Ian Grote Stirling (born September 26, 1941) is a research scientist emeritus with

Environment and Climate Change Canada Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC; french: Environnement et Changement climatique Canada),Environment and Climate Change Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of the Environment ...

and an adjunct professor in the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

Department of Biological Sciences. His research has focused mostly on

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

and

Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...

zoology and ecology, and he is one of the world's top authorities on

polar bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the largest extant bear specie ...

s. Stirling has written five books and more than 150 articles published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. He has written and spoken extensively about the danger posed to polar bears by

global warming In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

Early life and education

Ian Stirling was born to Andrew and Margaret Stirling on September 26, 1941. He completed his B.Sc. at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

(UBC) in 1963, and his M.Sc. in zoology at UBC in 1965. For his M.Sc. thesis, Stirling studied captive

blue grouse The genus ''Dendragapus'' contains two closely related species of grouse that have often been treated as a single variable taxon (blue grouse). The two species are the dusky grouse (''Dendragapus obscurus'') and the sooty grouse (''Dendragapus ...

under James F. Bendell. Stirling obtained his Ph.D. in 1968.

Career

From 1970 to 2007, Stirling served as a research scientist for the

Canadian Wildlife Service The Canadian Wildlife Service or CWS (french: Service canadien de la faune), is a Branch of the Department of the Environment (Environment and Climate Change Canada), a department of the Government of Canada. November 1, 2012 marked the 65th ann ...

, focusing his research on polar bears, most notably on a long-term study of polar bears in western

Hudson Bay Hudson Bay ( crj, text=ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, translit=Wînipekw; crl, text=ᐐᓂᐹᒄ, translit=Wînipâkw; iu, text=ᑲᖏᖅᓱᐊᓗᒃ ᐃᓗᐊ, translit=Kangiqsualuk ilua or iu, text=ᑕᓯᐅᔭᕐᔪᐊᖅ, translit=Tasiujarjuaq; french: b ...

near

Churchill, Manitoba Churchill is a town in northern Manitoba, Canada, on the west shore of Hudson Bay, roughly from the Manitoba–Nunavut border. It is most famous for the many polar bears that move toward the shore from inland in the autumn, leading to the nickname ...

. He was among the first to draw attention to the potential impacts of

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

on polar bears. Stirling retired in 2007. Stirling has served as a member of the Committee of Scientific Advisors of the

Marine Mammal Commission Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military ...

, and he was the first Canadian to be elected president of the

Society for Marine Mammalogy The Society for Marine Mammalogy was founded in 1981 and is the largest international association of marine mammal scientists in the world. Mission The mission of the Society for Marine Mammalogy (SMM) is to promote the global advancement of mari ...

. He is a long-standing member of the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

Polar Bear Specialist Group Polar may refer to: Geography Polar may refer to: * Geographical pole, either of two fixed points on the surface of a rotating body or planet, at 90 degrees from the equator, based on the axis around which a body rotates *Polar climate, the cli ...

and currently acts as a scientific advisor to

Polar Bears International Polar Bears International (PBI) is a non-profit polar bear conservation organization. Their research, education, and action programs address the issues that are endangering polar bears. The organization also studies polar bears and monitors the ...

Awards and recognition

* Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

(2000) *

Northern Science Award Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...

Indian and Northern Affairs Canada Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

(2002) *

Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada Fellowship of the Royal Society of Canada (FRSC) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Canada judges to have "made remarkable contributions in the arts, the humanities and the sciences, as well as in Canadian public life ...

(2007) *

D.Sc. Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...

, University of British Columbia (2013) * Kenneth S. Norris Lifetime Achievement Award (2013) * Weston Family Prize for Lifetime Achievement in Northern Research (2015)

Selected publications

*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 (2011) ''Polar Bears: The Natural History of a Threatened Species''. Fitzhenry and Whiteside. Markham, ON. 334 pp. *Stirling I, Derocher AE (2012) Effects of climate warming on polar bears: a review of the evidence. ''Global Change Biology'' 18, 2694–2706.

References

External links

University of Alberta bio

Environment Canada bio

Polar Bears International bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stirling, Ian 1941 births Living people Canadian ecologists Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Officers of the Order of Canada Scientists from Edmonton University of Alberta faculty University of British Columbia alumni University of Canterbury alumni Canadian mammalogists 20th-century Canadian scientists 21st-century Canadian scientists Place of birth missing (living people) Canadian civil servants