Marine mammal energetics and biomechanics

During my undergraduate program at the University of British Columbia, I worked as a technician at the Open Water Research Lab of the Marine Mammal Research Unit. Here, I helped Vancouver Aquarium staff care for Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) and UBC researchers carry out studies on the anatomy, diving physiology and behaviour of the Steller sea lions and other marine mammals.

A Steller sea lion patiently waits for a Vancouver Aquarium staff member to attach research equipment for a diving study.

During my studies at UBC, I also completed an honours thesis investigating how cetaceans coordinate their swimming with their breathing at the surface by analyzing video clips of Pacific white-sided dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens) and belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) as they swam through the water column and completed breathing events at the surface.

Example of measurements taken during my honours thesis to investigate how cetaceans coordinate their swimming with a breathing event at the surface.