Elke Burkhardt

I am a marine biologist with interests in marine mammal distribution, habitat use and marine bioacoustics mainly focusing on larger whales in polar waters. I also have a keen interest in marine noise and its effects on marine life and in developing risk mitigation measures. I am a trained marine mammal observer and currently a member of the German delegation to the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Elke_Burkhardt

Dr. Ahmed El-Gabbas

I am conservation & quantitative ecologist interested in modelling the spatio-temporal distribution of species. My research is mainly focused on studying the spatial distribution of biodiversity and the prioritization of conservation efforts. I am interested in understanding factors determining species distributions in time and space, mainly using the overarching methods of species distribution modelling. Currently, I am modelling the spatio-temporal distribution of baleen whales in the Southern Ocean using visual observations and passive acoustic data.

Website: https://elgabbas.netlify.app/

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=hJ0tB04AAAAJ

Dr. Ilse van Opzeeland

I see sound as an invaluable resource of information about environments, particularly when it stems from remote underwater environments, such as the Southern Ocean, where most of my work is focused. My current research uses acoustic data as a foundation for developing new concepts of evaluating underwater sound environments (soundscape planning, acoustic biodiversity assessments), but also for the investigation of marine mammal habitat usage. Within the IWC-SORP Acoustic Trends Steering Group (ATG), my interest and contributions evolve around improving our understanding of the behavior and spatio-temporal distribution patterns of Antarctic blue and fin whales in Antarctic waters.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ilse_Van_Opzeeland

Dr. Irene Torrecilla Roca

I am a biologist specialized in eco- and bio-acoustics. I have expertise in passive acoustic monitoring, acoustic signal processing and data analysis, including machine learning methods and data mining. I am mainly interested in understanding how the environment modulates sonic animal communities’ structure and dynamics. Currently I’m working on a combination of simulation models and field-based surveys from the Southern Ocean to assess variations in marine mammals’ assemblages. As well as, developing utilities to extract information from the acoustic environments including, sonic species identification, community indicators and habitat quality descriptors.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Irene_Roca

Dr. Karolin Thomisch

My research addresses how the distribution of marine mammals relates to abiotic and biotic environmental factors to explore the ecological role of marine mammals in the Arctic Ocean. Data stem from the interdisciplinary Arctic FRAM ocean observatory, which provides a unique opportunity to gain insight into these interrelationships. I strongly believe that a holistic understanding of the Arctic Ocean ecosystem is essential in view of future management and conservation strategies to preserve this unique and fragile ecosystem.

Starting in November 2020, I will man the International Quiet Ocean Experiment (IQOE) International Project Office and aid coordinating its scientific activities.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Karolin_Thomisch

Dr. Elena Schall

I am a marine biologist specialised in bioacoustics. My main focus is to develop efficient algorithms to detect and classify marine mammal vocalisations, speeding up the analysis of passive acoustic data in order to address ecological questions. I am interested in understanding the effects of the physical environment and the ecosystem productivity on animal distributions, abundances and their acoustic behaviour. Through the work on my PhD, I gained comprehensive experience in the detection and classification of humpback whale vocalisations and song, modelling the effects of climate variabilities on humpback whale acoustic presence, and estimating song similarity as an indicator of exchange among populations. 
Currently I am working on the development of a context-dependent multi-stage detector for fin whale vocalisations. 

Researchgate profile: www.researchgate.net/profile/Elena_Schall

Dr. Diego Filun

I am a marine biologist with interest in the study of marine mammals and underwater sounds. My main focus is to use state of the art passive acoustics to study the temporal and spatial distribution of marine mammals, their interaction with the environment and the effect of anthropogenic noise on the marine ecosystem.

My expertise is to detect and classify aquatic sounds in large data sets for species identification. Currently I am investigating the usage of different vocalization patterns by Antarctic minke whales.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Diego_Filun