McGill University
M.Sc. candidate
Supervisor: Melissa McKinney
Steve Ferguson, Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Start: 2023-09-01
End: 2025-08-31

Project

Estimates of the trophic ecology and contaminant exposure of range-shifting sperm whales in the North Atlantic
The main objective of this research project is to perform a Pan-North-Atlantic assessment of sperm whale diets in relation to contaminants and, to some degree, migration. First, I will use chemical tracers to make inferences on the feeding ecology of sperm whales from the Caribbean to the Arctic, noting differences between male and female individuals. Then I will quantify persistent organic pollutant concentrations in sperm whale tissues among regions of the North Atlantic and analyse satellite-linked transmissions to evaluate the migration patterns of tagged individuals.

Keywords

ecology, ecotoxicology, range shifts, Trophic ecology, Marine mammals, Sperm whales, North Atlantic