Britney Pepper

I am a marine biologist who is broadly interested in marine mammal ecology, behavior, and conservation. Prior to attending Cornell, I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Georgia. During this time, I had unique opportunities to participate in field studies that helped shape my career. While working for the Georgia Dolphin Ecology Program, I studied bottlenose dolphin population and ecology around St. Catherines Island and Sapelo Sound, Georgia. I also interned with the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida, working on bottlenose dolphin population assessments. My Master’s degree is in Environmental Management from Duke University. One of my research projects analyzed the population of harbor seals that were hauling out on the Outer Banks of North Carolina and how multi-year bridge construction impacted their presence. My Master’s Project provided me an introduction to bioacoustics; I processed passive acoustic monitoring data to determine the presence of fin whales off the coast of New Jersey.

Post Master’s degree, I worked as a Research Technician at Duke University supporting various projects, such as Wildlife and Offshore Wind, the Global Alliance for Managing Ocean Noise, sea turtle auditory evoked potential tests, and analyzing marine mammal spatial distribution along the US East Coast. Post Duke, I worked with the National Marine Fisheries Service’s Alaska Regional Office on Endangered Species Act Section 7 compliance as a contractor where the majority of my work involved impact assessments of anthropogenic noises on marine mammals.

I am grateful to have been awarded a SMART Scholarship by the U.S. Department of Defense for my Ph.D., which supports my graduate studies at the K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics. My proposed work utilizes acoustics to analyze the behavior and communication of marine mammals in regard to climate-induced habitat changes and the increase of anthropogenic noises in the underwater soundscape. The goal for my research is to contribute to and inform policy and conservation decisions to help protect and conserve marine mammal species on a population level.