MARINE MAMMAL RESEARCH UNIT - UBC

2021 MMRU Students

2021 MMRU Students
Marine Mammal Research Unit

After more than a year of working remotely, our graduate students are starting to head back to campus. They have been busy studying grey whales, killer whales, sea otters, sea lions, and much, much more….

Julia Adelsheim (she/her) hails from Albuquerque, New Mexico and spent many years living in Oregon before coming to Vancouver. Her Master’s thesis is creating a bioenergetic model for sea otters to better understand the physiological and energetic changes from alternating diet preferences. Her interests include bird-watching, baking, and exploring tidepools! <See Details>

Selina Agbayani is a Biologist and GIS Specialist studying the foraging ecology and bioenergetics of Northeast Pacific grey whales (Eschrichtius robustus). When not working at a computer, Selina enjoys traveling, camping, swimming, kayaking, and traversing long distances on her own steam. <See Details>

Kate Colson is from a land-locked town in Connecticut, but she has been passionate about the ocean her whole life. Her Master’s project is looking into the energy needed by grey whales in the waters of the Pacific Northwest. Most of her spare time is spent hiking, reading, or doing yoga. <See Details>

Kathleen Gill  hails from Chugiak, Alaska. She is starting her MSc where she will be exploring pinniped navigation methods for long-distance migrations. In her spare time she likes to go on walks with her border collie and discover new recipes to cook. <See Details>

Josh McInnes

Josh McInnes is from Victoria, British Columbia. His MSc research is focused on the ecology and community structure of the west coast transient killer whale population. Josh enjoys traveling, surfing, and scuba diving. <See Details>

Ana Pozas is originally from Mexico City. She is a second year MSc student studying the role of diet quality on divergent California sea lion population numbers. When she is not reading papers, she is likely scuba diving or taking photos! <See Details>

Taryn Scarff completed her BSc at UBC in 2020 and is currently in the second year of her MSc. Taryn is researching transient killer whale abundance, distribution and prey consumption off the B.C coast. <See Details>

Rhea Storlund is a Vancouverite and true West Coaster. She is a PhD Candidate studying circulation, the aortic bulb, and cardiac electrophysiology in diving marine mammals. When she isn’t doing something ocean related, Rhea can be found searching for the best ice cream in Vancouver. <See Details>

Zac Warham has moved to Vancouver from Australia to pursue a Master’s degree. He will be analyzing a broad range of data sets to determine how pinnipeds navigate the open ocean. <See Details>