|
I am working on my PhD in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Manitoba with Steven Ferguson (Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Winnipeg). My research focuses on determining seasonal diet and habitat use of three eastern Canadian Arctic whale species (killer whales, Orcinus orca, beluga whales, Delphinapterus leucas, and bowhead whales, Balaena mysticetus) using satellite telemetry and microchemistry (stable nitrogen and carbon isotope ratios and trace elements) of teeth and baleen. Focal species provide interesting comparisons in terms of trophic level and seasonal prey abundance (bowhead feed on zooplankton, beluga feed on fish/large invertebrates, and killer whales feed on fish/marine mammals), suitable habitat (bowhead and beluga tolerate sea ice, whereas killer whales do not), and life history and social structure (bowhead and beluga segregate spatially by sex). Objectives include: 1) defining dietary patterns across the annual range of each species (i.e., when individuals acquire greatest food intake); 2) identifying links between dietary/migration patterns with environmental variation (i.e., seasonality); 3) assessing feeding or migration patterns with life history stage (e.g., subadult vs. adult) or between segments of same populations with different habitat use (e.g., females vs. males).
|
