Sandra Hamel - Publications

Turgeon, R., Carbonneau, A., Lescouzères, F., Vuillaume, B., Hamel, S., Taillon, J. 2026. Conservation of migratory species at risk: Environmental conditions experienced from pre-gestation to parturition affect fall recruitment in migratory caribou. Oikos, in press.

Pelletier, M., Taillon, J., Brodeur, V., Richard, J.H., Asselin, A., Côté, S.D., Hamel, S. 2026. Doomed from the start: consequences of a harsh early life on life-history traits of a wild Arctic ungulate. Ecology, in press.

Simmonds, M., Hamel, S., Henden, J.-A., Langeland, K., Stien, A., Tveraa, T., Yoccoz, N.G. 2025. Disentangling seasonal effects of environmental variability and population density on life-history traits in a capital breeder. Journal of Animal Ecology, 94:1259-1271.

Larue, B., Pelletier, F, Festa-Bianchet, M., Hamel, S. 2025. Uncovering bighorn sheep life-history trajectories in multidimensional trait space. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122: e2417158122.

White, K.S., Cadsand, B., Côté, S.D., Graves, T., Hamel, S., Harris, R.B., Hayes, F.P., Hood, E., Hurley, K., Jessen, T., Jex, B., Peitzsch, E., Sarmento, W., Schwantje, H., Berger, J. 2025. Mountain sentinels in a changing world: review and conservation implications of weather and climate effects on mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus). Global Ecology and Conservation, 57:e03364.

Metthé, L., Dussault, C., Hamel, S. 2025. Linking spatial variations in life-history traits to environmental conditions across American black bear populations. Ecological Monographs, 95:e1650.

Déry, F. , Hamel, S., Côté, S. D. 2025. Linking proximate drivers and fitness returns of vigilance in a large ungulate. Oikos, 2025:e10879.

Michaud, A., White, K. S., Hamel, S., Richard, J. H., Côté, S. D. 2024. Of goats and heat, the differential impact of summer temperature on habitat selection and activity patterns in mountain goats of different ecotypes. Oecologia 206:359-379.

Turgeon, R., Pelletier, F., Côté, S. D., Festa-Bianchet, M., Hamel, S. 2024. Sporadic events have a greater influence on the dynamics of small isolated populations than density-dependence and environmental conditions. American Naturalist 204:574-588.

Vuillaume, B., Richard, J. H., Hamel, S., Taillon, J., Festa-Bianchet, M., Côté, S. D. 2023. Birth date determines early calf survival in migratory caribou. Oecologia 202:819-830.

Van de Walle, J., Fay, R., Gaillard, J.-M., Pelletier, F., Hamel, S., Gamelon, M., Barbraud, C., Blanchet, F. G., Blumstein, D. T., Charmantier, A., Delord, K., Larue, B., Martin, J., Mills, J. A., Milot, E., Mayer, F. M., Rotella, J., Sæther, B.-E., Teplitsky, C., van de Pol, M., Van Vuren, D. H., Visser, M. E., Wells, C. P., Yarrall, J., Jenouvrier, S. 2023. Individual life histories: neither slow nor fast, just diverse. Proceedings of the Royal Society London B 290: 20230511.

Boulay, M.-F., Hamel, C., Hamel, S. 2023. Effectiveness of professional development for teachers in French‑ and English‑medium public elementary schools in Quebec, Canada: A first descriptive survey. International Review of Education 69: 101-124.

Marolla, F., Aarvak, T., Hamel, S., Ims, R. A., Kéry, M., Mellard, J.P., Nater, C.R., Schaub, M., Vougioukalou, M., Yoccoz, N.G., Øien, I.J. 2023. Life-cycle analysis of an endangered migratory goose to assess the impact of conservation actions on population recovery. Biological Conservation 284: 110028.

Gagnon, C. A., Hamel, S., Russell, D.E, Andre, J., Buckle, A., Haogak, D., Pascal, J., Schafer, E., Powell, T., Svoboda, M.Y., Berteaux, D. 2023. Climate, caribou and human needs linked by analysis of Indigenous and scientific knowledge. Nature Sustainability 6: 769-779.

Fay, R., Hamel, S., van de Pol, M., Gaillard, J.-M., Yoccoz, N., Acker, P., Authier, M., Larue, B., Le Coeur, C., MacDonald, K., Nicol-Harper, A., Barbraud, C., Bonenfant, C., van Vuren, D., Cam, E., DeLord, K., Gamelon, M., Moiron, M., Pelletier, F., Rotella, J., Teplitsky, C., Visser, M., Wells, C., Wheelwright, N., Jenouvrier, S., & Sæther, B.-E. 2022. Temporal correlations among demographic parameters are ubiquitous but highly variable across species. Ecology Letters 25: 1640-1654.

