Shea Steingass

Courtesy Faculty


Profile Field Tabs

Biography
Research/Career Interests: 

Dr. Steingass completed her masters and doctorate degrees in pinniped ecology at the OSU Marine Mammal Institute. She utilizes a One Health framework and behavioral ecology methodologies (stable isotope analysis, satellite telemetry, and movement analysis) to understand the ways marine mammals utilize their environment, and how those behaviors pose challenges to health, persistence and chronic stress of populations and individuals. She also specializes in science and conservation communication across multiple platforms.

Shea is a courtesy professor with the OSU Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences and affiliate professor with OSU's Marine Mammal Institute.

 

PUBLICATIONS

Rothenberg SE, Beechler BR, Burco JD, Rae S, Steingass SM, Barton D, Johns JL, Russell DS, Deignan K, Blackledge MM, Nation A. Associations between urogenital carcinoma and DECA-BDE (BDE-209) among wild California Sea lions (Zalophus californianus) and Steller Sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus). Science of The Total Environment. 2023 Nov 20;900:166412.

Couch C, Sanders J, Sweitzer D, Deignan K, Cohen L, Broughton H, Steingass S*, Beechler B. The relationship between dietary trophic level, parasites and the microbiome of Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens). Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 2022 Apr 13;289(1972):20220079.

Rothenberg S, Sweitzer, D, Rakerby B, Broughton H, Steingass S*, Beecher B. 2021 “Fecal Methylmercury Correlates with Gut Microbiota Taxa in Pacific Walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens).  Frontiers in Microbiology: Microbiological Chemistry and Geomicrobiology Special Issue. 2021:1320.

Blanchet MA, Vincent C, Womble J, Steingass S, Desportes G. Harbour Seals: Population structure, status, and threats in a rapidly changing environment. 2021. InOceans Mar (Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 41-63). Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute.

Steingass S*, Naito Y. 2019. “The significance of ocean deoxygenation for ocean megafauna.” In Laffoley D & J.M. Baxter (eds.), Deoxygenation: Everyone’s Problem (IUCN Report): 469-479.

Horning M, Andrews R, Bishop A, Boveng P, Costa D, Crocker D, Haulena M, Hindell M, Hindle A, Holser R, Hooker S, Hückstädt L, Johnson S, Lea M-A, McDonald B, McMahon C, Robinson P, Sattler R, Shuert C, Steingass S, Thompson D, Tuomi P, Williams C, Womble J. 2019. Best practice recommendations for the use of external telemetry devices on pinnipeds. Animal Biotelemetry. Dec;7(1):1-7.

Steingass S*, Horning M, Bishop AM. 2019. Space use of Pacific harbor seals (Phoca vitulina richardii) from two haulout locations along the Oregon coast. PLoS ONE 14(7): e0219484.

Steingass, S*. 2017. Dietary composition of four stocks of Pacific harbor seal (Phoca vitulina richardii) in the Northern California Current Large Marine Ecosystem as synthesized from historical data, 1931-2013. Northwest Naturalist 98(1): 8-23.

Steingass, S*, Horning M. 2017. Individual-based energetic model suggests bottom up mechanisms for the impact of coastal hypoxia on Pacific harbor seal (Phoca vitulina richardii) foraging behavior.  Journal of Theoretical Biology 416: 190-198.

*Denotes Senior Authorship

 
At OSU
Affiliated with: 
Marine Mammal Institute Affiliate
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, & Conservation Sciences