Jason Gedamke

Jason grew up on the outskirts of New York City, and obtained a bachelor's degree in biology from Wesleyan University. He then went on to graduate school at the University of California at Santa Cruz in the Ocean Sciences department. Here he worked on a range of marine mammal and acoustics projects (primarily impacts of man-made sound on marine mammals) before focusing on his dissertation research on minke whale acoustic behaviour and remote acoustic tracking of stinger movements on the Great Barrier Reef.

Jason began working at the Australian Antarctic Division in 2004. His position has a dual focus of 1) providing scientific advice to inform Australia's policy position at the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and attending the IWC- Scientific Committee; and 2) conducting acoustic research on cetaceans in the Southern Ocean. In addition, a large focus of his work is to provide scientific advice regarding the potential impact of man-made sound on marine mammals.

Jason’s research interests focus on using underwater sound to monitor cetaceans throughout the world's oceans. While the ocean typically filters light from the water column within tens of meters, sound has the potential to travel hundreds, if not thousands, of kilometres underwater. Jason is primarily interested in the use of passive acoustics (listening) to learn about marine mammal behaviour, movements, distribution, habitat utilization, and in refining acoustic surveying techniques for use in abundance estimates.

Remote acoustic techniques like these are particularly useful to address broad population level questions like presence, seasonality, relative abundance and distribution of marine mammals in the Southern Ocean where conditions often make other means of research difficult. Jason will use these passive acoustic techniques during the Antarctic Whale Expedition.