Carrier, B., Hamel, S., Garel, M., Côté, S.D. 2022. Coping with seasonality: dynamics of adult body mass and survival in an alpine hibernator. Oikos 2022: e09043.

Fay, R., Authier, M., Hamel, S., Jenouvrier, S., van de Pol, M., Cam, E., Gaillard, J.-M., Yoccoz, N.G., Acker, P., Allen A., Aubry, L.M., Bonenfant, C., Caswell, H., Coste, C.F.D., Larue, B., Le Cœur, C., Gamelon, M., MacDonald, K.R., Moiron, M., Nicol-Harper, A., Pelletier, F., Rotella, J., Teplitsky, C., Touzot, L., Wells, C., Sæther, B.-E. 2022. Quantifying fixed individual heterogeneity in demographic parameters: performance of correlated random effects for Bernoulli variables. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 13: 91-104.

Hamel, S., Ims, R.A., Yoccoz, N.G. 2022. Challenges and opportunities when implementing strategic foresight: lessons learned when engaging stakeholders in climate-ecological research. Climate Research 86: 29-35.

Herfindal, I., Lee, A. M., Hamel, S., Solberg, E. J., Sæther, B.-E. 2022. Demographic consequences of harvesting: a case study from a small and isolated moose population. Climate Research 86: 53-64.

Mellard, J.P., Henden, J.-A., Pedersen, Å.Ø., Marolla, F., Hamel, S., Yoccoz, N.G., Ims, R.A. 2022. Food web approach to manage arctic wildlife populations in an era of rapid environmental change. Climate Research 86: 163-178.

Mellard, J.P., Hamel, S., Henden, J.-A., Ims,R.A., Marolla, F., Stien, A., Tveraa, T., Yoccoz. N.G. 2021. Effect of scavenging on predation in a food web. Ecology and Evolution 11: 6742-6765.

Larue, B., Pelletier, F. , Côté, S., Hamel, S., Festa-Bianchet, M. 2021. Growth and reproduction trade-offs can estimate previous reproductive history in alpine ungulates. Journal of Applied Ecology 58: 869-878.

de Villemereuil, P., Charmantier, A., Arlt, D., Bize, P., Brekke, P., Brouwer, L., Cockburn, A., Côté, S.D., Dobson, F.S., Evans, S.R., Festa-Bianchet, M., Gamelon, M., Hamel, S., Hegelbach, J., Jerstad, K., Kempenaers, B., Kruuk, L.E.B., Kumpula, J., Kvalnes, T., McAdam, A.G., McFarlane, S.E., Morrissey, M.B., Pärt, T., Pemberton, J.M., Qvarnström, A., Røstad, O.-W., Schroeder, J., Senar, J.C., Sheldon, B.C., van de Pol, M., Visser, M.E., Wheelwright, N.T., Tufto, J., Chevin, L.-M. 2020. Fluctuating optimum and temporally variable selection in the wild. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 170: 31969-31978.

Gagnon, C.A., Hamel, S., Russell, D.E., Powell, T., Andre, J., Svoboda, M.Y., Berteaux, D. 2020. Merging indigenous and scientific knowledge links climate with the growth of a large migratory caribou population. Journal of Applied Ecology 57: 1644-1655.

Dulude-de Broin, F., Hamel, S., Mastromonaco, G., Côté, S.D. 2020. Predation risk and mountain goat reproduction: evidence for stress-induced breeding suppression in a wild ungulate. Functional Ecology 34: 1003-1014. (read summary)

Our Synthesis Paper on costs of reproduction

Festa-Bianchet, M., Côté, S.D., Hamel, S., Pelletier, F. 2019. Long-term studies of bighorn sheep and mountain goats reveal fitness costs of reproduction. Journal of Animal Ecology 88: 1118-1133. (read media article)

See also the blog post and the media article.

Déry, F., Hamel, S., Côté, S.D. 2019. Getting ready for the winter: timing and determinants of molt in an alpine ungulate. Ecology and Evolution 9: 2920-2932.

Marolla, F., Aarvak, T., Øien, I. J., Mellard, J. P., Henden, J.-A., Hamel, S., Stien, A., Tveraa, T., Yoccoz, N. G., Ims, R. A. 2019. Assessing the effect of predator control on an endangered goose population subjected to predator-mediated food web dynamics. Journal of Applied Ecology 56: 1245-1255.

