Education

• Ph.D. Behavioral Ecology, Durham University, UK, 2015
• MEM. Masters of Coastal Environmental Management, Duke University, 2011
• B.S., Zoology, Northern Michigan University, 2009

Biography

I’m interested in the movement and behavioral ecology of marine predators, and the food-web dynamics in the North Pacific and North Atlantic coastal oceans. Projects in my lab emphasize and explore ecosystem connections such as predator-prey dynamics, contaminant flow through food webs, including subsistence foods, and impacts of changing environments on animal movements and behaviors. This holistic approach is essential for ecosystem-based fisheries management, management of protected species, and coastal community resilience. 

Answering these questions and examining the interfaces between various ecosystem components requires interdisciplinary approaches. My lab’s scientific tool-set includes both field and laboratory techniques including: animal biotelemetry (including novel archival data loggers, vital rate telemetry, and acoustic tags), stable isotope and contaminant analysis, and ecological/spatial modelling of behaviors and risk relative to static and dynamic environmental variables. I strongly value partnerships with non-profit organizations, industry, and local and Indigenous communities, and am committed to building a research, mentoring and teaching environment which promotes and sustains diversity, equality, and inclusion in STEM fields. 

Research Interests

Publications

• Bishop, A.M., Barst, B.D., Rea, L.D. (2024). Foraging niche, sex-specific resource partitioning, and mercury concentrations of male Steller sea lions in Alaska. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 736: 147–165. https://doi.org/10.3354/ meps14583
• Gastaldi, A., Bishop, A., & Rea, L. D. (2023). How small can you go? Using a direct mercury analyzer to measure mercury in vibrissae of Steller sea lions. Marine Mammal Science, 39(3), 1005-1010.
• Bishop, AM., Brown, CL., Christie, KS., Kettle, AB., Larsen, GD., Renner, HM., & Younkins, L. (2022). Surveying cliff-nesting seabirds with unoccupied aircraft systems in the Gulf of Alaska. Polar Biology, 1-12.
• Smith, T. R., Bishop, A., Guthridge, J., Hocking, R., Horning, M., & Lowe, C. G. (2022). Capture, husbandry, and oxygen consumption rate of juvenile Pacific sleeper sharks (Somniosus pacificus). Environmental Biology of Fishes, 1-16.
• Twiss, S., Bishop, A., Culloch, R. (2022). The Gray Seal: 80 Years of Insight into Intrinsic and Extrinsic Drivers of Phocid Behavior. In: Costa, D.P., McHuron, E.A. (eds) Ethology and Behavioral Ecology of Phocids . Ethology and Behavioral Ecology of Marine Mammals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-88923-4_9
• Twiss SD, Shuert CR, Brannan N, Moss S, Bishop AM, & Pomeroy P. (2021). Validation and assessment of an external telemetry system for recording heart rate and resting heart rate variability in free-ranging large wild mammals. PLoS ONE.
• Bishop AM, Brown CL, Sattler R and Horning M. (2020). An Integrative Method for Characterizing Marine Habitat Features Associated With Predation: A Case Study on Juvenile Steller Sea Lions (Eumetopias jubatus). Frontiers in Marine Science. 7:576716. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2020.576716 
• Twiss SD, Shuert CR, Brannan N, Bishop AM, Pomeroy P. (2020). Reactive stress-coping styles show more variable reproductive expenditure and fitness outcomes. Scientific Reports, 10, 9550. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-66597-3.
• Sattler R, Bishop A, Polasek L. (2020) Cortisol levels for Steller sea lions in human care. Aq. Mamm. 
• Bishop A, Dubel A, Sattler R, Brown C, Horning M. (2019). Wanted Dead or Alive: Characterizing likelihood of juvenile Steller sea lion mortality from diving and space use patterns. Endangered Species Research. 40: 357-367
• Horning M, Andrews R, Bishop A. et al. (2019).  Best practice recommendations for the use of external telemetry devices on pinnipeds. Animal Biotelemetry. 7:20
• Steingass S, Horning M, Bishop A. (2019). Space use of Pacific harbor seals (Phoca vitulina richardii) from two haulout locations along the Oregon Coast, PLoS ONE 14: e0219484. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0219484 
• Brown C, Horning M, Bishop A. (2019). Improving Emergence Location Estimates for Argos Pop-up Transmitters. Animal Biotelemetry. 7:4 
• Bishop A, Rehberg M, Torres L, Brown C and Horning, M. (2018). Investigating juvenile Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus) utilization distributions in the Gulf of Alaska, Movement Ecology. 6:6
• Sattler R, Bishop A, Woodie K, Polasek L. (2018). Monitoring female sexual receptivity: testing the efficacy of identifying estrus by trans-abdominal ultrasounds, fecal estrone-3- glucuronide (E1G), and vaginal cytology in Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus). Theriogenology. 120: 25-32
• Bishop A, Stewart J, Pomeroy P, Twiss SD. (2017). Intra-seasonal temporal variation of reproductive effort for male grey seals. Animal Behaviour, 134, 167-175
• Brownlow A, Onoufriou J, Bishop A, Davison N, Thompson D. (2016). Corkscrew Seals: Grey Seal (Halichoerus grypus) Infanticide and Cannibalism May Indicate the Cause of Spiral Lacerations in Seals. PLoS ONE, 11(6): e0156464. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0156464
• Bishop A, Onoufriou J, Moss S, Pomeroy P, and Twiss SD. (2016). Cannibalism by a Male Grey Seal (Halichoerus grypus) in the North Sea. Aquatic Mammals, 42: 137-143.
• Bishop A, Denton P, Pomeroy P, and Twiss SD. (2015). Good vibrations by the beach boys: Magnitude of substrate vibrations is a reliable indicator of male grey seal size. Animal Behaviour, 100:74-82
• Bishop A, Pomeroy P, and Twiss SD. (2015). Variability in individual rates of aggression in wild grey seals: Fine-scale analysis reveals importance of social and spatial stability. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 69: 1663-1675.
• Bishop A, Pomeroy P, and Twiss SD. (2015). Breeding male grey seals exhibit similar activity budgets across varying exposures to human activity. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 527:247-259.
• Bishop A, Lidstone-Scott R, Pomeroy P, and Twiss SD. (2014). Body slap: an innovative aggressive display of breeding male grey seals (Halichoerus grypus). Marine Mammal Science, 30: 579-593.
• Hoover-Miller A, Bishop A, Prewitt J, Conlon S, Jezierski C, and Armato P. (2013) Efficacy of voluntary mitigation in reducing harbor seal disturbance. Journal of Wildlife Management, 77: 689-700.