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Integration of heterogeneous data for simulation of livestock-wildlife contacts

The aim of the postdoc is to gain a better understanding of the factors (climatic, environmental, agricultural and livestock practices) that determine the movements of wild animals and livestock in complex interface zones in Zimbabwe, in order to identify management methods that reconcile agricultural development and conservation issues.
I'm a biologist specializing in ecology and geomatics. I'm interested in the spatial dimension of ecological processes. I combine ecology and geomatics to develop spatial models that can help us better understand these processes and test hypotheses and scenarios for change. I have worked in various fields of ecology (behavioral ecology, ecotoxicology), and more recently, I have been focusing on interactions at the interface between human population - domestic fauna - wildlife.
My missions for this postdoctoral fellowship are: (1) to adapt a spatially explicit dynamic model of livestock and wildlife movements to simulate their contacts, (2) to implement a participatory modeling process with the various stakeholders (herders, farmers, forest rangers...); and (3) to test different scenarios of climate change and land use, and evaluate the model's capacity as a decision-support tool for optimizing resource use. Digital farming can contribute to better management of the resources on which wildlife, domestic animals and the human population depend. I believe that the creation of tools enabling more effective dialogue between all stakeholders, such as the model proposed here, is necessary to achieve more sustainable production systems.

• Starting date:  16 october 2023
• Scientific field: Engineering, Life and Environmental Sciences
• Post-doc supervisors: Sandra Costa-Migeaon, UMR Moisa, Inrae -Brice Sorli, IES, Université de Montpellier
• #DigitAg :  Axe 2 : Innovations en agriculture numérique, Axe 3 : Capteurs, acquisition et gestion de données, Challenge 7 : Intégration de l’agriculture dans les chaînes de valeur

Keywords: Heterogeneous data, telemetry, remote sensing, spatial modelling, participatory modelling, extensive livestock farming, animal mobility

Abstract: In a context of human population growth and water scarcity due to climate change in many African regions, a better understanding of how climatic and environmental factors, as well as agricultural and livestock practices, determine the mobility and contacts between livestock and wildlife is a major challenge for identifying management methods that reconcile agricultural development and conservation issues. The aim of this postdoc is to develop innovative methods for integrating heterogeneous data to simulate livestock and wildlife mobility, and potential contacts between them, in the Hwange region of Zimbabwe, and to explore climate change and land-use scenarios defined in consultation with the various stakeholders in the area, in order to test the modeling tool as a decision-making aid for better resource management.

Contact: larisa.lee_cruz [AT] cirad.fr - 06.52.87.90.76
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