The Scripps Acoustic Ecology Laboratory investigates phenological patterns and spatial ecology of cetaceans, interactions of predators and their prey, and adaptations of animals to changes in their environment. Our goal is to contribute to the management and conservation of top predators and their ecosystem.
Long term and large dimension of environmental effects on the phenologies, movements, distributions, abundances, and behaviors of cetaceans and their prey.
Read MoreField and laboratory experiments on the influence of sound produced by individuals or groups of animals shaping organismal interactions and community functions.
Read MoreMeasurements for the other objectives will continuously require novel tools and subsequently advanced analysis methods.
Read MoreWith marine ecosystems currently undergoing global change, the physical environment is modified and established geographic distribution, phenologies and organismal interactions will be revised. Further anthropogenic stressors such as overfishing at increasingly deeper depths, exploitation of hydrocarbons and minerals, and pollution, including noise, and waste disposal aggravate the situation. These physical stressors in the environment may bring physiological traits to their adaptive limits. Some cetacean species will be able to keep up with the pace and extent of the necessary adaption and may even benefit from it with new habitats opening up for them, while others will be much more vulnerable.
We need to establish long-term and large spatial scale datasets and innovative methods to detect, quantify, and describe effects on daily and seasonal behavior, long-term trends in distribution and abundance, and animal-environment interactions. These will serve as a basis to identify and comprehend ecosystem adaptations and to consequently adjust protected species management strategies.
Dr. Simone Baumann-Pickering is an Associate Professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Her research covers time-series analysis of phenological patterns and spatial ecology of pelagic nekton, interactions of predators and prey, and adaptations of animals to natural and anthropogenic changes in the environment.
She has carried out collaborative ecological research using advanced acoustical and environmental sampling technologies with indirect and direct applications to fisheries management.
Our most recent publications and posters
Simonis AE, Brownell Jr RL, Thayre BJ, Trickey JS, Oleson EM, Huntington R, Baumann-Pickering S (2020). Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 287(20200070). 10.1098/rspb.2020.0070
Solsona-Berga A, Frasier KE, Baumann-Pickering S, Wiggins SM, Hildebrand JA (2020). PLoS Computational Biology 16:e1007598. 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1007598
Levin LA, Bett BJ, Gates AR, Heimbach P, Howe BM, Janssen F, McCurdy A, Ruhl HA, Snelgrove P, Stocks KI, Bailey D, Baumann-Pickering S,… Weller RA (2019). 6(241). 10.3389/fmars.2019.00241
Hildebrand JA, Frasier KE, Baumann-Pickering S, Wiggins SM, Merkens KP, Garrison LP, Soldevilla MS, McDonald MA (2019). Frontiers in Marine Science, 6(66). 10.3389/fmars.2019.00066
Kok ACM, Bishop KM, Kim EB, Margolina T, Joseph JE, Peavey Reeves LE, Hatch LT, Baumann-Pickering S (2020). Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour meeting, December 3-4.
Bishop KM, Kok ACM, Kim EB, Margolina T, Joseph JE, Peavey LE, Hatch LT, Baumann-Pickering S (2020). AGU December 7-11. Scripps Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF).
Field C, Solsona-Berga A, Cohen R, Trickey JS, Mueller-Brennan L, Ackerknecht T, Frasier KE, Cholewiak D, Van Parjis S, Baumann-Pickering S (2020). Scripps Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF).
Trickey JS, Rice AC, Solsona-Berga A, Bartlett A, Baumann-Pickering S, Širović A, Hildebrand JA, Reyes Reyes MV, Melcón ML, Iñíguez MA (2020). Ocean Sciences Meeting, February 16-21, San Diego, California.