Jean-Nicolas Pradervand

Especially interested in insects, I worked with butterfly and moth distribution models during my master thesis. I tried to understand the importance of different variables on species distribution. Since then, I continued looking for trends in species distribution according to biological traits through the use of modeling techniques and phylogenetic approaches, particularly with butterflies and bumblebees.
For my PhD, I am using very high resolution data to better understand the climatic niches of the species and predict species distribution or assemblage in mountainous environment, particularly the Alps. In the models I mainly focus on butterflies, bumblebees and grasshoppers and their relationship to vegetation using high resolution climatic data.

20.08.1986
Born in Monthey - Switzerland

2011 – now
PhD thesis under the supervision of Antoine Guisan: Assessing the use of very high resolution data to predict species distribution in a mountain environment.

2009-2010
Master in Behavior, Ecology and Evolution in Lausanne working on bumblebee distributions (Bombus latreille) in the Swiss western Alps followed by a master thesis on the importance of environmental variables in butterfly distributions according to functional traits.

Summer 2009
Field assistant for the group of Antoine Guisan: vegetation monitoring in alpine grasslands

Spring: 2009
Monitoring of alpine bird species for Pro natura in “Les Diablerets” region
Winter 2008-2009
Work as trainee in an Applied Ecology Office

2005 – 2008
Bachelor of Science in Biology in Lausanne

I like walking around in the Alps with binoculars in one hand and a net in the other. Birdwatching, Entomology, and alpine Botanics are my main interest centers. When I am not on the field I like to play beach volley, tennis or do rock-climbing.