Douhard, M., Festa-Bianchet, M., Hamel, S., Nussey, D.H., Côté, S.D., Pemberton, J.M., Pelletier, F. 2019. Maternal longevity and offspring sex in wild ungulates. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 286: 20181968. (read media article - in French)

Davis, L.C., Rich, L.N., Farris, Z.J., Kelly, M.J., Di Bitetti, M.S., Di Blanco, Y., Albanesi, S., Farhadinia, M.S., Gholikhani, N., Hamel, S., Harmsen, B.J., Wultsch, C., Kane, M.D., Martins, Q., Murphy, A.J., Steenweg, R., Sunarto, S., Taktehrani, A., Thapa, K., Tucker, J.M., Whittington, J., Widodo, F.A., Yoccoz, N.G., Miller, D.A.W. 2018. Ecological traits correlates with the spatial co-occurrence of sympatric mammalian carnivores worldwide. Ecology Letters 21: 1401-1412.

Halttunen, E. Gjelland, K.-Ø., Hamel, S., Serra-Llinares, R.S., Nilsen, R., Arechavala, P., Skardhamar, J., Johnsen, I. A., Asplin, L., Karlsen, Ø., Bjørn, P.-A., Finstad, B. 2018. Sea trout adapt their migratory behaviour in response to high salmon lice concentrations. Journal of Fish Diseases 41: 953-967.

Our Special Issue on individual heterogeneity

Hamel, S., Gaillard, J.-M., and Yoccoz, N.G. 2018. Individual heterogeneity: the causes and consequences of a fundamental biological process. Oikos (Special Issue) 127: 643-647.

Hamel, S., Gaillard, J.-M., Douhard, M., Festa-Bianchet, M., Pelletier, F., and Yoccoz, N.G. 2018. Quantifying individual heterogeneity and its influence on life-history trajectories: different methods for different questions and contexts. Oikos (Special Issue) 127: 687-704.

Hamel, S., Gaillard, J.-M., Yoccoz, N.G., Bassar, R.D., Bouwhuis, S., Caswell, H., Douhard, M., Gangloff, E.J., Gimenez, O., Lee, P.C., Smallegange, I.M., Steiner, U.K., Vedder, O., and Vindenes, Y. 2018. Moving forward on individual heterogeneity. Oikos (Special Issue) 127: 750-756.

See also Oikos Blog post on the Special Issue.

Rich, L.N., Davis, C., Farris, Z.J., Miller, D.A.W., Tucker, J.M., Hamel, S., Farhadinia, M.S., Steenweg, R., Di Bitetti, M.S., Thapa, K., Kane, M.D., Sunarto, S., Robinson, N.P., Paviolo, A., Cruz, P., Martins, Q., Gholikhani, N., Taktehrani, A., Whittington, J., Widodo, F.A., Yoccoz, N.G., Wultsch, C., Harmsen, B.J., Kelly, M.J. 2017. Assessing global patterns in mammalian carnivore occupancy and richness by integrating local camera trap surveys. Global Ecology and Biogeography 26: 918-929.

Soininen, E. M., Hamel, S., Yoccoz, N.G. 2017. Importance of study design and robust analyses in ecology - what is the evidence for silica-vole interactions? Functional Ecology 31: 1847-1852.

Rughetti, M., Festa-Bianchet, M., Côté, S.D., Hamel, S. 2017. Ecological and evolutionary effects of selective harvest of non-lactating female ungulates. Journal of Applied Ecology 54: 1571-1580.

Panagakis, A., Hamel, S., Côté, S.D. 2017. Influence of early reproductive success on longevity and late reproductive success in an alpine ungulate. American Naturalist 189: 667-683.

Ims, R.A., Killengreen, S.T., Ehrich, D., Flagstad, Ø., Hamel, S., Henden, J.-A., Jensvoll, I., Yoccoz, N.G. 2017. Ecosystem drivers of an arctic fox population at the western fringe of the Eurasian Arctic. Polar Research 36: 8.

Hamel, S., Yoccoz, N.G. and Gaillard, J.-M. 2017. Assessing variation in life-history tactics within a population using mixture regression models: a practical guide for evolutionary ecologists. Biological Reviews 92: 754-775.

Hamel, S., Gaillard, J.-M., Yoccoz, N.G., Albon, S., Côté, S.D., Craine, J.M., Festa-Bianchet, M., Garel, M., Lee, P., Moss, C., Nussey, D.H., Pelletier, F., Stien, A., and Tveraa, T. 2016. Cohort variation in individual body mass dissipates with age in large herbivores. Ecological Monographs 84: 517-543.

Descamps, S., Gaillard, J.-M., Hamel, S., and Yoccoz, N.G. 2016. When relative allocation depends on total resource acquisition: implication for the analysis of trade-offs. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 29: 1860-1866.

