Dr. Christina Prokopenko
Assistant Professor
Natural Resources Institute
317 Sinnott Building
christina.prokopenko1@umanitoba.ca
Academic Background
Ph.D. in Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador
M.Sc. in Biological Sciences, University of Alberta
B.Sc. in Science, University of Guelph
Teaching
NRI 7232 Ecological Dimensions of Resource and Environmental Management
Research Interests
Christina is a wildlife behavioral ecologist. Her research in Riding Mountain National Park uncovered novel observation of prey switching in wolves; after over 50 years of subsisting on elk, wolves’ primary prey became moose. This discovery raised questions about what motivates predator hunting decisions and how the landscape facilitates predator-prey interactions. Her experience tracking wolves continues to inspire her scientific approach. She studies the link between the environmental and ecological conditions that influence movement and foraging decisions of wildlife to the population implications of those behaviours, e.g. predation and disease transmission, to inform conservation and management.
Select Recent Publications
Gregovich, D.P., Roffler, G.H., and Prokopenko, C.M. 2025. Vegetation influences wolf fine-scale habitat selection and movement rate in a logged coastal rainforest. Oecologia.
Webber, Q.M.R., Prokopenko, C.M., Kingdon, K.A., Turner, J.W., and Vander Wal, E. (2024) Effects of the social environment on movement-integrated habitat selection. Movement Ecology.
Prokopenko, C.M., Ellington, E.H., Aubin, J.A., Baluffi-Fry, J., Laforge, M.P., Robitaille, A.L., Webber, Q.M.R., Zabihi-Seissan, S., and Vander Wal, E. (2024). Friends because of foes: Predation risk drives social agreement in gregarious prey. Philosophical Transaction B.
Prokopenko, C.M., Avgar, T, Ford, A.T., and Vander Wal, E. (2023). Optimal prey switching: Predator foraging costs provide a mechanism for functional responses in multi-prey systems. Ecology Concepts and Synthesis.
Turner, J.W., Prokopenko, C.M., Dupont, D.L.J, Kingdon, K.A, Zabihi-Seissan, S., and Vander Wal, E. (2023). Death comes for us all: an interplay of habitat selection, movement, and social behaviour relate to mortality among gray wolves. Oecologia.
Zabihi-Seissan, S., Prokopenko, C.M. and Vander Wal, E. (2022). Wolf spatial behaviour promotes encounters and kills of abundant prey. Oecologia.
Northrup, J.M., Vander Wal, E., Bonar, M., Fieberg, J., Laforge, M.P., Leclerc, M., Prokopenko, C.M., and Gerber, B.D. (2022) Conceptual and methodological advances in habitat selection modeling: guidelines for ecology and evolution. Ecological Applications