RESEARCH INTERESTS
I earned my Ecology and Environment degree from the Universite de Montreal in Canada in 1998. During this period, I worked as a diver & biologist. In 1998, I joined the Maurice-Lamontagne Institute, the science branch of Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada in Quebec, where I was working with the Marine Mammal Section, doing my M.Sc. on the effect of top predators the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence in collaboration with Universite du Quebec a Rimouski. I now hold a Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of British Columbia. My doctoral research involved to analyse the resilience of marine ecosystem models of the world, examine the effect of marine mammal predation, and to develop specific models for the Gulf of St. Lawrence (eastern Canada). I also contributed to the Sea Around Us Project. Since 2003, I teach diverse marine ecology courses (Mammalogy, Marine Ecosystem Functionning, Population Dynamics, Mairne Ecology) at Universite du Quebec a Rimouski. My research interests now bring me to the 'Gerber Lab' to focus on the interaction between whales and fisheries in marine ecosystems.
Little is known about the ecological consequences of the removal of whales in terms of their past roles as consumers in food chains and as prey and carrion. Evidence suggests that ocean ecosystems throughout the world have experienced a dramatic shift in ecosystem structure as a result of the removal of large whales as well as extensive fishing activities. To understand the impact of whales on commercial fisheries, it is necessary to analyze the situation in the context of ecosystems as there are a large number of indirect and direct interactions through which these two groups might influence each other.
My postdoctoral research is focussed on the potential competition between whales and fisheries in three areas: Northwest Africa, the Caribbean Sea and Southwest Pacific. I use the Ecopath with Ecosim modelling approach to construct ecosystem models characterizing the food web structure and examine the trophic impacts of marine mammals. The models will also be used as a predictive framework for examining the ecosystem impacts of changes in abundance of large whales, and as an interactive tool in stakeholder workshops that will be held in our study areas. This research is part of the Lenfest Ocean Program, supporting scientific research on living marine resources that will help decision makers both understand the causes and consequences affecting the global marine environment, and design and implement policies that will sustainably manage ocean ecosystems.
PUBLICATIONS
Savenkoff, C., Castonguay, M., Chabot, D., Hammill, M.O., Bourdages, H. and Morissette, L. (2007). Changes in the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence ecosystem estimated by inverse modelling: Evidence of a fishery-induced regime shift? Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 73: 711-724.(PDF)
Savenkoff, C., Swain, D.P., Hanson, J.M., Castonguay, M., Hammill, M.O., Bourdages, H., Morissette, L. , and Chabot, D. (2007). Effects of fishing and predation in a heavily exploited ecosystem: comparing pre- and post-groundfish collapse periods in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence (Canada). Ecological Modelling 204: 115-128.(PDF)
Morissette, L., Hammill, M.O. and Savenkoff, C. (2006) The Trophic Role of Marine Mammals in the Northern Gulf of St. Lawrence. Marine Mammal Science. 22(1) : 74-103.(PDF)
Savenkoff, C., Castonguay, M., Chabot, D., Frechet, A., Hammill, M.O. and Morissette, L. (2006) Main prey and predators and estimates of mortality of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence during the mid-1980s, and the early 2000s. Canadian Technical Report of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 2666: vii+32 p.
Sayer, M.D.J., Magill, S.H., Pitcher, T.J., Morissette, L. and Ainsworth, C. (2005). Simulation-based investigations of fishery changes as affected by the scale and design of artificial habitats. Journal of Fish Biology. 67 (sB): 218-243.(PDF)
Morissette, L. (2005) Addressing uncertainty in ecosystem modelling. Pages 127142 In Levner, E, Linkov, I. and Proth, J.M. (eds.). Strategic management of marine ecosystems. NATO Science Series: IV: Earth and environmental sciences, Volume 50. Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg, Germany.(PDF)
Morissette, L. and Pitcher, T.J. (2005) Ecosystem simulation models of Scotland's West Coast and Sea Lochs - model structure and balancing. Fisheries Centre Research Reports. 13(4): 5-24.
Pitcher, T.J., MaGill, S. and Morissette, L. (2005) Ecosystem simulation models of Scotland's West Coast and Sea Lochs - Modelling Scotland's West Coast fisheries. Fisheries Centre Research Reports. 13(4): 25-29.(PDF)
Savenkoff, C., Castonguay, M., Vezina, A.F., Despatie, S.-P., Chabot, D. Morissette, L. and Hammill, M.O. (2004) Inverse modelling of trophic flows through an entire ecosystem: the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence in the mid-1980s. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 61(11): 2194-2214.(PDF)
Savenkoff, C., Bourdages, H., Castonguay, M., Morissette, L., Chabot, D. and Hammill, M.O. (2004) Input data and parameter estimates for ecosystem models of the northern Gulf of St.Lawrence (mid-1990s). Canadian Technical Report of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 2531: vi+93 p.(PDF)
Savenkoff, C., Bourdages, H., Swain, D.P., Despatie, S.-P., Hanson, J.M., Methot, R., Morissette, L. and Hammill, M.O. (2004) Input data and parameter estimates for ecosystem models of the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence (mid-1980s and mid-1990s). Canadian Technical Report of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 2529: vi+105 p.(PDF)
Morissette, L., Despatie, S.-P., Savenkoff, C Hammill, M.O., Bourdages, H. and Chabot, D. (2003) Data gathering and input parameters to construct ecosystem models for the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence (mid-1980s). Canadian Technical Report of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 2497: vi+94 p.(PDF)
Melnychuck, M., Morissette, L., Fontenelle, G., Morizur, Y and Guenette, S. (2001) The French Fisheries in the North-East Atlantic (ICES areas VII and VIII), 1996-1998. University of British Columbia, Fisheries Centre Research Reports. 9(4):162-176.(PDF)
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