Above picture: Pierre Pistorius holds an Eastern Rockhopper Penguin Eudyptes filholi as part of a research project on Marion Island in 2014; photograph by Mariette Wheeler

Professor Pierre Pistorius is Head of the Marine Apex Predator Research Unit (which he founded) within the Institute for Coastal and Marine Research and the Department of Zoology at Nelson Mandela University, Gqeberha, South Africa.  The unit has gained national and international recognition as a leader in the field of marine top predator research.  He joined the university as a Senior Lecturer in 2009, where he contributes towards teaching, research and engagement responsibilities.  Previously, he has been the Science Officer and acting CEO with the environmental NGO Falklands Conservation (a BirdLife Partner, in the South Atlantic), Research Officer on Aldabra Atoll in the Indian Ocean for the Seychelles Islands Foundation, Research Biologist with the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research in Trondheim, and a contract Lecturer in the Department of Zoology & Entomology at the University of Pretoria.  Over 2002/03 he co-owned and managed a nature reserve bordering the Great Kei River in South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province where his work concentrated on clearing alien vegetation.

Back in 2000 on Marion Island, a youthful Pierre Pistorius and his partner Frances Taylor interact with an inquisitive Wandering Albatross Diomedea exulans in a study colony; photograph by Charl Louw. Close encounters such as depicted here are unintended consequences of studies conducted by professional biologists under research permit

Pierre has overwintered on Marion Island twice, as a member of the M53 Team in 1996/97 and M57 over 2000/01.  During these times he conducted research on the ecology of the Southern Elephant Seal Mirounga leonina towards his MSc and PhD degrees through the University of Pretoria.  During his second sojourn on the island, he was also the Conservation Officer for the then Department of Environmental Affairs.

Since 2015, Pierre Pistorius has been Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator of a series of projects centred on the top predators (seabirds, primarily penguins, and seals) falling within the ambit of the South African National Antarctic Programme (SANAP), with governmental funding.  During this period, he has supervised seven students who have been awarded MSc or PhD degrees based on their research on seabirds and seals in the Southern Ocean.  Pierre’s curriculum vitae lists no less than 155 peer-reviewed publications of which those that concentrate on Marion and Prince Edward Islands’ seabirds are listed below.

Pierre has generously supported the Mouse-Free Marion (MFM) Project with a 10-hectare sponsorship.  He writes to MFM News: “Marion Island is where I cut my teeth as an ecologist.  A natural laboratory that is remarkable for its biodiversity and landscape and one that has provided training opportunities for so many young scientists.  I for one am indebted.  Supporting the MFM Project, where a tangible positive conservation outcome is likely, is for me is a way of giving back.”  Pierre also supports the project as a member of the MFM Scientific and Technical Advisory Group.

Having a highly regarded biologist of the international standing of Professor Pierre Pistorius as a valued supporter of the MFM Project reflects well on how favourably the South African sub-Antarctic research community views the project.  Other past and present SANAP Principal and Co-Investigators who have supported the MFM Project by sponsoring hectares or in other ways include Marthán Bester, Maëlle Connan, John Cooper, Ria Olivier and Peter Ryan.  The MFM Project team extends its gratitude to them all.

 

Selected Publications:

 

Bestley. S., Ropert-Coudert. Y., Nash, S.B., Brooks, C.M., Cotté, C., Dewar, M., Friedlaender, A.S., Jackson, J.A., Labrousse, S., Lowther, A.D., McMahon, C.R., Phillips, R.A., Pistorius. P., Puskic, P.S., Olivia, de A., Reis, A., Reisinger, R.R., Santos. M., Tarszisz, E., Tixier, P., Trathan, P.N., Wege, M. & Wienecke, B. 2020.  Marine ecosystem assessment for the Southern Ocean: birds and marine mammals in a changing climate.  Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 8: 338.

Carpenter-Kling, T., Dickens, J. & Pistorius, P.A. 2017.  First record of an Adélie penguin at sub-Antarctic Marion Island.  Marine Biodiversity Records.  10: 13-15.

