Dr. Kelly Benoit-Bird is an assistant professor at the College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Science at Oregon State University. Dr. Benoit-Bird’s research uses underwater sound to observe how fishes and dolphins interact with each other and their prey while foraging. Because the amount of prey and where it is located changes with time, animals must develop ways to find their food. In addition, since animals are limited by their biology (for example, dolphins need to come up to the ocean surface to breath), different animals use different techniques to feed. Dr. Benoit-Bird is using both passive acoustics and active acoustics, along with photography and net trawls, to study the range of interactions between animals and their prey.

We recently sat down with Dr. Benoit-Bird to discuss the foraging behavior of dolphins and deepwater fish and how she has used acoustics to observe them.

        

Related Links and Resources
• Dr. Benoit-Bird´s home page at Oregon State University
• An overview of Dr. Benoit-Bird’s research
• Publications by Dr. Benoit-Bird