Alexandra Gregg
Alexandra grew up underwater, spending her summers on the Sunshine Coast in Canada and her winters in Marlborough, New Zealand. Her passion for marine conservation grew as she volunteered for the Marine Mammal Rescue Centre through the Vancouver Aquarium, providing aid to marine mammals ranging from sea otters to sea lions. Her experiences led her to Simon Fraser University where she completed her undergraduate degree in 2024 concentrating in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation as a member of the Mooers research lab. Alexandra's favourite childhood toy was a beluga, so naturally she will be studying the St. Lawrence Estuary (SLE) beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) population for her graduate degree with the Brown lab.
She will employ biogeochemical tracers in SLE beluga teeth archived since 1991 to assess shifts in their feeding ecology, habitat use and migration patterns in response to changing prey availability and reducing sea-ice cover since the 1930’s. Using carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur stable isotopes, along with trace element analysis, this study will provide unique insights on habitat use and ecological resilience since the 1930’s to ensure the implementation of targeted conservation strategies for the endangered species."