PJN (Nico) de Bruyn

Principal Investigator

I am a Full Professor and researcher within the Mammal Research Institute of the Department of Zoology & Entomology, University of Pretoria. I have worked on large mammal ecology in general since 1999 and on marine mammal ecology specifically since 2003. My MSc was focused on understanding the diet of Cape fur seals off the Namibian coast, while my PhD was directed towards population demographic investigation of southern elephant seals at Marion Island. I have completed two year long expeditions to sub-Antarctic Marion Island, as well as several shorter expeditions to other Antarctic and sub-Antarctic islands. Generally, the identification of the major drivers of demographic change in mammalian populations and the study of individual heterogeneity remain my main research interests. I am specifically interested in the interactions between the populations of killer whales, and seals (fur seals and elephant seals) in the Southern Ocean, and how such interactions influence population structure and regulation for these species. My interest in population ecology extends to large terrestrial mammals and I am furthermore interested in advancement of relevant field research methods, particularly the use of photogrammetry, in order to address these questions.

My academic profile can be viewed at: Department of Zoology & Entomology, UP

My publications can be viewed at: Google Scholar and Research Gate