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Ian Stirling (biologist)

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Ian Grote Stirling
OC FRSC
Born(1941-09-26)September 26, 1941
Nkana, Zambia[1]
DiedMay 14, 2024(2024-05-14) (aged 82)
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
CitizenshipCanadian
Alma mater
Known forPolar bears
SpouseStella
Children3[2]
Scientific career
Fields
Institutions
ThesisPopulation ecology of the Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddelli) in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica (1968)
Doctoral advisorBernard Stonehouse
Other academic advisorsJames F. Bendell
Notes
See obituary[2] in The Vancouver Sun

Ian Grote Stirling OC FRSC (September 26, 1941 – May 14, 2024)[2][3] was a research scientist with Environment and Climate Change Canada and an adjunct professor in the University of Alberta Department of Biological Sciences.[4][5] His research has focused mostly on Arctic and Antarctic zoology and ecology, and he was one of the world's top authorities on polar bears.[6]

Stirling authored five non-technical books and more than 250 articles published in peer-reviewed science journals.[4] Over the course of his career, and well into his retirement from Environment Canada in 2007, when he became a scientist emeritus, he wrote and spoke extensively about the danger posed to polar bears by global warming.[7]

Early life and education

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Ian Stirling was born to Andrew and Margaret Stirling on September 26, 1941 in Zambia, where his father worked as a mining engineer. They returned to Canada after the Second World War, settling in the mining town of Kimberley, British Columbia.[2] He completed his B.Sc. at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in 1963, and his M.Sc. in zoology at UBC in 1965, where he met his spouse, Stella.[2]

For his M.Sc. thesis, Stirling studied captive blue grouse under James F. Bendell.[8] In 1968, Stirling received his doctorate from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand having done his field work on the Weddell seal from Scott Base in Antarctica, followed by post-doctoral research on South Australian fur seals at the University of Adelaide in Australia.[9] His three children were born in New Zealand, Australia and Canada, respectively.[2]

Career

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From 1970 to 2007, Stirling was employed as a research scientist for the Canadian Wildlife Service.[4] His research focussed on polar bear biology and ecology, with his most notable work being a long-term study of polar bears in western Hudson Bay near Churchill, Manitoba. He was among the first to draw attention to the potential impacts of climate change on polar bears.[10] He was also an adjunct professor at the University of Alberta for more than 30 years, after settling in Edmonton in 1972.[2] Stirling retired in 2007.

Stirling has served as a member of the Committee of Scientific Advisors of the Marine Mammal Commission, and he was the first Canadian to be elected president of the Society for Marine Mammalogy.[11] He was a long-standing member of the IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group and was also a scientific advisor to Polar Bears International.[12]

Death

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Stirling was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2019. The illness advanced to leukemia in 2023 and he died of effects of cancer in 2024, at age 82.[13]

Awards and recognition

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Selected publications: academic papers

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  • Stirling I (1997) The importance of polynyas, ice edges, and leads to marine mammals and birds. Journal of Marine Systems 10, 9–21.
  • Stirling I, Lunn NJ, Iacozza J (1999) Long-term trends in the population ecology of polar bears in western Hudson Bay in relation to climatic change. Arctic 52, 294–306.
  • Stirling I, Parkinson CL (2006) Possible effects of climate warming on selected populations of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in the Canadian Arctic. Arctic 59, 261–275.
  • Stirling I, Derocher AE (2012) Effects of climate warming on polar bears: a review of the evidence. Global Change Biology 18, 2694–2706. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2486.2012.02753.x

Selected publications: non-technical

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  • Stirling, I. (1988). Polar bears. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 9780472101009
  • Stirling, I. (1992). Bears. United States: Sierra Club Books for Children. ISBN 9780871564412. IRA Teachers' Choice. NSTA-CBC Outstanding Science Trade Book for Children
  • Stirling, I (ed). (1993) Bears: Majestic Creatures of the Wild. United Kingdom: HarperCollins. ISBN 9780002199865
  • Stirling, I (2011) Polar Bears: The Natural History of a Threatened Species. Fitzhenry and Whiteside. Markham, ON. 334 pp. ISBN 978-1554551552

References

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  1. ^ "Ian Stirling". remembering.ca. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Remembering the life of Ian STIRLING". vancouversunandprovince.remembering.ca. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  3. ^ Wenger, Dr Michael. "The polar retrospective – Polar bear researcher Ian Stirling dies at 82". Polarjournal. Retrieved 2024-05-26.
  4. ^ a b c d "Kenneth S. Norris Lifetime Achievement Award". Marine Mammal Science. 32 (1): 10–12. 2016. Bibcode:2016MMamS..32...10.. doi:10.1111/mms.12294. ISSN 0824-0469.
  5. ^ "The Council of Science Editors (CSE) - 2007 Annual Meeting". Councilscienceeditors.org. Archived from the original on April 3, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ^ "CBC News Indepth: Polar Bears". Cbc.ca. 6 July 2004. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. ^ Post, Eric; Forchhammer, Mads C.; Bret-Harte, M. Syndonia; Callaghan, Terry V.; Christensen, Torben R.; Elberling, Bo; Fox, Anthony D.; Gilg, Olivier; Hik, David S.; Høye, Toke T.; Ims, Rolf A.; Jeppesen, Erik; Klein, David R.; Madsen, Jesper; McGuire, A. David (2009-09-11). "Ecological Dynamics Across the Arctic Associated with Recent Climate Change". Science. 325 (5946): 1355–1358. Bibcode:2009Sci...325.1355P. doi:10.1126/science.1173113. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 19745143.
  8. ^ Grote, Stirling, Ian (1 January 1965). Studies of the holding, behaviour and nutrition of captive blue grouse (Thesis). University of British Columbia. doi:10.14288/1.0302522. hdl:2429/37452.{{cite thesis}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ Stirling, Ian (1968). Population ecology of the Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddelli) in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica (Doctoral thesis). UC Research Repository, University of Canterbury. doi:10.26021/6015. hdl:10092/6646.
  10. ^ Stirling, Ian; Derocher, Andrew E. (1993). "Possible impacts of climatic warming on polar bears". Arctic. 46 (3). Arctic Institute of North America: 240–245. doi:10.14430/arctic1348.
  11. ^ "TheStar.com - Arctic In Peril - Polar bear population on thin ice". Thestar.com. 26 November 2007. Archived from the original on April 3, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  12. ^ a b "Scientist Ian Stirling Receives Ice Bear Lifetime Achievement Award | Polar Bears International". polarbearsinternational.org. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  13. ^ "Ian Stirling Obit". polarbearscience.com. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  14. ^ "Polar Bear Range States - Ian Stirling - Conservation Award Winner 2020". polarbearagreement.org. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  15. ^ "Weston Family Prize for Lifetime Achievement in Northern Research - ACUNS/AUCEN: Association of Canadian Universities for Northern Studies / Association universitaire canadienne d'études nordiques". Acuns.ca. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
  16. ^ "Society for Marine Mammalogy". Marinemammalscience.org. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
  17. ^ "Dr. Ian Stirling, O.C. - Graduation at UBC". Graduation.ubc.ca. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
  18. ^ "Arctic champion receives honorary degree". www.ualberta.ca. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  19. ^ Canada, Polar Knowledge (2015-12-29). "Ian Grote Stirling". www.canada.ca. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  20. ^ "Mr. Ian Grote Stirling". The Governor General of Canada. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
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