Mia Wege, PhD

I am a lecturer in the Department of Zoology & Entomology, University of Pretoria, South Africa.

I am interested in using novel developing technologies and quantitative methods to understand species distributions and relationships with their environment. My research broadly focuses on the distribution, habitat use and foraging ecology of marine predators. Specifically, I am interested in their at-sea behaviour and its influence on the population dynamics. This research includes work done on Antarctic and Subantarctic fur seals, Weddell, Ross, and crabeater seals.

Previous positions include a Claude Leon Postdoctoral Fellow with the Marion Island Marine Mammal Programme (MIMMP), studying the consequences of divergent long-term foraging strategies of Antarctic fur seals at Marion Island. I was a Pew Fellow with Dr Michelle LaRue at Gateway Antarctica, University of Canterbury studying the distribution and abundance of crabeater seals in the Weddell Sea, which will contribute to the planning of the Weddell Sea Marine Protected Area. I completed my MSc. and PhD within the MIMMP and spent two year-long expeditions as a 'Sealer' on Marion Island (2009-2010 & 2012-2013). Additional fieldwork expeditions have taken me to Antarctica and to the Tristan da Cunha archipelago (Tristan, Gough, Nightingale, and Inaccessible islands) where I was part of the National Geographic Pristine Seas expedition to the Tristan da Cunha islands in 2017.