interests
I am, unabashedly, unable (and potentially unwilling) to narrowly define my research interests. Broadly, my expertise is in the workings of the environment, with experience in conservation, global change biology, ecology, restoration, sustainability, resource management, and human-wildlife conflict. As a researcher, I have never been taken by one particular field, taxonomic group, or habitat type (although I do have a soft spot for coastlines), but instead focus on the context of the research – I enjoy studying and working in places where nature, people, and politics intersect. My ongoing PhD research examines the relationship between birds, mangrove ecosystems, and management strategies in Aotearoa New Zealand, in a context where mangrove forests are spreading but their bird populations are in decline. Previously, I’ve studied the effects of urbanisation on birds across northern Belgium, and spent time in South Africa’s succulent-rich Karoo desert doing research on carnivore-human interactions.
Select Research outputs
- Talk: de Satgé J, Harmer A, Aguirre D, Ji W. (2021) Mangrove-avifauna relationships in Aotearoa: quantifying banded rail habitat use using cameras. Birds NZ Conference, Thames, New Zealand
- Publication: de Satgé J, Strubbe D, Elst J, De Laet J, Adriaensen F, Matthysen E. (2019) Urbanisation lowers great tit (Parus major) breeding success at multiple spatial scales. Journal of Avian Biology
- Talk: de Satgé J, Aguirre D, Harmer A, Ji W. (2018) Understanding mangrove-avifauna relationships in New Zealand. ASSAB 2019, Waiheke, New Zealand
- Poster: de Satgé J. Birds in an urbanising world: the influence of urban degree and scale on Great Tit breeding success. Presented at: EOU Turku 2017. Aug 18-22, 2017; Turku, Finland
- Publication: de Satgé J, Teichman K, Cristescu B. (2017) Competition and coexistence in a small carnivore guild. Oecologia
- Talk: de Satgé J. (2017): Urban areas as ecological traps: studying great tits Parus major along an urbanisation gradient. Natuurpunt Belgian Ornithology Day, Antwerp, Belgium
Select Work experience
- Intern • Office of the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor • 05.2021-07.2021
Three-month secondment to provide expertise at the science-policy interface in mangrove management in Aotearoa New Zealand. - Graduate eaching assistant • Massey University (MU) • 03.2019-present
Lab demonstrator for Ecology and Conservation (196.205) covering the principles, processes, and applications of ecology. Course material blends ecological theory and practice using case studies from New Zealand and abroad. - Conservation researcher • Cape Leopard Trust (CLT) • 07-09.2015
Two-months of work as a field technician in northern South Africa with the CLT PEACE project, followed by research using camera-trap data collected from more than 140 cameras in the Namaqualand study area. - Conservation ranger • Wadden Sea Conservancy • 02-09.2014
Seven-month internship with Schutzstation Wattenmeer on the island of Sylt (northern Germany) with work centered on eco-tourism, migratory bird censuses, marine (benthic) fauna surveys and environmental education.
- Fieldwork assistant (various) • University of Cape Town • 2013
Short-term fieldwork assistance with three projects (sociable weavers, small mammal dispersal, pelican monitoring), with field skills including bird handling, bird monitoring & counts, mist-netting, rodent-trapping, rodent identification, and camera-trapping.
Selected Awards and Funding
2020 • Birds New Zealand Research Fund
2019 • Birds New Zealand Research Fund • Royal Society Te Apārangi Hutton Fund
2018 • Massey University Doctoral Scholarship
2017 • UA Wim Dings Ornithology Prize
2016 • Jacques Ketz Award for Biology
2014 • Erasmus Mundus Action 2 EUROSA scholarship
For further information email me at j.desatge@massey.ac.nz
Jacques de Satgé 