Dave received his Bachelor's degree in Zoology from the University of South Florida in 1989, where he was involved in research on marine and mangrove ecology. He joined the lab shortly thereafter when he began work on his Master's thesis in Marine Science investigating concept formation in California sea lions. He spent several years studying marine mammal cognition before undertaking his doctoral research in the sensory ecology of pinnipeds, where he investigated the comparative hearing abilities of three pinniped species. Dave received his Ph.D. in Biology from UCSC in 1996 and went on to complete two post-docs, one at LML dealing with investigating the effects of anthropogenic noise on pinnipeds, and another in conjunction with the US Navy's Marine Mammal Program, where he investigated the effects of diving on the hearing of a trained, free-diving California sea lion. Currently, Dave continues to lead the ongoing research program on pinniped acoustics at LML, and also heads up a cooperative project with the US Navy's Marine Mammal Program. This program explores the relationship between vision and echolocation in feature recognition in bottlenose dolphins.

Colleen has worked with the program since 1990 in many different capacities: as an undergraduate volunteer, research technician, graduate student researcher, post-doctoral researcher, and in her current post as an associate researcher and project leader. Colleen received her Bachelor's degree in Biology from UCSC in 1993 and her Master's degree in Marine Sciences from UCSC in 1997. Her Master's thesis was a study of equivalence classification by California sea lions. She expanded on that work in her doctoral dissertation, where she further explored equivalence classification as well as learning by exclusion, or "fast-mapping", and long-term memory for relational and associative concepts. Colleen completed her PhD in Ocean Sciences in 2002. She is currently involved in a variety of experiments dealing with pinniped cognition and perception, including a study of cross-modal (auditory-visual) emergent learning in sea lions and behavioral and electrophysiological assessment of hearing in several marine mammal species.

Brandon received Bachelor's degrees in Biology and Contemporary American Literature from the University of Montana in 1993, with portions of this work being completed through the University of Hawaii at Hilo and the New England Aquarium. He also completed an independent research program on vocal signaling and hearing loss in California sea lions at the Dolphin Research Center in the Florida Keys before coming to Long Marine Laboratory in 1995. Brandon worked extensively with our program at Long Marine Lab from 1995 through the spring of 2003. While here, he completed his Master's degree in Marine Science at UCSC in 1998 studying underwater masked hearing in three pinniped species. He also completed his doctoral research, which involved both lab and field components on pinniped bioacoustics. In the lab, Brandon conducted fine-scale measurements of aerial masked hearing thresholds and critical bandwidths. In the field, he studied elephant seal bioacoustics at Ano Nuevo State Reserve. In 2003, Brandon left Santa Cruz to join the NOAA Fisheries Acoustics Program in Bethesda, MD where he works to improve regulatory policies related to marine mammals and noise. Brandon maintains a research affiliation with UCSC, where he continues to be an important member of our research program by conducting and participating in research related to pinniped acoustics and communication.

Marla received her Bachelor's degree in Marine Biology from UCSC in 1997 and began working with the project in February of 1998 as a post-graduate volunteer. She became interested in animal psychophysics and completed her first research project, an analysis of the individual strategies used by our pinnipeds in various perceptual tasks, before entering graduate school. Marla began the graduate program in Ocean Sciences at UCSC in 1999, and completed her Master's thesis, which comprised a comparative investigation of the directional hearing abilities of pinnipeds, in the spring of 2002. Marla then joined the doctoral program in Ocean Sciences at UCSC where she conducted laboratory research relating to frequency-dependent directional hearing, masking, and a variety of field studies using acoustic playback techniques with northern elephant seals. Marla left the lab in fall of 2006 to conduct bioacoustic research with killer whales in Puget Sound as part of a NRC fellowship through NOAA Fisheries NW Science Center in Seattle.

Jason is originally from Auburn, California. He graduated with a BA in Biology from UCSC in 2002. He was involved in lab and field research dealing with zooplankton ecology before joining the research program as a graduate student in 2004. Jason is interested primarily in the relationship between behavioral and physiological measures of sensory function in animals. He uses standard psychophysical techniques with trained animals to examine temporal auditory processing as well as neurophysiological methods with wild animals undergoing rehabilitation. Jason is also a key participant in ongoing laboratory studies of noise impacts on pinniped hearing.

