About the lab

Our research is in the sensory biology of animals, primarily marine organisms.  We study how these animals detect the world around them, what they detect (i.e., what's important to the organism), and how these animals then relate to their environment (e.g., predator detection, prey localization, habitat identification, and conspecific communication).  Our science is integrative in techniques and comparative in its research subjects. Our reserach involves dolphins, false killer whales, belugas, puffins, finless porpoise, risso's dolphin, squid, cuttlefish, coral reef fish, temperate fish, brown bears, polar bears, coral reef assemblages, and temparate soundscapes to name a few.  Our research often addresses bioacoustic related questions, but we certainly not limited to that modality. Some of this work stems from examining the influences of increasing human-produced noise or other stressors such as ocean acidification or fisheries bycatch. Our primary interests originate in examining the relationship of sensory physiology and sensory anatomy to animal behavior and ecological relationships. This allows us to address communication, develop and apply new biosensor tags, and quantify soundscapes.