Biography

My research is designed to determine: 1) How much food do individual right whales require? 2) How much food is required to sustain the population? 3) How do food requirements vary by season and habitat? 4) How do the predicted food requirements compare to food availability?

I am using a simple bioenergetics model to predict the energy requirements of different demographic groups of right whales and the population. Since right whales are migratory species with a pronounced period of fasting, the model should account for seasonal differences in energy needs. Seasonal energy demands are being conservatively estimated by creating an annual activity budget for different demographic groups. Given the complexity of biological systems and the requirement that models simplify these processes through the application of theory, I will use empirical field data to test my model predictions. With data on right whale behaviour, movement and prey, I will create a daily activity budget that estimates the amount of energy individuals expend and consume. I will then compare the energy inputs and outputs with the predicted energy requirements to validate my model.