Dr. Andrew Trites

Dr Trites is an Associate Professor and Director of the Marine Mammal Research Unit in the Fisheries Centre. He is also the Research Director for the North Pacific Universities Marine Mammal Research Consortium, which is based at the Fisheries Centre.

His main area of research is the interaction between marine mammals and commercial fisheries. This includes the population biology and bioenergetics and seals, sea lions and whales, and involves a combination of field, captive and computer studies (data analysis and simulation modeling).

The nature of his research makes it hard for him to predict where it will lead: "I don't know what questions will raise their heads tomorrow, that's partly what makes this so interesting". The nutrition of animals and how much fish they take leads, inevitably, to conflict between the animals and fisheries: "We are applying our results in an attempt to find ways of resolving that conflict".

Captive studies related to nutrition and energetics of Steller sea lions and harbour seals are being carried out at the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science CentreGraduate students are also involved in studying behavioral and foraging ecology of pinnipeds in the wild, and in constructing ecosystem and bio-energetic models in the lab.

Dr Trites has convened workshops, including: interactions between vessels and killer whales, and the effects of human disturbance on Steller sea lions.

Associate member: Zoology

Selected Recent Publications

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Milette, L.L. and A.W. Trites. 2003. Maternal attendance patterns of lactating Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) from a stable and a declining population in Alaska. Canadian Journal of Zoology 81:340-348.

Trites, A.W. 2003. Food webs in the ocean: who eats whom, and how much? Pages 125-143 In M. Sinclair and G. Valdimarsson, eds. Responsible Fisheries in the Marine Ecosystem. FAO, Rome and CABI Publishing, Wallingford.

Trites, A.W. and C.P. Donnelly. 2003. The decline of Steller sea lions in Alaska: a review of the nutritional stress hypothesis. Mammal Review 33: 3-28.

Winship, A.J, and A.W. Trites. 2003. Prey consumption of Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) off Alaska: how much prey do they require? Fishery Bulletin 101:147-167.

Trites, A.W. 2002. Predator-prey relationships. Pages 994-997. In Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals, edited by W.F. Perrin, B. Wursig, and H.G.M. Thewissen. Academic Press, Sand Diego.

Gregr E., L. Nichol, J. Ford, G. Ellis, and A.W. Trites. 2000. Migration and population structure of northeast Pacific whales off the coast of British Columbia: analysis of commercial whaling records from 1908-1967. Marine Mammal Science 16:699-727.

Rosen, D.A.S. and A.W. Trites. 2000. Pollock and the decline of Steller sea lions: testing the junk-food hypothesis. Canadian Journal of Zoology 78:1243-1258.

Trites, A.W., P. Livingston, M.C. Vasconcellos, S. Mackinson, A.M. Springer, and D. Pauly. 1999. Ecosystem change and the decline of marine mammals in the Eastern Bering Sea: testing the ecosystem shift and commercial whaling hypotheses. Fisheries Centre Research Reports 1999, Vol. 7 (1). 106 pp

Burg, T., A.W. Trites, and M.J. Smith. 1999. Mitochondrial and microsatellite analyses of harbour seal population structure in the Northeast Pacific Ocean. Canadian Journal of Zoology 77: 930-943.

Trites, A.W. and D. Pauly. 1998. Estimating mean body masses of marine mammals from maximum body lengths. Canadian Journal of Zoology 76: 886-896.

Trites, A.W., D.Pauly, and V. Christensen. 1997. Competition between fisheries and marine mammals for prey and primary production in the Pacific Ocean. Journal of Northwest Atlantic Fishery Science 22: 173-187.

Trites, A.W. and M.A. Bigg 1996. Physical growth of northern fur seals: seasonal fluctuations and migratory influences. Journal of Zoology (London). 238: 459 482.

Trites, A.W., and P.A. Larkin. 1996. Changes in the abundance of Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) in Alaska from 1956 to 1992: how many were there? Aquatic Mammals 22:153-166.