Marion Boulard, PhD Candidate

Memorial University, Biology

Bio: I am a French student coming from Brittany, fascinated by all the mysterious creatures of the dark deep-sea realm. I obtained a marine ecology MSc in 2014 and since, have worked as a research engineer at the Deepsea Ecosystems Lab of IFREMER. I’m mainly interested in the ecology of the complex, diverse and unique megafauna communities associated to unknown, fragile and threatened deep-sea ecosystems (e.g. hydrothermal vents, seamounts)

Supervisor(s): Evan Edinger (MUN) & Peter Lawton (DFO)

Start to Finish: 05/2017 to 05/2021

CHONe Project: 1.2.4: Evaluating the effectiveness of a deep-water MPA; the Laurentian Channel AOI

Project Title: Distribution and conservation of deep-sea fishes in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean

Project Description:

The aim of this project is to assess the distribution of demersal fish species surveyed in different areas of the Northwest Atlantic Ocean, and evaluate their habitat use. My objectives are to characterize fish communities (in terms of abundance and diversity) and fish size frequency distribution in relation to the different habitats (hard/soft substrate, biogenic/nonstructural habitat); and to assess the use of biogenic habitat (coral/sea pen/sponge fields) by fish.