Quantitative Ecologist
julia.stepanuk@briwildlife.org
207-839-7600

Julia is a quantitative ecologist and a marine mammal scientist who joined BRI in 2022. She conducts quantitative analyses for multiple projects at BRI including offshore wind risk mitigation and the effects of anthropogenic impacts on large migratory marine species. Her research primarily relies on spatial analyses to assess the ecological consequences at the intersection of climate change and anthropogenic impacts. Previous work has focused on bycatch reduction of Short-finned pilot whales in the U.S. pelagic longline fishery, vulnerability to vessel strikes for juvenile humpback whales in New York waters, and the development of subseasonal ecological forecasts to inform dynamic management.

Julia’s interest in the marine environment stems from her childhood outdoor experiences on the shores of the U.S. east coast and was solidified by accruing over three years of sea time as a professional mariner, sailing and conducting oceanographic research across the Pacific Ocean and Gulf of Maine.

• Stony Brook University – Department of Ecology and Evolution, 2022 – Ph.D. Ecology and Evolution
• Stony Brook University – School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, 2017 – M.S. Marine Science
• McGill University, 2013 – B.Sc. (Ag.Env.Sci) Environment

• Anthropogenic Impacts
• Marine Mammals
• Climate Change Impacts
• Ecological Modeling
• UAS (drone) Research
• Science Communication and Decision Support

• Stepanuk, J.E.F., Nye, J., Kim, H., Roberts, J., Halpin, P., Palka, D., Pabst, A., McLellan, W., Barco, S., Thorne, L. In Press. Subseasonal forecasts provide a powerful tool for dynamic marine mammal management. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. doi:10.1002/fee.2506
• Hirtle, N.O., Stepanuk, J.E.F., Heywood, E.I., Christiansen, F., Thorne, L.H. 2022. 3D models improve volumetric estimates in cetaceans using minimal UAV-based morphometric measurements. Methods in Ecology and the Environment. https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.13962 
• Lomac-MacNair, K., Wisdom, S., Pedro de Andrade, J., Stepanuk, J.E.F., Anderson, M., Esteves, E. 2022. Large whale occurrence in northeastern Chukchi and southern Beaufort seas from vessel surveys, 2008-2014. Northwestern Naturalist. https://doi.org/10.1898/NWN21-11 
• Brown, D.M., et al. [29 coauthors]. 2022. Site fidelity, population identity, and demographic characteristics of humpback whales in the New York Bight apex. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315422000388 
• Lomac-MacNair, K., Pedro de Andrade, J., Esteves, E., Wisdom, S., Aerts, L.A., Stepanuk, J.E.F. 2021. Polar bear distribution and behavior response from vessel surveys in Northeast Chukchi Sea Summer and Fall 2008-2014. Ursus. https://doi.org/10.2192/URSUS-D-20-00023.2 
• Stepanuk, J.E.F., Heywood, E.I., Lopez, J., DiGiovanni, R.A., Thorne, L.H. 2021. Understanding the impacts of age-specific behavior on vulnerability to vessel strike in large whales. Marine Ecology Progress Series. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13638 
• Thorne, L.H., Baird, R.W., Webster, D.L., Stepanuk, J.E.F, Read, A.J. 2019. Dynamic management of fisheries bycatch: A predictive model and field test of interactions between pilot whales and pelagic longlines. Diversity and Distributions. https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.12912 
• Stepanuk, J.E.F., Read, A.J., Baird, R.W., Webster, D.L., Thorne, L.H. 2018. Spatiotemporal patterns of overlap between short-finned pilot whales and the pelagic longline fishery in the Mid-Atlantic Bight: An assessment to inform the management of fisheries bycatch. Fisheries Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2018.07.008