Dr Sophie Nedelec (nee Holles )
Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellow
S.Nedelec@exeter.ac.uk
Hatherly C7
Hatherly Building, University of Exeter, Prince of Wales Road, Exeter, EX4 4PS, UK
Overview
I am a Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellow working on particle acceleration passive acoustic monitoring for mapping coral reefs. Broadly, I am interested in underwater sound, sensory ecology, human impacts on the environment and sustainability. Much of my work has focused on the impacts of anthropogenic noise on the reproduction and survival of fish. My current work is also focussing on engaging with policy-makers and translating research into behavioural change.
*** I am currently recruiting for a fully funded PhD with fieldwork to investigate the bioacoustics and behavioural ecology of snapping shrimp on the Great Barrier Reef and their role in reef resilience! If you are interested please take a look at the PhD advert and see how to apply at this link and don't hesitate to get in touch by email if you have any questions about this PhD position: s.nedelec@exeter.ac.uk ***
- Google scholar
- Researchgate
- Twitter @SophieNedelec
Qualifications
2011-15 PhD: Impacts of anthropogenic noise on behaviour, development and fitness of fishes and invertebrates (University of Bristol and the École Pratique des Hautes Études)
2009-10 MSc Bioacoustics and Behavioural Ecology (University of Bristol)
2006-09 BSc Hons Zoology (University of Durham)
Career
2023-2031 Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellow, Biosciences, University of Exeter
2021-2023 Part-time Lecturer, Biosciences, University of Exeter
2022-2023 Part-time Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Biosciences, University of Exeter, collaborating with Australian Institute of Marine Science
2020 April-July Research Fellow Evidence-Based Policymaking secondment, funded by Research England Strategic Priorities. University of Exeter.
2019-2021 Project Manager, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter. Best practice guide for the measurement of underwater particle motion measurement for biological applications.
2017-2021 Postdoctoral Research Fellow, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter. Investigating impacts of anthropogenic noise on reproduction and survival in fish. PI Steve Simpson, CoI Andy Radford (Bristol).
2016-2017 Postdoctoral Research Fellow, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter. Investigating nocturnality in the fauna of Britain. PI Kevin Gaston.
Research group links
Research
Research interests
- Behavioural ecology
- Bioacoustics
- Anthropogenic impacts on the environment
- Conservation biology
- Behavioural change
- Evidence-based policy
Research projects
- 'Snap maps' - mapping coral reefs using acoustic particle motion.
- Evidence-based policy making for 'quiet craft' and 'quiet parks'.
- Standardisation of underwater particle motion measurement for biological applications.
- Impacts of underwater noise on reproduction and survival of fish.
- Time partitioning of UK fauna - part of the Ecological effects of light pollution (ECOLIGHT) project.
Research grants
- 2023 Royal Society
The bioacoustics of coral reef resilience Coral reefs are important ecosystems because they are home to 25% of all marine species, and hold socio-economic value such as nutrition and wave protection to at least 500 million people. However, coral reefs are threatened; half have already been lost to human impacts. Climate-induced perturbations such as bleaching and cyclone damage can push coral reefs over a tipping point into a degraded, algae-dominated state. Local threats such as fishing and pollution erode resilience to these perturbations. We need rapid, cost-effective methods for assessing coral reef resilience so that resources can be prioritised for conservation and restoration efforts. Acoustics offers a solution because healthy reefs are, like rainforests, full of soniferous animals. I plan to use the directional information available in sound to locate reef animals and thus improve rapid assessments of population estimates. To ‘buy time’ for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, we need to improve local conditions by increasing protection and improving management for resilience. Traffic noise is a major pollutant causing stress for the inhabitants of coral reefs and affecting their survival. Altering marine traffic patterns around reefs can improve local conditions with immediate effect. Early evidence suggests that this can enhance the resilience of reefs by boosting fish reproductive success. I will test these two complementary solutions at increasing scales throughout my Fellowship, and work to integrate them into marine policy. My program of research offers unique opportunities for novel tools for rapid, remote assessment of coral reef resilience, and enhanced value of marine spatial planning.
