Dr Yann Rime

BSc (University of Neuchâtel, 2017), MSc (University of Bern, 2019), PhD (University of Basel & Swiss Ornithological Institute, 2024)

My research interests cover diverse aspects of ecology, movement ecology and conservation. Fascinated by the world of birds and eager to help protect them since I was 10 years old, I did an MSc in Conservation Biology, focusing on agroecosystems. I continued with a PhD on the breeding ecology and migration strategies of Northern Wheatears nesting in the Alps. These small songbirds migrated every autumn to Africa, flying at over 5000 m above sea level across the Mediterranean and the Sahara. After a postdoc at the Swiss Ornithological Institute, I followed my dream of moving to Africa to study bird migration, shifting from alpine ecology to the movement ecology of intra-tropical migrants. 

At the University of Cape Town, I study intra-African migration as an overlooked phenomenon, both at a macro-ecological and an individual level. With my colleagues, we investigate and quantify movement patterns within Africa using citizen science data, and we study the movement strategies of Pennant-winged Nightjars, African Paradise-flycatchers and other species using multi-sensor loggers. This research is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation. 

Selected publications: 

Rime, Y., Lutgen, D., Péter, Á. et al. (2026). Migration routes of three closely related species lead to different non-breeding regions with contrasting environmental conditions. Movement Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-026-00643-z

Rime, Y., Korner, P., Helm, B., Amrhein, V., & Meier, C. M. (2026). Breeding habitat preferences and niche partitioning of insectivorous songbirds in Alpine grasslands. Ibis, 168(1), 329–344. https://doi.org/10.1111/ibi.13428

Rime, Y., Osinubi, S. T., Liechti, F., Helm, B., & Nussbaumer, R. (2025). Small intra-tropical long-distance migratory birds track rainy seasons across hemispheres. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 292:202426. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2024.2633

Jarrett, C., Helm, B., Rime, Y., Barshep, Y., Bitrus, K., Ishong, J. A., & Nwaogu, C. (2025). Temporal and environmental drivers of pre-migratory fuel loads in songbirds in West Africa. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 292(2061). https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2025.1988

Rime, Y., Korner, P., Helm, B., Müller, T., Amrhein, V., Liechti, F., & Meier, C. M. (2024). Drivers of nest site selection and breeding success in an Alpine ground-nesting songbird. Journal of Ornithology, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-024-02221-9

Jenni-Eiermann, S., Liechti, F., Briedis, M., Rime, Y., & Jenni, L. (2024). Energy supply during nocturnal endurance flight of migrant birds: effect of energy stores and flight behaviour. Movement Ecology, 12(1), 41. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-024-00479-5

Rime, Y., Nussbaumer, R., Briedis, M., Sander, M. M., Chamberlain, D., Amrhein, V., Helm, B., Liechti, F., & Meier, C. M. (2023). Multi-sensor geolocators unveil global and local movements in an Alpine-breeding long-distance migrant. Movement Ecology, 11(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-023-00381-6

Müller, T. M., Meier, C. M., Knaus, F., Korner, P., Helm, B., Amrhein, V., & Rime, Y. (2023). Finding food in a changing world: Small‐scale foraging habitat preferences of an insectivorous passerine in the Alps. Ecology and Evolution, 13(5), e10084. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10084

Meier, C. M., Rime, Y., Lisovski, S., Buchmann, M., & Liechti, F. (2022). Locally adapted migration strategies? Comparing routes and timing of northern wheatears from alpine and lowland European populations. Journal of Avian Biology, e02932. https://doi.org/10.1111/jav.02932

Rime, Y., Hauser, G., & Horch, P. (2021). Évolutions contrastées de deux populations de Tarier des prés Saxicola rubetra dans les Préalpes vaudoises. NOS OISEAUX, 2(544), 68.

Rime, Y., Luisier, C., Arlettaz, R., & Jacot, A. (2020). Landscape heterogeneity and management practices drive habitat preferences of wintering and breeding birds in intensively-managed fruit-tree plantations. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 295. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2020.106890