Wildlife Evolution & Behavior Lab

Read about how semi-supervised machine learning is helping us identify critical calving areas and monitor population productivity in beluga whales with aerial drones

Using a wave-glider fitted with hydrophones and environmental sensors we eavesdropped on dolphins and found social calls were concentrated in different habitats to feeding echolocation clicks. Also, the presence of sound-producing fish influenced the vocalization type. We may not have been the only eavesdroppers!

Working in partnership with indigenous hunters and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game we genetically profiled 623 biopsy-sampled beluga whales to reveal the first detailed analysis of their mating systems, parentage and reproductive success. And found some interesting surprises along the way.

The discovery that the plague bacterium, Yersinia pestis, caused the world's First Pandemic reveals the power of ancient DNA analysis

Once we determined that Yersinia pestis was the causative agent of the Justinian Plague we decided to investigate the long-term evolutionary patterns and reservoir dynamics of the pathogen. Lets just say, it's complicated!

Despite the universal fascination with the tusk of the narwhal, the function of this long, spiraled tooth is still debated, primarily because few people have observed how they use them in the wild. Using drones we observed some surprising behaviors involving the tusk and got a rare glimpse in to how versatile the tusk really is. 

There are very few populations of seal that reside solely in freshwater. Perhaps the least known ...and studied are the harbor seals of Iliamna Lake, Alaska. Analyzing DNA from seal scat and tissue samples provided by Indigenous hunters we found the Iliamna seals to be genetically discrete and may represent a unique evolutionary legacy for the species.

Lazzaretto Vecchio, founded in 1423, in the Venetian lagoon was long considered a plague house dominated by resident burials, but a new analysis of the evidence suggests otherwise

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Using ancient DNA techniques, along with stable isotope analysis and archaeological documentation we present the first confirmed mass grave associated with the First Pandemic (Justinian Plague) in the Eastern Mediterranean

Despite dramatic changes in sea-ice cover over the past 30 years, satellite tagging has revealed that adult male belugas continue to target deep areas probably because of the presence of their preferred prey near the sea floor: Arctic cod

This ground-breaking study brought together a diverse group of scientists, archaeologists and anthropologists to solve one of the most enduring mysteries in human history, the cause of the world's First Pandemic - the Plague of Justinian which is estimated to have killed between 25 and 50 million people

We used an autonomous wave glider fitted with acoustic and environmental sensors to assess dolphin species presence along the east Florida Shelf

A picture, they say, paints a thousand words. Well, a drone image can capture several hundred whales. That is, if you are fortunate enough to observe beluga whales on their Arctic summering grounds. This many whales, however, can make for a lot of work when analyzing such images. This study demonstrates how machine learning can significantly cut that effort opening up new possibilities for Drone-AI-based research on cetaceans