Student
Mandy Wong
Name: Mandy Wong
Email: m.wong@fisheries.ubc.ca
Program: Zoology, MSc
Thesis: Does ocean temperature affect the diet of Hawaiian monk seals?
Supervisor: Andrew Trites
Degree Held: BSc, Animal Biology (University of British Columbia, 2002)
Biography
My research focuses on the breeding atoll of French Frigate Shoals, the most southeastern breeding atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, which houses the largest breeding population of Hawaiian monk seals.
I am determining the types and number of prey being eaten by Hawaiian monk seals over a period from 1995 to 2007.
I will also be looking at whether Hawaiian monk seals consume different types or quantities of prey between El Niño (cool) and La Niña (warm) years.
For more information, please see my profile on the Marine Mammal Research Unit website.
Selected Publications
Tollit, D.J., M.A. Wong, and A.W. Trites. In preparation. Choice of dietary indices, correction factors, and sampling strategies affect estimates of diet composition of Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus).
Sigler, M.F., D.J. Tollit, J.J. Vollenweider, J.F. Thedinga, D.J. Csepp, J.N. Womble, M.A. Wong, M.J. Rehberg and A.W. Trites. 2009. Steller sea lion foraging response to seasonal changes in prey availability. Marine Ecology Progress Series 388:243-261. 
Tollit, D.J., M. Wong, A.J. Winship, D.A.S. Rosen, and A.W. Trites. 2003. Quantifying errors associated with using prey skeletal structures from fecal samples to determine the diet of the Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus). Marine Mammal Science 19(4): 724-744.
Presentations
Wong, M.A., C.L. Littnan, and A.W. Trites. Hooray for El Niño!? Do climate changes alter the diet of Hawaiian monk seals? 18th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals. October 12-16, 2009. Quebec City, QC, Canada.
Wong, M.A., C.L. Littnan, D.J. Tollit, and A.W. Trites. Do El Niño-Southern Oscillation events affect the diet of Hawaiian monk seals? 17th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, November 29 – December 3, 2007. Cape Town, South Africa.
