Profiles
Dr Nils Piechaud
Post Doctoral Research Fellow - Mission Atlantic
School of Biological and Marine Sciences (Faculty of Science and Engineering)
Biography
Biography
PhD student working on the application of autonomous underwater vehicles to challenges in marine habitat mapping and predictive species distribution modelling
Maps have proved to be a useful method of summarising biological information concerning the seabed. Suitable environment for species and habitat can be predictively modelled based on image data and environmental variables (topography, oceanography or hydrography). This modelled can be projected in space to create a map where the environmental data is available. There is now a momentum towards the generalised mapping of the seafloor to provide information on which effective conservation policy can be based.
With The advance of technology, New tools exist to survey the sea-bed. The Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) have the capacity to provide a lot more data than the Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) but it is not yet clear how to make best use of all the possibilities they offer. My PhD is an exploratory work on how biological, oceanographic and hydrographic data provided by Autonomous vehicles can be used together to make better predictive species distribution maps.
Qualifications
Master degree in marine biology.I.U.E.M. Université de Bretagne Occidentale - France
Teaching
Teaching
Staff serving as external examiners
Dr Kerry Howell
Dr Nicola Foster
Dr Phil Hosegood
Research
Research
Publications
Publications
Key publications
Key publications are highlighted
Journals
Articles
(2022) 'Fast and accurate mapping of fine scale abundance of a VME in the deep sea with computer vision' Ecological Informatics 71, 101786-101786 , DOI
(2021) 'Reconstructing baselines: use of habitat suitability modelling to predict pre-fishing condition of a Vulnerable Marine Ecosystem' ICES Journal of Marine Science 78, (8) 2784-2796 , DOI Open access
(2019) 'A framework for the development of a global standardised marine taxon reference image database (SMarTaR-ID) to support image-based analyses' PLOS ONE 14, (12) e0218904-e0218904 , DOI Open access
(2019) 'Automated identification of benthic epifauna with computer vision' Marine Ecology Progress Series 615, 15-30 , DOI Open access
(2019) 'The distribution of deep-sea sponge aggregations (Porifera) in relation to oceanographic processes in the Faroe-Shetland Channel' Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers , DOI Open access
(2018) 'Marine plastics threaten giant Atlantic Marine Protected Areas' Current Biology 28, (19) R1137-R1138 , DOI Open access
(2017) 'Report on the Marine Imaging Workshop 2017' Research Ideas and Outcomes 3, e13820-e13820 , DOI Open access
(2016) 'The distribution of deep-sea sponge aggregations in the North Atlantic and implications for their effective spatial management' Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers , DOI Open access
(2015) 'The VENUS cabled observatory as a method to observe fish behaviour and species assemblages in a hypoxic fjord, Saanich Inlet (British Columbia, Canada)' Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 72, (1) 24-36 , DOI
(2014) 'The impact of modelling method selection on predicted extent and distribution of deep-sea benthic assemblages' Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 105, (4) 251-261 , DOI
Reports
(2015) A Deep-sea Section for the Marine Habitat Classification of Britain and Ireland v15.03. Publisher Site
(2014) JC060 Data Analysis: Comprising data from Darwin Mounds (NE Rockall Trough), Rockall-Hatton Basin Polygonal Faults, NW Rockall Bank, and E Rockall Bank Escarpment. Publisher Site
(2013) Definition of epifaunal assemblages for inclusion in a deep sea section of the Marine Habitat Classification of Britain and Ireland. Joint Nature Conservation Committee CONTRACT NO: C13-0223-0672 Publisher Site