Whale Habitat, Ecology & Telemetry Lab

I am broadly interested in studying the foraging ecology of large whales and understanding how local-scale behavior like individual feeding and movement translates into broader-scale ecological patterns like species distribution and residence time. I use data from bio-logging devices (satellite tags and time-depth recorders) to characterize the distribution and seasonal occurrence of satellite-tagged whales while also describing how they are using different areas. This type of information can be linked with environmental data to better understand he behavioral responses leading to selection of different habitats. Understanding the behavioral drivers of whale distribution will aid conservation efforts by defining why whales are using certain areas. This will provide an improved basis to identify potential risks associated with anthropogenic interactions, so that better mitigation strategies can be implemented.

Marine mammals, especially whales, are highly mobile and spend the majority of their time underwater, which prevents us from using one of the most basic research methods available to scientists: observation. One of my other interests is improving ways to overcome this limitation with technology like bio-logging devices, as well as developing methods to glean additional information from limited data. For example, technological limitations often make feeding behavior data unavailable for time periods longer than one or two days, but movement data can be collected for weeks or months by satellite tags. My interests in linking individual feeding behavior to movement have the added benefit of characterizing what kind of behavioral inferences can be made when only movement data are available at these longer time scales.