Rate My Professor Peter Thompson

Peter Thompson is a postdoctoral fellow in the School of Environmental Science at Simon Fraser University’s Faculty of Environment. He is a quantitative ecologist focused on developing innovative statistical methods to address urgent challenges in wildlife conservation and management. Thompson earned a B.S. in Statistics from the University of Maryland and a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from the University of Alberta. His research centers on animal movement modelling and understanding how human activity influences the spatial distributions of wild animals. Prior to his postdoctoral work, he analyzed movement patterns of terrestrial species including bears, wolves, and caribou in Canada’s interior.

At Simon Fraser University, Thompson holds a Liber Ero Postdoctoral Fellowship and studies southern resident killer whales in the Salish Sea under the supervision of Dr. Ruth Joy. His project integrates multiple data sources, such as visual observations and hydrophone recordings, to model whale movement and assess the impacts of vessel traffic on their behavior and habitat use. This work aims to inform conservation strategies for the endangered population. Thompson collaborates with Fisheries and Oceans Canada on these efforts.