Shiway is an expert in taking a small fat sample from live, wild seabirds and using this fat sample to find out what the bird has been eating.
What is your job? I am a marine biologist.
Why do people study seabird diet? One of the reasons people study seabird diet is because it gives us information about what kind of fish and zooplankton are in the ocean.
What diet are you most interested in? I am most interested in the diets of northern fulmars.
How do you study these questions in the field? I use biochemical markers called fatty acids to study diets. Fatty acids are found in fat tissues of birds and other animals. I collect a small sample of fat from birds and analyze it in the lab for fatty acids.
What’s the most exciting or interesting experience you’ve had studying seabird diet? The best part of my work is going out into the field. I went out to St. George Island, Chowiet Island, and Chugulak Island to collect samples from fulmars.