Vincent Lecours
Coordinates
Office: SN-1027 (Marine Geomatics Lab)
Telephone: (709) 864-3097
Fax: (709) 864-3119
E-mail: vlecours@mun.ca
Co-supervisors
Dr. Rodolphe Devillers and Dr. Evan Edinger
Committee member
Dr. Craig Brown
Previous education
B.Sc. Géomatique appliquée à l'environnement (Applied Geomatics)
Université de Sherbrooke
Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada
Thesis Title
High-resolution habitat mapping from ROV multibeam systems: Relationships between seabed morphology and cold-water corals and sponges abundance and distribution in Canada
Research Project Description
In trying to improve the knowledge of coral and sponge habitats at a local scale, my research tests the hypothesis that seabed geomorphology plays a significant role on coral and sponge distribution and abundance and that this relation is scale-dependant. I will derive terrain parameters from high-resolution bathymetry representing the seafloor morphology, to analyse statistically the relationship between seabed characteristics and biological data. In addition, I will compare high-resolution bathymetric data to intermediate and broad-scale data to understand the influence of scale on those relationships.
Bathymetric data, video data and oceanographic data of cold-water coral and sponge habitats were collected with the Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) ROPOS in my two main study areas, off Newfoundland and Labrador and in British Columbia. ROPOS dived between 1000 and 3000 meters depth in the Flemish Cap and the Orphan Knoll (Northwest Atlantic), and between 100 and 500 m depth in three areas of the Strait of Georgia (British Columbia).
Overall, my research should help improve our understanding of the relationships between bathymetric complexity, surficial geology, oceanography, and cold-water benthic biodiversity, and the influence of scale on these relationships. This project is conducted in the Marine Geomatics Research Lab with the Marine Habitat Mapping Research Group of Memorial University of Newfoundland.
Research interests:
-Remote sensing
-3D modeling
-Image processing, GIS and cartography
-Marine biology and environment
