Pierre-Paul Bitton - PI
Always amazed at the complexity and elegance of nature, I decided to study visual communication when I first learned that many other animals can see in the UV.  Now at Memorial University of Newfoundland, our lab focusses on the behavioural ecology of Leach's storm-petrels and Atlantic puffins

Current lab members

Fiona Le Taro - CABE PhD
Compared to working on the Crozet Archipelogo and Churchill Manitoba, Newfoundland isn't so bad! Fiona is assessing the factors that influence the coastal strandings of Leach's storm-petrels and Atlantic puffins to mitigate the impact of anthropogenic lights at night

Antoine Morel - CABE PhD
Antoine joined our lab after working in Kazakhstan, Greenland, Argentina and Peru. He is studying social networks in Atlantic puffins using a combination of observations of banded individuals, and proximity loggers

​Matthew Rideout - CABE MSc
 A MUN Psychology graduate and all-round handyman, Matt has been studying the underground vocalizations of Atlantic puffins 

 Parker Doiron - CABE MSc
With a background in shorebirds, it was easy to move on to seabirds. Co-supervised by Dr. Montevecchi, Parker is investigating how lights on fishing vessels transiting near seabird colonies influences prey-predator interactions between gulls and Leach's storm-petrels

Jillian Taylor - CABE MSc
When not busy scuba diving in frigid waters around Newfoundland, Jill is educating her followers on social media. In our lab, she is investigating social interactions in Atlantic puffins

Molly Hyduk - Biology Honours BSc
​With lots of experience as a boat operator and marine interpreter, her fit in our lab was obvious. She is analyzing
​~ 30,000 hours of acoustic recordings within Atlantic puffin burrows to look at seasonal changes and diel patterns in vocalizations

Previous lab members co-supervised students*

Robert Blackmore* - CABE MSc - 2024 - A field and laboratory investigation of the influence of light on the behaviour of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua)
Shekinah Philips - Psychology Honours BSc - 2025 - Topography of retinal ganglion cells in the eye of the black scorpionfish (Scorpaena porcus)
Nathaniel Wells - Psychology Honours BSc - 2024 - Oscillating patterns of colony attendance in the Atlantic puffin: Local phenomena and broader geographical synchrony
Lily Bertolo* - Biology Honours BSc - 2024 - Fine structure histological anatomy of posterior ocular vasculature in early juvenile lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus)​
Katja Kochvar - CABE MSc - 2023 - The properties and potential signal value of Atlantic puffin bill colouration
Raul Zabala Belenguer - CABE MSc - 2023 - Estimating breeding status in Atlantic puffin colonies across Newfoundland: A methodological comparison
​Amy Wilson - CABE MSc - 2023 - Assessing fine-scale population structure using RAD sequencing in a highly philopatric seabird, the Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica)
Juan Pablo Ibanez - CABE MSc - 2023 - The retinal topography of the red lionfish (Pterois volitans): Towards an understanding of the visual system of a highly invasive species
Alex McDonah* - Biology Honours BSc - 2023 - Comparison of three psychophysical techniques for testing resolution and Vernier acuity
Rebecca Foote - Psychology Honours BSc - 2023 - Can geometric morphometric analysis accurately classify male and female Atlantic puffins?
Madeline Sceviour - Biology Honours BSc - 2023 - Diel vocalization patterns in the Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica)
Fiona O'Flaherty - Biology Honours BSc - 2022 - Exploration of perceptual bill morphometrics for predicting the sex of Atlantic puffins
Keah Hodder - Biology Honours BSc - 2022 - The evaluation of sexual dimorphism in the bill morphology in Atlantic puffins (Fratercula arctica) from Gull Island, Newfoundland
Kira Whittaker* - Biology Honours BSc - 2021 - Tracing camouflage: Saliency effects on the gaze patterns during search image formation
Sylvia Farooq - Psychology Honours BSc - 2021 - Assortative mating in Atlantic puffins
Noah O'Brien - Psychology Honours BSc - 2021 - What factors influence the light environent in burrows of Atlantic puffins?
​Aime Hirwa* - Psychology Honours BSc - 2021 - Breaking camouflage: Gaze patterns during visual search image formation  
Rabeya Akhter* - Comp Sci MSc - 2020 - Nature's Palette: An open-access digital repository of spectral data
Julie Goudie - Psychology Honours BSc - 2019 - The first retinal topography map for the black scorpionfish Scorpaena porcus​

WISE Summer Student Employment Program

April Griffin - 2019
Sarah Watkins - 2021
Jasmine Bridger - 2022
Chloe King - 2023
Chloe Regular - 2024
Molly-Claire Pelley - 2025

Project co-supervision
Hamza Khan - Comp Sci MSc - 2023 - Colourspace filtering in Nature's Palette​
Arun Kannan - Comp Sci MSc - 2023 - Enhancement of an image processing pipeline and pilot study for the individual recognition of Atlantic puffin through bill characteristics
Prudhvi Kommareddi - Comp Sci MSc - 2022 - Automation of an image processing pipeline and pilot study for the individual recognition from bill characteristics in the Atlantic puffin
Raufir Shanto - Comp Sci MSc - 2021 - Applying software testing concepts to Nature's Palette repository
​Chukwuebuka Amaefula - Comp Sci MSc -2021 - Atlantic puffin sex classification using artificial intelligence and machine learning
​Shawon Kamal - Comp Sci BSc - 2020 - Nature's Palette validator
Samira Saki - Comp Sci MSc - 2020 - Application of Siamese network to identify individual puffins
Aidin Talaeizad - Comp Sci MSc - 2020 - Creating a database for Nature's Palette website via MongoDB & RDF

Other supervision
Md Sharier - MUN SURA
Nabiha Ansari - NSERC USRA
Sam Goguen - NSERC USRA
Kathryn Collier - NSERC USRA