines and methods that use sound as a lens for biological, ecological, and/or social inquiry. I also endeavored to consider various temporal, spatial, and organizational scales while investigating a selection of topics with a) specific importance in the social-ecological systems of Tierra del Fuego and b) general relevance to global social-ecological challenges. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the dissertation, and Chapter 6 serves as a conclusion.</p><p><br></p><p> </p><p>The objective of Chapter 2, “Biogeographical and analytical implications of temporal variability in geographically diverse soundscapes”, was to provide some guidance to passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) practitioners on how to design appropriate temporal sampling schemes based on the temporal variability of the sounds one wishes to measure and the power and storage limitations of acoustic recorders. We first quantified the temporal variability of several soundscape measurements and compared that variability across sites and times of day. We also simulated a wide range of temporal sampling schemes in order to model their representativeness relative to continuous sampling.</p><p><br></p><p> </p><p>For Chapter 3, “Sentinels for sentinels: passive acoustic and camera trap monitoring of sensitive penguin populations”, we tested the utility of PAM to monitor behavior and abundance of Magellanic (<i>Spheniscus magellanicus</i>) and southern rockhopper penguins (<i>Eudyptes chrysocome</i>) at different spatial and temporal scales. We conducted <i>in situ</i> observations of the acoustic behavior of each species, and we compared acoustic metrics with penguin counts from narrowly focused camera traps and larger-extent observations of colony density. </p><p><br></p><p> </p><p>Chapter 4, “Acoustic monitoring shows invasive beavers (<i>Castor canadensis</i>) increase avian diversity in Tierra del Fuego”, is focused on impacts of the invasive North American beaver (<i>Castor canadensis</i>) on Fuegian bird communities. We sought to determine how bird communities might differ between intact riparian forests, beaver ponds, and beaver meadows created by pond drainage. We conducted PAM and classic avian point counts under each of these conditions across seasons to test for differences between impact conditions and to compare the two methodologies.</p><p><br></p><p> </p>For Chapter 5, “Human-nature connection and soundscape perception: insights from Tierra del Fuego, Argentina”, we evaluated the relationship between soundscape perception and nature relatedness by conducting surveys and soliciting responses to soundscape audio prompts. We also examined the potential for any demographic influences on nature relatedness or soundscape perception in the context of local social tensions.