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.

Contact Info:

Office Location:	Duke Univ Marine Lab
Office Phone:	(252) 504-7566
Email Address:
Web Page:

Education:

PhD, Joint Program: Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1999

BA, Ohio Wesleyan University, 1991

Curriculum Vitae

Research Interests:

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

• ENVIRON 124L.01, MARINE BIOACOUSTICS Synopsis

  TBA, -

Representative Publications   (More Publications)

1. Ware, C., Friedlaender, A.S., and Nowacek, D.P., Shallow and deep lunge feeding of humpback whales in fjords of the West Antarctic Peninsula, Marine Mammal Science (2010) [x] .
2. Parks, S.E. , Johnson, M.P. , Nowacek, D.P. and Tyack, P.L., Individual right whales call louder in increased environmental noise, Biology Letters (2010) [0451] .
3. 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 [doi] .
4. 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 [doi]  [abs].
5. 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 [doi]  [abs].
6. 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 [doi]  [abs].
7. Friedlaender, Ari S. and Hazen, E. L. and Nowacek, D. P. and Halpin, P. N. and Ware, C. and Weinrich, M. T. and Hurst, T. and Wiley, D., Diel changes in humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae feeding behavior in response to sand lance Ammodytes spp. behavior and distribution, MARINE ECOLOGY-PROGRESS SERIES, vol. 395 (2009), pp. 91-100 [doi]  [abs].
8. 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 [doi]  [abs].
9. Tyson, Reny B. and Nowacek, Douglas P. and Miller, Patrick J. O., Nonlinear phenomena in the vocalizations of North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) and killer whales (Orcinus orca), JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA, vol. 122 no. 3 (September, 2007), pp. 1365-1373 [doi]  [abs].
10. Nowacek, Douglas P. and Thorne, Lesley H. and Johnston, David W. and Tyack, Peter L., Responses of cetaceans to anthropogenic noise, MAMMAL REVIEW, vol. 37 no. 2 (April, 2007), pp. 81-115  [abs].