Kelly Benoit-Bird

Last updated
Kelly J. Benoit-Bird
Kelly Benoit-Bird - PopTech 2012 - Camden Maine USA (8090205923).jpg
Born1976 (age 48–49)
Alma mater Brown University (BS)
University of Hawaii at Manoa (PhD)
Awards2010 MacArthur Fellowship
Scientific career
Thesis Dynamics of the Hawai'ian mesopelagic boundary community and their effects on predator foraging behavior  (2003)
Website www.mbari.org/benoit-bird-kelly//

Kelly Benoit-Bird (born 1976) is a marine scientist and senior scientist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. [1] Benoit-Bird uses acoustics to study marine organisms and was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2010. [2] [3]

Contents

Work and discoveries

Benoit-Bird has been fascinated by the ocean since fourth grade, and is the first in her family to attend college. [4] She earned her B.S. from Brown University and her Ph.D. from the University of Hawai‘i, later completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology, where she advanced the use of active acoustics (sonar) to study animal behavior and spatial patterns in marine ecosystems. [5]

Benoit-Bird's research uses acoustical tools to study the interactions between predators and their prey in marine environments. Key linkages characterized in the lab's research include simultaneous tracking of predator-prey pairs such as northern fur seals and their prey juvenile pollock, [6] spinner dolphins and micronekton, [7] fish and zooplankton in thin layers in Monterey Bay, [8] and beaked whales and squid. [9] Benoit-Bird's research has also used acoustic measurements to examine how changes in the phase of the moon impact the migration of small marine organisms [10] and the ability of predators such as spinner and dusky dolphins to find their prey. [11] In research conducted off California, Brandon Southall and Benoit-Bird determined that beaked whales prefer to forage within a Navy test range due to the high density of prey available to the peaked whales in that region. [12] Benoit-Bird has also developed instrumentation to make acoustic measurements with submersibles [13] and autonomous vehicles. [14]

Awards

References

  1. ↑ "Kelly Benoit-Bird SENIOR SCIENTIST & Science Chair". Monterey Bay Aquarium. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  2. ↑ Arnold, Carrie (April 1, 2011). "Kelly Benoit-Bird: Sounding the Deep". The Scientist . Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  3. 1 2 "Kelly Benoit-Bird". www.macfound.org. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
  4. ↑ Char, Kymber-Lee (January 4, 2011). "Kelly Benoit-Bird awarded MacArthur genius grant". Mālamalama: The Magazine of the University of Hawai'i. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Kelly Benoit-Bird • MBARI". MBARI. Retrieved 2025-10-04.
  6. ↑ Benoit-Bird, Kelly J.; Battaile, Brian C.; Nordstrom, Chad A.; Trites, Andrew W. (2013-04-08). "Foraging behavior of northern fur seals closely matches the hierarchical patch scales of prey" . Marine Ecology Progress Series. 479: 283–302. Bibcode:2013MEPS..479..283B. doi: 10.3354/meps10209 . ISSN   0171-8630.
  7. ↑ Benoit-Bird, Kelly J.; Au, Whitlow W. L. (2003-05-01). "Prey dynamics affect foraging by a pelagic predator (Stenella longirostris) over a range of spatial and temporal scales" . Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 53 (6): 364–373. doi:10.1007/s00265-003-0585-4. ISSN   1432-0762. S2CID   16138683.
  8. ↑ Benoit-Bird, Kelly J. (2009-12-09). "Dynamic 3-dimensional structure of thin zooplankton layers is impacted by foraging fish". Marine Ecology Progress Series. 396: 61–76. Bibcode:2009MEPS..396...61B. doi: 10.3354/meps08316 . ISSN   0171-8630.
  9. ↑ Benoit-Bird, KJ; Southall, BL; Moline, MA; Claridge, DE; Dunn, CA; Dolan, KA; Moretti, DJ (2020-11-12). "Critical threshold identified in the functional relationship between beaked whales and their prey". Marine Ecology Progress Series. 654: 1–16. Bibcode:2020MEPS..654....1B. doi: 10.3354/meps13521 . ISSN   0171-8630.
  10. ↑ Benoit-Bird, Kelly J.; Au, Whitlow W. L.; Wisdoma, Daniel W. (2009). "Nocturnal light and lunar cycle effects on diel migration of micronekton". Limnology and Oceanography. 54 (5): 1789–1800. Bibcode:2009LimOc..54.1789B. doi:10.4319/lo.2009.54.5.1789. ISSN   1939-5590.
  11. ↑ Benoit-Bird, Kelly J.; Dahood, Adrian D.; Würsig, Bernd (2009-12-03). "Using active acoustics to compare lunar effects on predator–prey behavior in two marine mammal species". Marine Ecology Progress Series. 395: 119–135. Bibcode:2009MEPS..395..119B. doi: 10.3354/meps07793 . ISSN   0171-8630.
  12. ↑ "Why do Beaked Whales Keep Returning to a Navy Sonar Range?". The Maritime Executive. Retrieved 2021-04-24.
  13. ↑ Benoit-Bird, Kelly J.; Au, Whitlow W.L.; Kelley, Christopher D.; Taylor, Christopher (2003-02-01). "Acoustic backscattering by deepwater fish measured in situ from a manned submersible" . Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers. 50 (2): 221–229. Bibcode:2003DSRI...50..221B. doi:10.1016/S0967-0637(02)00160-7. ISSN   0967-0637.
  14. ↑ Benoit-Bird, K. J.; Welch, T. Patrick; Waluk, C. M.; Barth, J. A.; Wangen, I.; McGill, P.; Okuda, C.; Hollinger, G. A.; Sato, M.; McCammon, S. (2018). "Equipping an underwater glider with a new echosounder to explore ocean ecosystems". Limnology and Oceanography: Methods. 16 (11): 734–749. doi: 10.1002/lom3.10278 . ISSN   1541-5856.
  15. ↑ "Medwin Prize in Acoustical Oceanography". Technical Committee on Acoustical Oceanography. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
  16. ↑ "Fellows of the Society". Acoustical Society of America. Retrieved 2021-04-24.
  17. ↑ "Kelly Benoit-Bird". www.nasonline.org. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
  18. ↑ "Acoustical Society of America Awards". Acoustical Society of America. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
  19. ↑ Benoít-Bird, Kelly (2009). "Benoít-Bird Receives 2008 Ocean Sciences Early Career Award". Eos, Transactions American Geophysical Union. 90 (12): 103. Bibcode:2009EOSTr..90..103B. doi: 10.1029/2009EO120004 . ISSN   2324-9250.
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