The Marine Mammal Bioacoustics and Ecology Lab uses passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) to study the underwater soundscape (think acoustic landscape) around the globe. Eavesdropping underwater provides information on when and where vocally active marine animals occur, what they are doing, and the presence of anthropogenic (human-caused) threats that may impact feeding, migration, and communication behavior.
PAM is a powerful method that provides a window under the ocean’s surface 24-hours a day, year-round regardless of weather conditions. This is especially important in remote regions like the Arctic which can be ice-covered much of the year and experience 24 hours of darkness mid-winter.
Current projects in the lab include examining how climate change is impacting bowhead whale migration, how subarctic species are moving further into the Arctic, and how bowhead whale prey is aggregated by wind direction and upwelling in the Beaufort Sea.
If you would like to join our lab, please read our Letter to Prospective Applicants.