Postdoctoral Fellow

Dr Timothée R. Cook PhD (France) Tel: (+27) (0) 21 650 3619 Cell (+27) (0) 83 999 9350 Fax: (+27) (0) 21 650 3295 John Day building 2.15 email: timothee.cook@uct.ac.za / timothee.cook@gmail.com

About Tim

Tim was initially attracted by the study of animal behaviour. The first part of his MSc (Pierre et Marie Curie University, Paris, France) concerned the study of sexual selection in passerines (Gabriele Sorci supervisor, Bourgogne University, Dijon, France). At the same time, he had a strong interest in everything concerning the Oceans. This led him to complete an MSc study (Strasbourg University, France) on the foraging behaviour of cormorants, supervised by Yann Tremblay (CRH-EME-IRD, Sète, France) and Yves Cherel (CEBC-CNRS, Chizé, France).

During his PhD (graduated 2008, La Rochelle University, France), supervised by Charles-André Bost (CEBC-CNRS, Chizé, France), he focused on understanding how ecological factors influence the foraging behaviour of marine predators. The approach was comparative and involved studying the differences in resource acquisition strategies between habitats in relation to variations in morphology within a group of closely related cormorant species. The study of sexual differences supplemented this approach by focusing on the hypothesis that there is a division of niches between the sexes associated with a specialization in the behaviour and morphology of each sex.

In 2009 Tim joined the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology after receiving a Centre of Excellence postdoctoral fellowship. He will be studying the foraging ecology of South African species of marine cormorants (Peter Ryan coordinator). The goal is 1) fundamental, i.e. to describe foraging strategies and then relate them to life-history traits, in the context of sympatric cohabitation, and 2) applied, i.e. to explore how cormorants are reacting to changes in their environment, in the context of global change and intensification of human activities within the Benguela upwelling ecosystem.

Research Websites

http://sites.google.com/site/timotheecook/

Research interests

Seabird Research

Tim has many research interests but a particularly deep interest in the study of the behavioural and evolutionary ecology of animals. He has specialised in the study of foraging strategies in general, using electronic activity recorders and is involved in research on the diving behaviour and physiology of marine top predators. He also works on sexual trophic dimorphism, exploring its function for the species and how it evolves. Eventually, Tim is convinced that one of his roles as ecologist is to put his knowledge at the service of those who are more actively involved in developing conservation management plans.

Main collaborators

Prof Peter G Ryan (Percy FitzPatrick Institute, University of Cape Town, South Africa)
Dr Yan Ropert-Coudert  (DEPE-CNRS, Strasbourg, France)
Dr Akiko Kato (DEPE-CNRS, Strasbourg, France)
Dr Charles-André Bost (CEBC-CNRS, Chizé, France)
Dr François Brischoux (School of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney, Australia)

Publications

2010

Cook T.R., Davaine P. (2010) Freshwater fishing in seabirds from the Subantarctic Kerguelen Archipelago. Marine Ornithology. In press.

2009

Brischoux F., Cook T.R. (2009) Juniors seek an end to the impact factor race. BioScience 59: 638-639.  [DOI Hyperlink].

Cook T.R. (2009) Review: Atlas des oiseaux nicheurs de la Grande Comore, de Mohéli et d'Anjouan (Louette M., Abdéréman H, Yahaya I and Meirte D [eds]). Ostrich 80: 205-207. [DOI Hyperlink].

2008

Brischoux F., Bonnet X, Cook T.R., Shine R. (2008) Allometry of diving capacities: ectothermy versus endothermy. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 21, 324-329. [DOI Hyperlink]

Cook T.R., Bailleul F., Lescroël A., Tremblay Y., Bost C-A. (2008) Crossing the frontier: vertical transit rates of deep diving cormorants reveal depth zone of neutral buoyancy. Marine Biology, 154, 383–391. [DOI Hyperlink]

Cook T.R., Lescroël A., Tremblay Y., Bost C-A. (2008) To breathe or not to breathe? Optimal breathing, aerobic dive limit and oxygen stores in deep diving blue-eyed shags. Animal Behaviour, 76, 565-576.  [DOI Hyperlink]

2007

Brischoux F., Bonnet X, Cook T.R., Shine R. (2007) Snakes at sea: diving performances of free-ranging sea kraits. Proceedings of the 11th Annual Meeting on Health, Science & Technology. Tours University, France. [DOI Hyperlink]

Cook T.R., Cherel Y., Bost C-A., Tremblay Y. (2007) Chick-rearing Crozet shags (Phalacrocorax melanogenis) display sex-specific foraging behaviour. Antarctic Science, 19, 55-63. [DOI Hyperlink]

Cook T.R., Leblanc G. (2007) Why is wing-spreading behaviour absent in blue-eyed shags? Animal Behaviour, 74, 649-652. [DOI Hyperlink]

2006

Cook T.R., Cherel Y., Tremblay Y. (2006) Foraging tactics of chick-rearing Crozet shags: individuals display repetitive activity and diving patterns over time. Polar Biology, 29, 562-569. [DOI Hyperlink]

2005

Tremblay Y, Cook T.R., Cherel Y (2005) Time budget and diving behaviour of chick-rearing Crozet shags. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 83, 971-982. [DOI Hyperlink]