Kelly Benoit-Bird is a marine scientist and senior scientist at the

Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) is a private, non-profit oceanographic research center in Moss Landing, California. MBARI was founded in 1987 by David Packard, and is primarily funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation ...

. Benoit-Bird uses acoustics to study marine organisms and was named a

MacArthur Fellow The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and commonly but unofficially known as the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation typically to between 20 and 30 indi ...

in 2010.

Work and discoveries

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, spinner dolphins and micronekton, fish and zooplankton in thin layers in Monterey Bay, and beaked whales and squid. 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 and the ability of predators such as spinner and dusky dolphins to find their prey. 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. Benoit-Bird has also developed instrumentation to make acoustic measurements with submersibles and autonomous vehicles.

Early life

Benoit-Bird has been fascinated by the ocean since fourth grade, and is the first in her family to attend college.

Awards

* 2020: Medwin Prize in Acoustical Oceanography,

Acoustical Society of America The Acoustical Society of America (ASA) is an international scientific society founded in 1929 dedicated to generating, disseminating and promoting the knowledge of acoustics and its practical applications. The Society is primarily a voluntary org ...

(ASA) *2017: Fellow, Acoustical Society of America *2007, 2013: Kavli Frontiers Fellowship,

United States National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

* 2010: MacArthur Genius Award. * 2009: R. Bruce Lindsay Award, for contributions in marine ecological acoustics, Acoustical Society of America * 2008: Ocean Sciences Early Career Award,

American Geophysical Union The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of Earth, atmospheric, ocean, hydrologic, space, and planetary scientists and enthusiasts that according to their website includes 130,000 people (not members). AGU's a ...

* 2005:

Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) is the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on outstanding scientists and engineers in the early stages of their independent research careers. The White ...

References

External links

* * Living people American marine biologists Oregon State University faculty 1976 births Brown University alumni Place of birth missing (living people) University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni Fellows of the Acoustical Society of America MacArthur Fellows {{US-biologist-stub