Kelly Benoit-Bird

Last updated
Kelly J. Benoit-Bird
Kelly Benoit-Bird - PopTech 2012 - Camden Maine USA (8090205923).jpg
Born1976 (age 4748)
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]

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, [5] spinner dolphins and micronekton, [6] fish and zooplankton in thin layers in Monterey Bay, [7] and beaked whales and squid. [8] 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 [9] and the ability of predators such as spinner and dusky dolphins to find their prey. [10] 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. [11] Benoit-Bird has also developed instrumentation to make acoustic measurements with submersibles [12] and autonomous vehicles. [13]

Awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blainville's beaked whale</span> Species of mammal

Blainville's beaked whale, or the dense-beaked whale, is believed to be the widest ranging mesoplodont whale. The French zoologist Henri de Blainville first described the species in 1817 from a small piece of jaw — the heaviest bone he had ever come across — which resulted in the name densirostris. Off the northeastern Bahamas, the animals are particularly well documented, and a photo identification project started sometime after 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuvier's beaked whale</span> Species of whale

The Cuvier's beaked whale, goose-beaked whale, or ziphius is the most widely distributed of all beaked whales in the family Ziphiidae. It is smaller in size than most baleen whales—and indeed the larger toothed cetaceans —yet it is large among the beaked whales and smaller cetaceans, appearing somewhat like a bigger and stockier bottlenose dolphin. Cuvier's beaked whale is pelagic, generally inhabiting waters deeper than 300 m (1,000 ft), though it has been observed closer to shore on occasion. In these offshore waters, Cuvier's beaked whale executes some of the deepest, longest recorded dives among whales, and extant mammals, at 2,992 m (9,816 ft), for 222 minutes. While likely diving to forage and hunt prey, such as cephalopods, and potentially evade predators, the frequency and exact reason for these extraordinary dives is unclear. Despite its deepwater habitat, it is one of the most frequently-spotted beaked whales when surfacing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacific white-sided dolphin</span> Species of mammal

The Pacific white-sided dolphin, also known as the hookfin porpoise, is an active dolphin found in the cool or temperate waters of the North Pacific Ocean.

The mesopelagiczone, also known as the middle pelagic or twilight zone, is the part of the pelagic zone that lies between the photic epipelagic and the aphotic bathypelagic zones. It is defined by light, and begins at the depth where only 1% of incident light reaches and ends where there is no light; the depths of this zone are between approximately 200 to 1,000 meters below the ocean surface.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whale fall</span> Whale carcass falling to the ocean floor

A whale fall occurs when the carcass of a whale has fallen onto the ocean floor, typically at a depth greater than 1,000 m (3,300 ft), putting them in the bathyal or abyssal zones. On the sea floor, these carcasses can create complex localized ecosystems that supply sustenance to deep-sea organisms for decades. In some circumstances, particularly in cases with lower water temperatures, they can be found at much shallower depths, with at least one natural instance recorded at 150 m and multiple experimental instances in the range of 30-382 m. Whale falls were first observed in the late 1970s with the development of deep-sea robotic exploration. Since then, several natural and experimental whale falls have been monitored through the use of observations from submersibles and remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) in order to understand patterns of ecological succession on the deep seafloor.

<i>Alepisaurus ferox</i> Species of fish

Alepisaurus ferox, also known as the long snouted lancetfish, longnose lancetfish, or cannibal fish, is a species of lancetfish found in the ocean depths down to 1,830 m (6,000 ft). This species grows to 215 cm (85 in) in total length and a weight of 9 kg (20 lb).

Whitlow W. L. Au was a leading expert in bioacoustics specializing in biosonar of odontocetes. He is author of the widely known book The Sonar of Dolphins (1993) and, with Mardi Hastings, Principles of Marine Bioacoustics (2008). Au was honored as a Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America in 1990 and awarded the ASA's first Silver Medal in Animal Bioacoustics in 1998. He was graduate advisor to MacArthur Fellow Kelly Benoit-Bird, who credits Au for discovering how sophisticated dolphin sonar is, developing dolphin-inspired machine sonars to separate different species of fish with the goal of protecting sensitive species, and for making numerous contributions to the description of Humpback whale song, which helped protect these whales from ship noise and ship traffic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mueller's pearlside</span> Species of fish

Maurolicus muelleri, commonly referred to as Mueller's pearlside,Mueller's bristle-mouth fish, or the silvery lightfish, is a marine hatchetfish in the genus Maurolicus, found in deep tropical, subtropical and temperate waters of the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, from the surface to depths of 1,500 metres (4,900 ft). It can grow to a maximum total length of 8 centimetres (3.1 in).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colossal squid</span> Species of squid

