Steve Ferguson

Steve Ferguson studies Arctic marine mammals, whales, and seals, and their relationship to the marine environment. How will they be impacted by global warming and loss of sea ice? He researches movements and feeding habits to create a dynamic food web that can model predictive changes to the marine ecosystem. Individual-based models explain how whales and seals have adapted to changing food and predation pressure over seasonal fluctuations in the environment. In addition, using species-level comparisons, Steve tests how changes in the distribution and abundance of temperate whales and seals interact with ice-adapted whales and seals and model predictions for a future of declining sea ice. Results outline a succession of punctuated ecosystem changes and trophic shifts into the future — knowledge that can be used to advise northerners on how to adapt to future change.

Affiliations:

University of Manitoba; Freshwater Institute, Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Areas of Expertise:

Marine mammal ecology

Home Page URL: http://www.umanitoba.ca/science/zoology/faculty/ferguson