Publications
Journal articles
Gordon T, Simpson S, McCloskey K, Nedelec S (In Press). Acoustic enrichment can enhance fish community development on degraded coral-reef habitat. Nature Communications
Nedelec SL, Radford AN, Pearl L, Nedelec B, McCormick MI, Meekan MG, Simpson SD (In Press). Motorboat noise impacts parental behaviour. and offspring survival in a reef fish. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Nedelec S, Radford A, Gatenby P, Keesje Davidson I, Velasquez Jimenez L, Travis M, Chapman K, McCloskey K, Lamont T, Illing B, et al (2023). Coral reef soundscapes and noise. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 153(3_supplement), a61-a61.
Popper AN, Haxel J, Staines G, Guan S, Nedelec SL, Roberts L, Deng ZD (2023). Marine energy converters: Potential acoustic effects on fishes and aquatic invertebratesa). The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 154(1), 518-532.
Solé M, Kaifu K, Mooney TA, Nedelec SL, Olivier F, Radford AN, Vazzana M, Wale MA, Semmens JM, Simpson SD, et al (2023). Marine invertebrates and noise. Frontiers in Marine Science, 10
Azofeifa Solano JC, Erbe C, Brooker R, McCauley R, Pygas D, Feeney W, Simpson S, Nedelec SL, Croxford E, Parsons M, et al (2023). Using quantitative soundscape analyses for coral reef microhabitat discrimination. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 154(4_supplement), a316-a316.
Nedelec SL, Radford AN, Gatenby P, Davidson IK, Velasquez Jimenez L, Travis M, Chapman KE, McCloskey KP, Lamont TAC, Illing B, et al (2022). Limiting motorboat noise on coral reefs boosts fish reproductive success. Nature Communications, 13(1).
Parsons MJG, Lin T-H, Mooney TA, Erbe C, Juanes F, Lammers M, Li S, Linke S, Looby A, Nedelec SL, et al (2022). Sounding the Call for a Global Library of Underwater Biological Sounds. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 10
Mills SC, Beldade R, Henry L, Laverty D, Nedelec SL, Simpson SD, Radford AN (2020). Hormonal and behavioural effects of motorboat noise on wild coral reef fish. Environmental Pollution, 262 Abstract.
Mooney TA, Di Iorio L, Lammers M, Lin TH, Nedelec SL, Parsons M, Radford C, Urban E, Stanley J (2020). Listening forward: Approaching marine biodiversity assessments using acoustic methods: Acoustic diversity and biodiversity. Royal Society Open Science, 7(8). Abstract.
McCormick MI, Fakan EP, Nedelec SL, Allan BJM (2019). Effects of boat noise on fish fast-start escape response depend on engine type. Scientific Reports, 9(1). Abstract.
Gordon TAC, Harding HR, Clever FK, Davidson IK, Davison W, Montgomery DW, Weatherhead RC, Windsor FM, Armstrong JD, Bardonnet A, et al (2018). Fishes in a changing world: learning from the past to promote sustainability of fish populations. J Fish Biol, 92(3), 804-827. Abstract. Author URL.
Ferrari MCO, McCormick MI, Meekan MG, Simpson SD, Nedelec SL, Chivers DP (2018). School is out on noisy reefs: the effect of boat noise on predator learning and survival of juvenile coral reef fishes. Proc Biol Sci, 285(1871). Abstract. Author URL.
Gaston KJ, Davies TW, Nedelec SL, Holt LA (2017). Impacts of Artificial Light at Night on Biological Timings. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, 48, 49-68. Abstract.
Nedelec SL, Mills SC, Radford AN, Beldade R, Simpson SD, Nedelec B, Côté IM (2017). Motorboat noise disrupts co-operative interspecific interactions. Sci Rep, 7(1). Abstract. Author URL.
Simpson SD, Radford AN, Nedelec SL, Ferrari MCO, Chivers DP, McCormick MI, Meekan MG (2016). Anthropogenic noise increases fish mortality by predation. Nature Communications, 7(1). Abstract.
Nedelec SL, Campbell J, Radford AN, Simpson SD, Merchant ND (2016). Particle motion: the missing link in underwater acoustic ecology. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 7(7), 836-842. Abstract.
Radford AN, Lèbre L, Lecaillon G, Nedelec SL, Simpson SD (2016). Repeated exposure reduces the response to impulsive noise in European seabass. Glob Chang Biol, 22(10), 3349-3360. Abstract. Author URL.
Nedelec SL, Mills SC, Lecchini D, Nedelec B, Simpson SD, Radford AN (2016). Repeated exposure to noise increases tolerance in a coral reef fish. Environ Pollut, 216, 428-436. Abstract. Author URL.