Hamel, S., Festa-Bianchet, M. and Côté, S.D. 2016. Offspring sex in mountain goat varies with adult sex ratio but only for mothers in good condition. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 70: 123-132.

Théorêt-Gosselin, R., Hamel, S., Côté, S.D. 2015. The role of maternal behavior and offspring development in the survival of mountain goat kids. Oecologia 178: 175-186.

Hamel, S., Yoccoz, N.G. and Gaillard, J.-M. 2014. A standardized approach to estimate life history trade-offs in evolutionary ecology. Oikos 123: 151-160.

Côté, S.D., Hamel, S., St-Louis, A. and Mainguy, J. 2013. Do mountain goats habituate to helicopter disturbance? Journal of Wildlife Management 77: 1244.1248.

Halttunen, E., Jensen, J.L.A., Næsje, T.F., Davidsen, J.G., Thorstad, E.B., Chittenden, C.M., Hamel, S., Primicerio, R. and Rikardsen, A.H. 2013. State-dependent migratory timing of post-spawned Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 70: 1063-1071.

Hamel, S., Killengreen, S.T., Henden, J.-A., Yoccoz, N.G., and Ims, R.A. 2013. Disentangling the importance of interspecific competition, food availability, and habitat in species occupancy: recolonization of the endangered Fennoscandian arctic fox. Biological Conservation 160: 114-120. (This article was highlighted on the Climate Vulture blog.)

St-Louis, A., Hamel, S., Mainguy, J. and Côté, S.D. 2013. Factors influencing the reaction of mountain goats towards all-terrain vehicles. Journal of Wildlife Management 77: 599-605.

Hamel, S., Killengreen, S.T., Henden, J.-A., Eide, N.E., Roed-Eriksen, L., Ims, R.A., and Yoccoz, N.G. 2013. Towards good practice guidance in using camera traps in ecology: influence of sampling design on validity of ecological inferences. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 4: 105-113.

Hamel, S., Craine, J.M. and Towne, E.G. 2012. Maternal allocation in bison: co-occurrence of senescence, cost of reproduction, and individual quality. Ecological Applications 22: 1628-1639.

Hamel, S., Yoccoz, N.G. and Gaillard, J.-M. 2012. Statistical evaluation of parameters estimating autocorrelation and individual heterogeneity in longitudinal studies. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 3: 731-742.

Hamel, S., Côté, S.D. and Festa-Bianchet, M. 2011. Tradeoff between offspring mass and subsequent reproduction in a highly iteroparous mammal. Oikos 120: 690-695.

Hamel, S., Côté, S.D. and Festa-Bianchet, M. 2010. Maternal characteristics and environment affect the costs of reproduction in female mountain goats. Ecology 91: 2034-2043.

Hamel, S., Gaillard, J.-M., Yoccoz, N.G., Loison, A., Bonenfant, C. and Descamps, S. 2010. Fitness costs of reproduction depend on life speed: empirical evidence from mammalian populations. Ecology Letters 13: 915-935.

Hamel, S., Garel, M., Festa-Bianchet, M., Gaillard, J.-M. and Côté, S.D. 2009. Spring Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) predicts annual variation in timing of peak faecal crude protein in mountain ungulates. Journal of Applied Ecology 46: 582-589.

Hamel, S., Gaillard, J.-M., Festa-Bianchet, M. and Côté, S.D. 2009. Individual quality, early-life conditions, and reproductive success in contrasted populations of large herbivores. Ecology 90: 1981-1995.

Hamel, S., and Côté, S.D. 2009. Foraging decisions in a capital breeder: trade-offs between mass gain and lactation. Oecologia 161: 421-432.

Hamel, S., S. D. Côté, J.-M. Gaillard and M. Festa-Bianchet. 2009. Individual variation in reproductive costs of reproduction: high-quality females always do better. Journal of Animal Ecology 78: 143-151.

Hamel, S. and S. D. Côté. 2009. Maternal defensive behaviour and golden eagle predation in mountain goats. Western North American Naturalist 69: 115-118.

Hamel, S. and S. D. Côté. 2008. Trade-offs in activity budget in an alpine ungulate: contrasting lactating and non-lactating females. Animal Behaviour 75: 217-227.

Hamel, S. and S. D. Côté. 2007. Habitat use patterns in relation to escape terrain: are alpine ungulate females trading-off better foraging sites for safety? Canadian Journal of Zoology 85: 933-943.

Hamel, S., S. D. Côté, K. G. Smith and M. Festa-Bianchet. 2006. Population dynamics and harvest potential of mountain goat herds in Alberta. Journal of Wildlife Management 70: 1044-1053.