Kelly Benoit-Bird
Kelly Benoit-Bird 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]
Kelly J. Benoit-Bird | |
---|---|
Born | 1976 (age 46–47) |
Alma mater | Brown University (BS) University of Hawaii at Manoa (PhD) |
Awards | 2010 MacArthur Fellowship |
Scientific career | |
Thesis | Dynamics of the Hawai'ian mesopelagic boundary community and their effects on predator foraging behavior (2003) |
Website | www |
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
- 2020: Medwin Prize in Acoustical Oceanography, Acoustical Society of America (ASA)[14]
- 2017: Fellow, Acoustical Society of America[15]
- 2007, 2013: Kavli Frontiers Fellowship, United States National Academy of Sciences[16]
- 2010: MacArthur Genius Award.[3]
- 2009: R. Bruce Lindsay Award, for contributions in marine ecological acoustics, Acoustical Society of America[17]
- 2008: Ocean Sciences Early Career Award, American Geophysical Union[18]
- 2005: Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers
References
- "Kelly Benoit-Bird SENIOR SCIENTIST & Science Chair". Monterey Bay Aquarium. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
- Arnold, Carrie (April 1, 2011). "Kelly Benoit-Bird: Sounding the Deep". The Scientist. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
- "Kelly Benoit-Bird". www.macfound.org. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- "Why do Beaked Whales Keep Returning to a Navy Sonar Range?". The Maritime Executive. Retrieved 2021-04-24.
- 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.
- 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.
- "Medwin Prize in Acoustical Oceanography". Technical Committee on Acoustical Oceanography. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
- "Fellows of the Society". Acoustical Society of America. Retrieved 2021-04-24.
- "Kelly Benoit-Bird". www.nasonline.org. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
- "Acoustical Society of America Awards". Acoustical Society of America. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
- 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.