Ian Stirling

Research Scientist Emeritus - Arctic Marine Ecosystems

Wildlife Research Division (Edmonton, AB)

CURRENT S&T / RESEARCH - Contributing to Environment Canada’s mandate to ensure wildlife is conserved and protected

• Population ecology of polar bears and seals in arctic marine ecosystems
• Effects of climate warming on polar bears and seals
• Conservation and management of polar bears, seals, and arctic marine ecosystems

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES / INTERESTS

Member, IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group

Scientific Advisor, Polar Bears International

KEY PUBLICATIONS

Stirling, I. 2011. Polar Bears: The Natural History of a Threatened Species. Fitzhenry and Whiteside. Markham, ON. 334 pp.

Stirling, I., and Derocher, A.E. 2012. Effects of Climate Warming on Polar Bears: A Review of the Evidence. (invited review) Global Climate Biology 18:2694-2706.

Stirling, I., McDonald, T.L., Richardson, E.S., Regehr, E.V., and Amstrup, S.C. 2011. Polar bear population status in the Northern Beaufort Sea, Canada, 1971–2006. Ecological Applications 21:859–876.

Stirling, I., and Ross, J.E. 2011. Observations of cannibalism by polar bears (Ursus maritimus) on summer and autumn sea ice at Svalbard, Norway. Arctic 64:478-482.

Hobson, K.A., Stirling, I., and Andriashek, D.S. Isotopic homogeneity of breath CO2  from fasting and berry-eating polar bears: Implications for tracing reliance on  terrestrial foods in a changing Arctic. Canadian Journal of Zoology 87:50-55.

Davis, C.S., Stirling, I., Strobeck, C., and Coltman, D. 2008. Population structure of ice-breeding seals. Molecular Ecology 17:3078–3094.

Thiemann, G.W., Iverson, S.J., and Stirling, I. Polar bear diets and arctic marine food  webs: insights from fatty acid analysis. Ecological Monographs, 78:591–613.

Laidre, K.L., Stirling, I., Lowry, L.F., Wiig, Ø., Heide-Jørgensen, M-P., and Ferguson, S.H. 2008. Quantifying the sensitivity of arctic marine mammals to climate-induced habitat change. Ecological Applications 18 Supplement: S97–S125.

Regehr, E.V., Lunn, N.J., Amstrup, S.C., Stirling, I.  Effects of earlier sea ice breakup on survival and population size of polar bears in western Hudson Bay.  Journal of   Wildlife Management 71:2673-2683.

Stirling, I., and C.L. Parkinson. 2006. Possible Effects of Climate Warming on Selected Populations of Polar Bears (Ursus maritimus) in the Canadian Arctic. Arctic 59(3): 261-275.

Stirling, I. 2002. Polar Bears and Seals in the Eastern Beaufort Sea and Amundsen Gulf: A Synthesis of Population Trends and Ecological Relationships over Three Decades. Arctic 55, Supplement 1: 59-76.

Stirling, I. and J.A. Thomas. 2001. Relationships between underwater vocalizations and mating systems in phocid seals. Aquatic Mammals 29: 247-246.

Stirling, I., N.J. Lunn and J. Iacozza. 1999. Long-term trends in the population ecology of polar bears in western Hudson Bay in relation to climatic change.  Arctic 52: 294-306.

Stirling, I. and Øritsland, N.A. 1995. Relationships between estimates of ringed seal and polar bear populations in the Canadian Arctic. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 52:2594-2612.