Marine Mammal Institute

Education

Ph.D., Oceanography, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego
M.Sc., Oceanography, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego
M.Sc., Marine Science, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, San Jose State University
B.A., Journalism, Duquesne University

Research/Career Interests

I am a Research Associate and NSF Office of Polar Programs Postdoctoral Fellow in the Marine Mammal Institute at Oregon State University. I use a variety of tools — including animal-mounted tags and seafloor hydrophones — to study baleen whale migration and behavioral ecology, and the threats they face in a human- and climate-impacted ecosystem.

During my PhD, I worked with Dr. Lisa Ballance, Dr. Peter Franks, and Dr. Ana Širović as a Dr. Nancy Foster Scholar. I linked blue whale vocalizations with oceanographic and prey data to understand the drivers of migration timing to southern California. I also combined vessel position data with blue whale tag data to study close passages with vessels and to understand the context under which close encounters occur off California. 

In the Marine Mammal Behavioral Ecology Lab (MMBEL), I am studying the impact of decreasing Arctic sea ice on the migration phenology of bowhead whales through the Bering Strait and the increasing overlap with vessels.