Carpenter-Kling, T., Dyer, B.M., Makhado, A.B. & Pistorius, P.A. 2017.  Plumage aberrations in Macaroni penguins Eudyptes chrysolophus at sub-Antarctic Marion Island.  Polar Biology 40: 1907-1911.

Carpenter-Kling, T., Handley, J.M., Connan, M., Crawford, R.J.M., Makhado, A.B., Dyer, B.M., Froneman, W., Lamont, T., Wolfaardt, A.C., Landman, M., Sigqala, M. & Pistorius, P.A. 2019.  Gentoo penguins as sentinels of climate change at the sub-Antarctic Prince Edward Archipelago, Southern Ocean.  Ecological Indicators 101: 163-172.

Carpenter-Kling, T., Handley, J.M., Green, D.B., Reisinger, R.R., Makhado, A.B., Crawford, R.J. & Pistorius, P.A. 2017.  A novel foraging strategy in gentoo penguins breeding at sub-Antarctic Marion Island.  Marine Biology 164: 33.

Carpenter-Kling, T., Pistorius, P., Reisinger, R., Cherel, Y. & Connan, M. A. 2020.  Critical assessment of marine predator isoscapes within the southern Indian Ocean.  Movement Ecology 8: 29.

Carpenter-Kling, T., Reisinger, R.R., Orgeret, F., Connan, M., Stevens, K., Ryan, P.G., Makhado, A. & Pistorius, P.A. 2020.  Foraging in a dynamic environment: response of four sympatric sub-Antarctic albatross species to environmental variability.  Ecology and Evolution 10: 11277-11295.

Corbeau, A., Collet, J., Orgeret, F., Pistorius, P. & Weimerskirch, H. 2021.  Fine-scale interactions between boats and large albatrosses indicate variable susceptibility to bycatch risk according to species and populations.  Animal Conservation 24: 689-699.

Dakwa, F.E., Ryan P.G., Dyer, B.M., Crawford, R.J.M., Pistorius, P.A. & Makhado, AM. Long-term variation in the breeding diets of macaroni and eastern rockhopper penguins at Marion Island (1994–2018).  African Journal of Marine Science 43: 187-199.

Frugone, M.J., Cole, T.L., López, M.E., Clucas, G., Matos-Maraví, P., Lois N.A., Pistorius, P., Bonadonna, F., Trathan, P., Polanowski, A., Wienecke, B., Raya-Rey, A., Pütz, K., Steinfurth, A., Bi, K., Wang-Claypool, C.Y., Waters, J.M., Bowie, R.C.K., Poulin, E., Vianna, J.A. 2021.  Taxonomy based on limited genomic markers may underestimate species diversity of rockhopper penguins and threaten their conservation.  Diversity and Distributions 27: 2277-2296.

Frugone, M.J., Lowther, A., Noll, D., Ramos, B., Pistorius, P., Dantas, G.P.M., Petry, M.V., Bonadonna, F., Steinfurth, A., Polanowski, A., Raya-Rey, A., Lois, N.A., Pütz, K., Trathan, P., Wienecke, B., Poulin, E. & Vianna, J.A. 2018.  Contrasting phylogeographic pattern among Eudyptes penguins around the Southern Ocean.  Scientific Reports 8: 17481.

Makhado, A.B., Crawford, R.J.M., Dias, M.P., Dyer, B.M., Lamont, T., Pistorius, P.A., Ryan, P.G., Upfold, L., Weimerskirch, H. & Reisinger, R.R. 2018.  Foraging behaviour and habitat use by Indian yellow-nosed albatrosses Thalassarche carteri breeding at Prince Edward Island.  Emu – Austral Ornithology 118: 353-362.

Noll, D., Leon, F., Brandt, D., Pistorius, P., Le Bohec, C., Bonadonna, F., Trathan, P.N., Barbosa, A., Raya Rey, A., Dantas, G.P.M., Bowie, R.C.K., Poulin, W. & Vianna, J.A. 2022.  Positive selection over the mitochondrial genome and its role in the diversification of gentoo penguins in response to adaptation in isolation.  Scientific Reports 12: 3767.