Nedelec SL, Simpson SD, Morley EL, Nedelec B, Radford AN (2015). Impacts of predictable and unpredictable noise on the behaviour, growth and condition of larval Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). Proceedings of the Royal Society B
Nedelec SL, Simpson SD, Holderied MW, Radford AN, Lecellier G, Radford C, Lecchini D (2015). Soundscapes and living communities in coral reefs: temporal and spatial variation. Marine Ecology: Progress Series
Parmentier E, Berten L, Rigo P, Aubrun F, Nedelec SL, Simpson SD, Lecchini D (2015). The influence of various reef sounds on coral-fish larvae behaviour. Journal of Fish Biology, 86(5), 1507-1518. Abstract.
Nedelec S, Radford AN, Simpson SD, Nedelec B, Lecchini D, Mills SC (2014). Anthropogenic noise playback impairs embryonic development and increases mortality in a marine invertebrate. Nature Scientific Reports, 4
Lecchini D, Lecellier G, Lanyon R, Holles S, Poucet B, Duran E (2014). Variation in brain organisation of coral reef fish larvae according to life history traits. Brain, Behavior and Evolution, 83, 17-30.
Holles S, Simpson SD, Radford AN, Berten L, Lecchini D (2013). Boat noise disrupts orientation behaviour in a coral reef fish. Marine Ecology: Progress Series, 485, 295-300.
Lecchini D, Waqalevu VP, Holles S, LeRohellec M, Brié C, Simpson SD (2013). Vertical and horizontal distributions of coral reef fish larvae in open water immediately prior to reef colonization. Journal of Fish Biology
Chapters
Parsons MJG, Looby A, Chanda K, Di Iorio L, Erbe C, Frazao F, Havlik M, Juanes F, Lammers M, Li S, et al (2023). A Global Library of Underwater Biological Sounds (GLUBS): an Online Platform with Multiple Passive Acoustic Monitoring Applications. In (Ed) The Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life, Springer Nature, 1-25.
Nedelec SL (2023). Categorizing the Effects of Anthropogenic Noise on Aquatic Life. In (Ed) The Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life, Springer Nature, 1-10.
Ainslie MA, Andrew RK, Tyack PL, Halvorsen MB, Eickmeier JM, MacGillivray AO, Nedelec SL, Robinson SP (2023). Soundscape of the Northeast Pacific Ocean Revisited. In (Ed) The Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life, Springer Nature, 1-19.
Radford AN, Purser J, Bruintjes R, Voellmy I, Everley K, Wale M, Holles S, Simpson SD (2016). Beyond a simple effect: variable and changing responses to anthropogenic noise. In Popper AN, Hawkins A (Eds.) The Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life II, Springer New York, 901-907.
Holles S, Simpson SD, Lecchini D, Radford AN (2016). Playback experiments for noise exposure. In Popper AN, Hawkins A (Eds.) The Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life II, Springer New York, 461-466.
Simpson SD, Radford AN, Holles S, Ferrari MCO, Chivers DP, McCormick MI, Meekan MG (2016). Small boat noise impacts natural settlement behaviour of coral reef fish larvae. In Popper AN, Hawkins A (Eds.) The Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life II, Springer New York, 1041-1048.
Conferences
Dobbins P, Pace F, Voellmy I, Neves S, Nedelec S (2014). An environmental survey around the Narec offshore anemometry hub (NOAH) – a comparison between acoustic measurement instruments. the 2nd international conference and exhibition on Underwater Acoustics.
External Engagement and Impact
Administrative responsibilities
♦ Chair Biosciences Sustainability Committee
♦ Committee member Faculty of Health and Life Sciences Sustainability Committee
Awards
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Competitively funded studentships and postdoctoral fellowships
♦ EPSRC PhD studentship £26,000
♦ Bourse d’Excellence Eiffel, Campus France £5,900
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External positions
♦ Member of British Standards Institute (BSI) committee EH/1/7 Underwater acoustics
♦ Member of International Standards Organisation Technical Committee 43 Working Group 6 (ISO TC43 SC3 WG6) Standards for marine bioacoustics
International recognition, such as international research collaborations, visiting research posts in overseas institutions, involvement at senior levels in international research associations, acting as referee for national and international research councils.
International collaborators:
♦ Suzanne Mills
♦ Ricardo Beldade
♦ Isabelle Côté
♦ Mark Meekan
♦ Mark McCormick
Media Coverage
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