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Dr Brian Miller BA, BSc, PhDI am a marine mammal acoustician who is especially interested in passive acoustic population surveys, localisation, and tracking, as well as the effects of man-made noise on marine mammals. I have much experience analyzing marine mammal vocalisations and have developed passive acoustic instrumentation and software as part of the Otago University Marine Mammal Lab. I have also conducted research at Boston University's Hearing Research Center investigating the mechanics of cetacean hearing. This research involved measurement of physical properties of the ears of stranded cetaceans in order to predict the hearing abilities for species that are otherwise difficult to measure by traditional means. For my PhD, I conducted research on sperm whales in Kaikoura, New Zealand, and as a part of that I developed passive acoustic software for measuring individual growth in sperm whales. Much of my PhD research involved designing and building a portable passive acoustic array (hardware and software) which has been used successfully to track diving sperm whales in 3D. I am interested in the Southern Ocean and understanding the role and recovery of large whales within the region. My research is a part of the Southern Ocean Research Partnership, and our main research tools are sonobuoys and moored-acoustic loggers. Work with sonobuoys will focus on real-time localisation and tracking of blue whales during vessel based surveys. We are currently testing if acoustic localisation can increase the encounter rate during blue whale surveys in order to facilitate photographic and genetic data collection. Sonobuoy surveys may also provide an important link between visually observed behaviour and acoustic behaviour. Work with acoustic loggers involves collecting year-round recordings from areas that may otherwise be inaccessible to regular survey. Recordings from loggers can give insight into seasonal trends in vocal behaviour and could potentially provide information on migration, abundance, and habitat usage of acoustically active dolphins and whales. Selected publications
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