Orgeret, F., Thiebault, A., Kovacs, K.M., Lydersen, C., Hindell, M.A., Thompson, S.A., Sydeman, W.J. & Pistorius, P.A. 2021.  Climate change impacts on seabirds and marine mammals: the importance of study duration, thermal tolerance and generation time.  Ecology Letters 25: 218-239.

Orgeret, F., Reisinger, R.R., Carpenter-Kling, T., Keys, D.Z., Corbeau, A. Bost, C.-A., Weimerskirch, H. & Pistorius, P.A. 2021.  Spatial segregation in a sexually dimorphic central place forager: Competitive exclusion or niche divergence?  Journal of Animal Ecology 90: 2404 2420.

Pistorius, P.A., Green, D.G., Seddon, P.J. & Thiebault, A. 2020.  In situ observation of a record-sized squid prey consumed by a Gentoo penguin.  Polar Biology 43: 279-283.

Pistorius, P., Hindell, M., Crawford, R., Makhado, A., Dyer, B. & Reisinger, R., 2017.  At‐sea distribution and habitat use in king penguins at sub‐Antarctic Marion Island.  Ecology and Evolution 7: 3894-3903.

Pistorius, P.A., Sydeman, W.J., Watanuki, Y., Thompson, S.A. & Orgeret, F. 2023.  Chapter 8.  Climate change: the ecological backdrop of seabird conservation.  In: Young, L. & VanderWerf, E. (Eds).  Conservation of Marine Birds.  Cambridge: Academic Press.  pp. 245-276.

Reisinger, R.R., Carpenter-Kling, T., Connan, M., Cherel, Y. & Pistorius, P.A. 2020.  Foraging behaviour and habitat-use drives niche segregation in sibling seabird species.  Royal Society Open Science 7: 200649.

Reisinger, R.R., Corney, S., Raymond, B., Lombard, A.T., Bester, M.N., Crawford, R.J., Schoombie, S., Pretorius, P. et. al. 2022.  Habitat model forecasts suggest potential redistribution of marine predators in the southern Indian Ocean.  Diversity and Distributions 28: 142-159.

Reisinger, R.R., Raymond, B., Hindell, M.A., Bester, M.N., Crawford, R.J.M., Davies, D., de Bruyn, P.J.N., Dilley, B.J., Kirkman, S.P., Makhado, A.B., Ryan, P.G., Schoombie, S., Stevens, K., Sumner, M.D., Tosh, C.A., Wege, M., Whitehead, T.O., Wotherspoon, S. & Pistorius, P.A. 2018.  Habitat modelling of tracking data from multiple marine predators identifies important areas in the Southern Indian Ocean.  Diversity and Distributions. 24: 535-550.

Thiebault, A., Charrier, I.T. & Pistorius, P. 2019. First evidence of underwater vocalizations in hunting penguins.  Peer J 7: e8240.

Vanstreels, R.E.T., Yabsley, M.J., Swanepoel, L., Stevens, K.L., Carpenter-Kling, T., Ryan, P.G. & Pistorius, P.A. 2018.  Molecular characterization and lesions associated with Diomedenema diomedeae (Aproctoidea: Desmidocercidae) from grey-headed albatrosses (Thalassarche chrysostoma) on Subantarctic Marion Island.  International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife 7: 155-160.

 

John Cooper, News Correspondent, Mouse-Free Marion Project, 13 June 2024

 

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At risk to mice. Wandering Albatrosses display with the research station as a backdrop on Marion Island; photograph and poster design by Michelle Risi

The Mouse-Free Marion Project is a registered non-profit company (No. 2020/922433/08) in South Africa, established to eradicate the invasive albatross-killing mice on Marion Island in the Southern Ocean.  The project was initiated by BirdLife South Africa and the South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment.  Upon successful completion, the project will restore the critical breeding habitat of over two million seabirds, many globally threatened, and improve the island’s resilience to a warming climate.  For more information or to support the project please visit mousefreemarion.org.