Douglas Nowacek

简介

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.

教育经历

• B.A. Ohio Wesleyan University, 1991
• Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1999
• Randolph K. Repass and Sally-Christine Rodgers University Distinguished Professor of Conservation Technology in Environment and Engineering
• Professor in the Division of Marine Science and Conservation
• Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

代表成果

• Muirhead CA, Piniak WED, Nowacek DP, Harms CA. Underwater hearing sensitivity of the Kemp's ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii). The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. 2026 Feb;159(2):1105u201312.
• Blawas AM, Shearer JM, Fahlman A, Read AJ, Nowacek DP. Short-finned pilot whales modulate surfacing and breathing patterns more strongly in response to dives than in anticipation. American journal of physiology Regulatory, integrative and comparative physiology. 2026 Jan;330(1):R23u201334.
• Southall BL, Schick RS, Cioffi WR, DeRuiter SL, Foley HJ, Harris CM, et al. Behavioral responses of goose-beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris) to simulated military sonar. Ecosphere. 2026 Jan 1;17(1).
• Adcock DL, Nowacek DP, Parks SE. Behavioral context of male fin whale Balaenoptera physalus call production on a western North Atlantic summer foraging ground. Endangered Species Research. 2026 Jan 1;59.
• Bishop AL, Meyer-Gutbrod EL, Nowacek DP, Read AJ. Localized and temporary vessel traffic changes from offshore wind development on the US East Coast pose limited risk to large whales. Endangered Species Research. 2026 Jan 1;60.
• Schick RS, Yack TM, Pirotta E, Mayo CA, Clark CW, Hudak CA, et al. Foraging behavior of Critically Endangered North Atlantic right whales is associated with ambient noise, prey density, and the acoustic behavior of conspecifics. Endangered Species Research. 2026 Jan 1;60.
• Mashoor I, Nowacek D. A Net Energy Positive Piezoelectric Biologging Platform for Gelatinous Zooplankton. In: Oceans Conference Record IEEE. 2026.
• Paxton AB, Lester SE, Smith CS, Narayan S, Angelini C, Runde BJ, et al. Recommendations for built marine infrastructure that supports natural habitats. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. 2025 Aug 1;23(6).
• Hofmann EE, Carpenter JR, Chen QJ, Kohut JT, Merrick RL, Meyer-Gutbrod EL, et al. FROM WIND TO WHALES POTENTIAL HYDRODYNAMIC IMPACTS OF OFFSHORE WIND ENERGY ON NANTUCKET SHOALS REGIONAL ECOLOGY. Oceanography. 2025 Jun 1;38(2):36u20139.
• Wisse JH, Nowacek DP, Boggs ASP. Multiclass Steroid Profiling in Short-Finned Pilot Whale Blubber Using Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Rapid communications in mass spectrometryu202f: RCM. 2025 Mar;39(6):e9965.