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USD 120 /hr

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☆☆☆☆☆

Hire Dr. Travis S.

Canada

USD 120 /hr

Quantitative Fisheries & Environmental Scientist (PhD) | R, Python, Statistical Review, Environmental Data Analysis

Profile Summary

I'm a quantitative fisheries and environmental scientist with a PhD in Marine Ecology (University of New Brunswick), postdoctoral training at Dalhousie University, and 25+ years designing and analyzing aquatic monitoring programs. I hold the Professional Biologist (P.Biol.) designation and specialize in turning complex ecological field data into defensible, reproducible analysis. My work centres on efficient, accurate, and reproducible analysis. I build data and statistical workflows primarily in R — covering data cleaning and QA/QC, statistical modelling and inference, automation, and visualization — with supporting work in Python, SQL, and Power BI, and Shiny and Quarto for interactive dashboards and reporting. Typical work includes population and survey estimation, trend and time-series analysis, experimental design, and custom R tooling. Whether the data comes from a monitoring survey, a designed experiment, or an operational database, the emphasis is the same: methodologically sound analysis, documented end to end, that stands up to independent review. I work best on projects that need rigour and reproducibility: independent statistical review, analysis of monitoring or survey datasets, experimental and sampling design, custom R/Shiny development, and clear technical reporting — from raw field data to a documented, audit-ready result.

Subject Matter Expertise

• ★ Statistical Review
• ☆ Marine Biology
• ☆ Data Analysis
• ☆ Computer Simulation/Computational Modeling
• ☆ Data Visualization
• ☆ Data Cleaning
• ☆ Artificial Intelligence
• ☆ Statistics
• ☆ Trend Analysis
• ☆ Environmental Science
• ☆ Environmental Policy
• ☆ Ecology
• ☆ Marine Ecology
• ☆ Risk Assessment & Actuarial Science
• ☆ Python
• ☆ R
• ☆ Technical & Scientific Writing
• ☆ Manuscript & Journal Article Writing

Services

• Writing
• Research
• Consulting
• Data & AI

Writing Non-Medical Regulatory Writing, Technical Writing

Research Scientific and Technical Research, Systematic Literature Review

Consulting Regulatory Consulting

Data & AI Predictive Modeling, Statistical Analysis, Data Visualization, Data Cleaning, Data Processing

Work Experience

Senior Aquatics Specialist

Triton Environmental Consultants

January 2025 - Present

Development Lead (other roles - Regulatory Lead - Sustainability Advisor)

Suncor Energy

July 2012 - November 2024

Senior Fisheries Biologist

Golder Associates

September 2007 - June 2012

Fisheries Biologist

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

September 1998 - June 2012

Education

Doctorate (Ph.D.)

University of New Brunswick

September 1999 - September 2005

B.Sc. (Honours)

University of New Brunswick

September 1995 - April 1999

Certifications

• Professional Biologist

  Alberta Society of Professional Biologists

  December 2007 - Present

Publications

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Sima Usvyatsov, Jeffrey Picka, Ryan Scott Hardy, Travis Dawson Shepherd, James Watmough, Matthew Kenneth Litvak (2012). Modeling the timing of spawning and hatching of shortnose sturgeon, <i>Acipenser brevirostrum</i>, in the Saint John River, New Brunswick, Canada . Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.

E. A. Trippel, N. L. Holy, T. D. Shepherd (2008). Barium sulphate modified fishing gear as a mitigative measure for cetacean incidental mortalities . J. Cetacean Res. Manage.

Martin T. O’Connell, Travis D. Shepherd, Ann M. U. O’Connell, Ransom A. Myers (2007). Long-term declines in two apex predators, bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas) and alligator gar (Atractosteus spatula), in Lake Pontchartrain, an oligohaline estuary in southeastern Louisiana . Estuaries and Coasts.

Ransom A. Myers, Julia K. Baum, Travis D. Shepherd, Sean P. Powers, Charles H. Peterson (2007). Cascading Effects of the Loss of Apex Predatory Sharks from a Coastal Ocean . Science.

Travis D. Shepherd, Ransom A. Myers (2005). Direct and indirect fishery effects on small coastal elasmobranchs in the northern Gulf of Mexico . Ecology Letters.

Travis D Shepherd, Matthew K Litvak (2004). Density‐dependent habitat selection and the ideal free distribution in marine fish spatial dynamics: considerations and cautions . Fish and Fisheries.

Edward A. Trippel, Norman L. Holy, Debra L. Palka, Travis D. Shepherd, Gary D. Melvin, John M. Terhune (2003). Nylon Barium Sulphate Gillnet Reduces Porpoise and Seabird Mortality . Marine Mammal Science.

Travis Shepherd, Fred Page, Bruce Macdonald (2002). Length and sex‐specific associations between spiny dogfish (<i>Squalus acanthias</i>) and hydrographic variables in the Bay of Fundy and Scotian Shelf . Fisheries Oceanography.

T. D. Shepherd, K. E. Costain, M. K. Litvak (2000). Effect of development rate on the swimming, escape responses, and morphology of yolk-sac stage larval American plaice, Hippoglossoides platessoides . Marine Biology.

CONFERENCE PAPER

Trippel, E.A., and T.D. Shepherd. 2004. By-catch of harbour porpoise (Phocoenaphocoena) in the Lower Bay of Fundy gillnet fishery, 1998-2001. Can. Tech. Rep.Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2521: iv + 33 p. (PDF) By-catch of Harbour Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) in the Lower Bay of Fundy Gillnet Fishery, 1998-2001. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237601550_By-catch_of_Harbour_Porpoise_Phocoena_phocoena_in_the_Lower_Bay_of_Fundy_Gillnet_Fishery_1998-2001#fullTextFileContent [accessed May 25 2026].