The colossal squid is the largest member of its family Cranchiidae, the cockatoo or glass squids, with its second largest member being Megalocranchia fisheri. It is sometimes called the Antarctic cranch squid or giant squid and is believed to be the largest squid species in terms of mass. It is the only recognized member of the genus Mesonychoteuthis and is known from only a small number of specimens. The species is confirmed to reach a mass of at least 495 kilograms (1,091 lb), though the largest specimens—known only from beaks found in sperm whale stomachs—may perhaps weigh as much as 600–700 kilograms (1,300–1,500 lb), making it the largest known invertebrate. Maximum total length has been estimated between 10 metres (33 ft) and 14 metres (46 ft) but the former estimate is more likely. The colossal squid has the largest eyes of any known creature ever to exist, with an estimated diameter of 27–30 cm (11–12 in) to 40 cm (16 in) for the largest collected specimen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Planktivore</span> Aquatic organism that feeds on planktonic food

A planktivore is an aquatic organism that feeds on planktonic food, including zooplankton and phytoplankton. Planktivorous organisms encompass a range of some of the planet's smallest to largest multicellular animals in both the present day and in the past billion years; basking sharks and copepods are just two examples of giant and microscopic organisms that feed upon plankton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hawaiian gold coral</span> Species of coral

Hawaiian gold coral is a rare, extremely long-lived deep-sea coral found on seamounts near Hawaii. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Kulamanamana. Most colonies can live up to 2,470 years, based on a study using radiocarbon dating. In the Hawaiian Archipelago of the North Pacific Ocean, the Hawaiian gold coral is a crucial species to the ecology of Hawaiian seamounts. This is because it is a dominant macro-invertebrate found in the deep sea, and thus provides an important habitat for an array of invertebrates and fish. Gold coral tissue is reflective under light, and colonies are bioluminescent when mechanically stimulated, or touched. It is predicted that this bioluminescence perhaps attracts prey, however more research is needed to determine exactly what purpose it serves. Although it has been harvested commercially for use in jewelry for a long time, it was not formally described by taxonomists until 2012 when it was found to be related to both the genus Savalia and the octocoral-associated zoanthid, Corallizoanthus tsukaharai. Prior to being formally classified and named Kulamanamana haumeaae, the Hawaiian gold coral was previously known as Gerardia sp.

Deraniyagala's beaked whale is a species of mesoplodont whale closely related to the ginkgo-toothed beaked whale.

Candace Ann Oviatt is an ecologist at the University of Rhode Island known for research into coastal marine ecosystems with a particular focus on Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island.

Patricia Marguerite Glibert is a marine scientist known for her research on nutrient use by phytoplankton and harmful algal blooms in Chesapeake Bay. She is an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Roxane Maranger is a professor at Université de Montréal and Canada Research Chair Tier I in Aquatic Ecosystem Science and Sustainability known for her research on the impact of humans on water quality in lakes. From July 2020 - July 2022, she served as the president of the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO).

A micronekton is a group of organisms of 2 to 20 cm in size which are able to swim independently of ocean currents. The word 'nekton' is derived from the Greek νήκτον, translit. nekton, meaning "to swim", and was coined by Ernst Haeckel in 1890.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natacha Aguilar de Soto</span> Spanish marine biologist

Natacha Aguilar de Soto is a Spanish marine biologist at the University of La Laguna (ULL), Tenerife, Canary Islands. She is a Ramón y Cajal research and teaching fellow at ULL and has been a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research Fellow at ULL and at the Center for Research in Ecological Modeling (CREEM) of the University of St. Andrews (SMRU). She is the director of cetacean research within ULL's BIOECOMAC.

Susanne Menden-Deuer is an oceanographer and marine scientist known for her work on marine food webs, including their structure and function. As of 2022, she is president-elect of the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography.

Helle Ploug is marine scientist known for her work on particles in seawater. She is a professor at the University of Gothenburg, and was named a fellow of the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography in 2017.

Shubha Platt, known professionally as Shubha Sathyendranath, is a marine scientist known for her work on marine optics and remote sensing of ocean colour. She is the 2021 recipient of the A.G. Huntsman Award for Excellence in the Marine Sciences.

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. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. "Why do Beaked Whales Keep Returning to a Navy Sonar Range?". The Maritime Executive. Retrieved 2021-04-24.
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
  14. "Medwin Prize in Acoustical Oceanography". Technical Committee on Acoustical Oceanography. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
  15. "Fellows of the Society". Acoustical Society of America. Retrieved 2021-04-24.
  16. "Kelly Benoit-Bird". www.nasonline.org. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
  17. "Acoustical Society of America Awards". Acoustical Society of America. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
  18. 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.