Gregory J. Robertson

Image Gregory Robertson
Research Scientist

Developing and applying methods to rigorously assess the status of prioirty of wildlife and how mortality impacts their populations.

Current research and/or projects

Contributing to Environment Canada’s mandate to ensure wildlife is conserved and protected

Research and/or project statements

  • Understanding the impact of human activity on coastal and marine wildlife populations and ecosystems
  • Using modern and new analytical approaches to assess population status of priority fish and wildlife
  • Improving the uptake of scientific evidence to decision-making processes
  • Developing and adopting methods to reconstruct the demographic history of wildlife populations to predict responses to future climate change

Professional activities / interests

Past President (2014-2016), Society of Canadian Ornithologists/Société des Ornithoplogistes du Canada

Responsible for numerous Environmental Studies Research Fund projects related to marine birds

Education and awards

Fellow: American Ornithologists' Society

Ph.D. Centre for Wildlife Ecology, Simon Fraser University, 1997

International experience and/or work

Extensive research network with colleagues throughout the North Atlantic basin

Key publications

Caliendo,V., N. S. Lewis, A. Pohlmann, S. R. Baillie, A. C. Banyard, M. Beer, I. H. Brown, R. A. M. Fouchier, R. D. E. Hansen, T. K. Lameris, A. S. Lang, S. Laurendeau, O. Lung, G. Robertson, H. van der Jeugd, T. N. Alkie, K. Thorup, M. L. van Toor, J. Waldenström, C. Yason, T. Kuiken and Y. Berhane. 2022. Transatlantic spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 by wild birds from Europe to North America in 2021. Scientific Reports 12: 11729. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-13447-z

 

Duda, M. P., F. Cyr, G. J. Robertson, N. Michelutti, C. Meyer-Jacob, A. Hedd, W. A. Montevecchi, L. E. Kimpe, J. M. Blais and J. P. Smol. 2022. Climate oscillations drive millennial-scale changes in seabird colony size. Global Change Biology 28: 4292-4307.  https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16171

 

Fraser, G. S., G. J. Robertson, I. J. Stenhouse and J. I. Ellis. 2022. Estimating the numbers of aquatic birds affected by oil spills: Pre-planning, response, and post incident considerations. Environmental Reviews 30: 323-341. https://doi.org/10.1139/er-2021-0121

 

Lamarre, J., S. K. Cheema, G. J. Robertson and D. R. Wilson. 2022. Foraging on anthropogenic food predicts problem-solving skills in a seabird. Science of the Total Environment 850: 157732. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157732

 

Regular, P. M., A. D. Buren, K. S. Dwyer, N. G. Cadigan, R. S. Gregory, M. Koen-Alonso, R. M. Rideout, G. J. Robertson, M. D. Robertson, G. B. Stenson, L. J. Wheeland and F. Zhang. 2022. Indexing starvation mortality to assess its role in the population regulation of Northern cod. Fisheries Research 247: 106180. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2021.106180

 

Duda, M. P., K. E. Hargan, N. Michelutti, J. Blais, C. Grooms, H. G. Gilchrist, M. L. Mallory, G. J. Robertson and J. P. Smol. 2021. Reconstructing long-term changes in avian populations using lake sediments: Opening a window onto the past. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 9: 603. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.698175

 

Wilhelm, S. I., S. Dooley, E. Corbett, M. Fitzsimmons, P. C. Ryan and G. J. Robertson. 2021. Effects of land-based light pollution on two species of burrow-nesting seabirds in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Avian Conservation and Ecology 16:12. https://doi.org/10.5751/ACE-01809-160112

 

Ramey, A. M, A. B. Reeves, J. Z. Drexler, J. T. Ackerman, S. De La Cruz, A. Lang, C. Leyson, P. Link, D. J. Prosser, G. J.  Robertson, J. Wight, S. Youk, E. Spackman, M. Pantin-Jackwood, R. L. Poulson and D. E. Stallknecht. 2020. Influenza A viruses remain infectious for more than seven months in northern wetlands of North America. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 20201680. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.168