A Trent scientist’s work that helps predict the conservation status of seals, sea lions and walruses has been published in one of the world’s leading publications for ecology and evolution research.

Dr. Aaron Shafer, an assistant professor in Environmental & Life Sciences and Forensic Science, who worked in collaboration with Uppsala University in Sweden and LMU Munich in Germany, has had his research published in Nature Ecology & Evolution.

The research is supported through a $140,000 Banting Fellowship through the National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

The research focuses on 17 species of pinnipeds – the group containing seals, sea lions and walruses – and compares the long-term genetic diversity of each species to current population estimates, helping to identify at-risk species.

“If a species has not been assessed – maybe it’s rare or just discovered – this metric will be useful for determining if the species is in trouble,” Professor Shafer says.

Learn more about Trent’s Environmental Life Sciences interdisciplinary graduate program, offering both masters and doctoral degrees, as well as the Forensic Science program.