Tim is an Associate Professor at Saint Mary’s University (Halifax, Nova Scotia), in the department of Biology and the Forensic Science Program. As a biologist, he is primarily involved in using genetics to better understand the biology of populations, with an emphasis on marine mammals and conservation issues facing small and/or endangered populations. Tim is particularly interested in the ways in which genetic characteristics influence the fitness of individuals, and how these individual-based patterns scale-up to influence population-wide trends and extinction probabilities. He has been conducting genetic analyses on the North Atlantic right whale since 1999, when he began his graduate work at McMaster University (Hamilton, Ontario), a program that continues. Tim is also involved in genetic studies of several other whale species (including the St. Lawrence beluga, and eastern North Pacific gray whales). His other interests include forensic DNA typing, computer programming, and developing new statistical and analytical methods to study populations.
A few years ago, Tim and Zoe Lucas began collaborating on research projects relating to Sable Island, including studies of the Sable Island horses and the extinct walruses. Recently, Tim was accepted into the Marine Mammal Subcommittee of the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC), a group that decides whether (and to what degree) species are endangered in Canada.
Tim is particularly interested in education and public outreach, and, with Brenna McLeod/Frasier, leads Saint Mary’s Marine Mammal Summer Camp. This ten-day overnight camp offers youth ages 14 to 17 the opportunity to learn about the biology and evolution of marine mammals and to participate in the daily operations of scientific fieldwork and field-camp life. The program is a partnership of Saint Mary’s University and the Canadian Whale Institute. In August 2018, the program included an afternoon workshop at the Sable Island Institute.