We receive additional support from a crew of about a half-dozen undergraduate volunteers who help with ongoing research and assist in animal care and training activities. They work alongside project staff and receive training in basic lab-related skills while learning about marine mammal biology and behavior, behavior modification and animal training, and topics related to ongoing research in sensory ecology and cognition. Our volunteer program is what makes our research program possible!

Brian was born and raised in Sacramento, CA. While in high school, he volunteered at zoos in Folsom, Lodi and Sacramento, before starting at the Pinniped Lab in February of 2005. Brian took a short break from the lab in the summer of 2006 to spend time as a seasonal trainer with Six Flags Marine World's pinnipeds and otters. He plans to graduate from UCSC in the spring of 2008 with a degree in Ecology and Evolution with a minor in History of Art and Visual Culture.

Hitomi is a graduate of UCSC with a B.S. in Marine Biology. She has been with the lab since April of 2006. In college she competed all four years for the UCSC swim team and one year with the triathlon club. When not at the lab, she devotes much of her time to a local animal hospital as a vet tech assistant.

Nate joined the lab in July 2006. He is currently a 4th year student and is pursuing degrees in Marine Biology and Environmental Studies. After graduating he is interested in continuing his education in marine ecology and conservation. Nate’s other interests include surfing, traveling, and photography.

Born and raised in Santa Cruz, Darren is a fourth year Marine Biology student. He has been at the lab since June of 2006, and will be graduating in the spring of 2008. Darren is a UCSC scientific diver and is interested in the sensory systems of sharks and tropical marine ecosystems.

Jenny joined the program in October 2006 and will graduate from UCSC with a degree in Ecology & Evolution in spring of 2008. She is originally from Huntington Beach and is a NAUI advanced certified diver. During fall of 2007, she studied abroad in Australia as part of the Queensland marine science program.

Lindsay is a fourth year undergraduate at UCSC majoring in Marine Biology. She joined the lab in October 2006. Lindsay is interested in animal cognition and behavior and is hoping to attend graduate school in the next few years.

Born and raised in Oakland, CA, Caroline joined the lab in the spring of 2007. She is finishing her fourth year at UCSC in the Department of Environmental Studies, and during this time worked with PRETOMA in Costa Rica on various sea turtle restoration projects. After graduating, Caroline has plans to travel around the world. She loves dancing and mexican food.

Rebecca joined the lab in September 2007 and is a fourth year Ecology and Evolutionary Biology student at UCSC. She has always had a passion for animals and plans to have a career working with captive or wild animals. After graduation, Rebecca hopes to attend graduate school.

Amy is currently finishing up her Master's Degree in Zoo and Aquarium Studies from George Mason University and has been with the project since 2007. She currently participates in running acoustic experiments, calibrating equipment, and preparing animals for participation in experiments. Prior to joining the staff of the project, Amy worked for the Navy Marine Mammal Program, Virginia Aquarium, and several other facilities training a variety of terrestrial and marine mammals.

Dena joined the program in January of 2007 after graduating from UC Santa Cruz in the winter of 2006. She received her B.A. in both Environmental Studies and Anthropology. Dena took a few months off to study seabirds, marine mammals and fisheries acoustics in the San Juan Archipelago through the Friday Harbor Laboratories in Washington. She is currently living in Santa Cruz and loves working with pinnipeds. Dena is hoping to attend graduate school in the near future.

Megan is a second year undergraduate at UCSC, with a proposed double major in Ecology & Evolution and Neuroscience & Behavior. Before joining the lab in September 2007, she worked at The Marine Mammal Center for four years in rehabilitation, rescue, and education. She also currently works as a student assistant for visitor programs at the Seymour Marine Discovery Center. Megan is planning a career in veterinary medicine and is excited to take advantage of the unique animal research and training opportunities the pinniped lab has to offer.

Kathy recently joined the lab in January 2008 as a full time intern. She is currently a senior from Southampton College majoring in Psychobiology. She plans to graduate in May of 2008. While attending college, she participated in several internship programs including the U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program, a wild dolphin field study in Costa Rica, and The Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation. She is interested in animal cognition and behavior and hopes to find a career working with marine mammals after she graduates.