Pratt School of Engineering
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Douglas P. Nowacek
EDUCATION
  • PhD, Joint Program: Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1999
  • BA, Ohio Wesleyan University, 1991

Douglas P. Nowacek  
  • Office Location: Duke Univ Marine Lab
  • Office Phone: (252) 504-7566
  • Email Address: doug.nowacek@duke.edu

    • Sound propagates very efficiently through sea water, and marine mammals take advantage of this medium to communicate and explore their environment. My research is focused on the link between acoustic and motor behavior in marine mammals, primarily cetaceans and manatees, specifically, how they use sound in ecological processes. The cetaceans, or whales and dolphins, are divided into two main groups, the toothed whales (odontocetes) and the baleen whales (mysticetes). One of my specific areas of research is the use of echolocation and foraging behavior in one of the odontocetes, the bottlenose dolphin. Another focus of my current research is the effect(s) of anthropogenic noise on marine mammals.

    Specialties
    • Acoustics
      Micro-electronic mechanical machines

    Research Areas

      Sound propagates very efficiently through sea water, and marine mammals take advantage of this medium to communicate and explore their environment. My research is focused on the link between acoustic and motor behavior in marine mammals, primarily cetaceans and manatees, specifically, how they use sound in ecological processes. The cetaceans, or whales and dolphins, are divided into two main groups, the toothed whales (odontocetes) and the baleen whales (mysticetes). One of my specific areas of research is the use of echolocation and foraging behavior in one of the odontocetes, the bottlenose dolphin. Another focus of my current research is the effect(s) of anthropogenic noise on marine mammals.

    Recent Publications   More Publications

    1. Friedlaender, Ari S. and Nowacek, Douglas P. and Johnston, David W. and Read, Andrew J. and Tyson, Reny B. and Peavey, Lindsey and Revelli, Eletta M. S., Multiple sightings of large groups of Arnoux's beaked whales (Berardius arnouxii) in the Gerlache Strait, Antarctica, MARINE MAMMAL SCIENCE, vol. 26 no. 1 (January, 2010), pp. 246-250, ISSN 0824-0469 [doi]
    2. Wilson, Rachel Marie and Chanton, Jeffrey and Lewis, Graham and Nowacek, Douglas, Combining Organic Matter Source and Relative Trophic Position Determinations to Explore Trophic Structure, ESTUARIES AND COASTS, vol. 32 no. 5 (September, 2009), pp. 999-1010, ISSN 1559-2723 [doi]  [abs]
    3. Wilson, Rachel Marie and Chanton, Jeffrey and Lewis, Graham and Nowacek, Douglas, Isotopic variation (delta N-15, delta C-13, and delta S-34) with body size in post-larval estuarine consumers, ESTUARINE COASTAL AND SHELF SCIENCE, vol. 83 no. 3 (July, 2009), pp. 307-312, ISSN 0272-7714 [doi]  [abs]
    4. Hogg, C. J. and Rogers, T. L. and Shorter, A. and Barton, K. and Miller, P. J. O. and Nowacek, D., Determination of steroid hormones in whale blow: It is possible, MARINE MAMMAL SCIENCE, vol. 25 no. 3 (July, 2009), pp. 605-618, ISSN 0824-0469 [doi]  [abs]
    5. Southall, Brandon L. and Nowacek, Douglas P., Acoustics in marine ecology: innovation in technology expands the use of sound in ocean science INTRODUCTION, MARINE ECOLOGY-PROGRESS SERIES, vol. 395 (2009), pp. 1-3, ISSN 0171-8630 [doi]  [abs]