Jamie Brusa

Jamie is currently a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Washington who mostly works on modeling different components of populations (e.g., survival, abundance, habitat usage). Her work largely centers around research questions related to conservation and theories of evolutionary biology. She received her B.S. from the University of Illinois, M.S. from Coastal Carolina University, and Ph.D. from Montana State University. Although most of her work has focused on seals (Weddell seals and harbor seals), Jamie also has research experience with bottlenose dolphins and Florida manatees. In addition to marine mammal research, Jamie also enjoys running, obstacle course racing, coaching (track & field), hiking, fumbling around on skis, and cooking.

If you are a big old male Weddell seal, the ladies will love you

Ever wondered what drives male Weddell seal behavior during the mating season? Seals have many needs, such as staying warm in winter and cool in summer, avoiding hungry predators, finding food, and finding mates. These needs can also change with the age of the seal. During the mating season, male Weddell seals try to attract […]

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3 steps to a better work-life balance

In first grade, I remember the look of shock when I told my friends that my mom was a teacher. They couldn’t imagine teachers ever leaving school. They thought teachers just lived in the classroom, and their sole purpose in life was to teach.  Similarly, I think people (both scientists and non-scientists) often believe that their

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Fighting the good fight: survival in male Weddell seals

Earth is now in its 6th mass extinction. As a result, we must race against time to conserve species. A useful conservation tool is modeling population size. In this post, we cover Weddell seals‘ survival in Antarctica and show that fighting decreases the long-term survival rate of adult males. Population parameters Changes in population size occur

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