Melanie Smith
@whalesmels.bsky.social
She/her PhD Student Syracuse University Bioacoustics and Behavioral Ecology Lab Interested in using bioacoustics for baleen whale conservation and making marine science more accessible 🐳 Views my own
Incredibly honored and grateful to have been selected!
Society for Marine Mammalogy@marinemammalogy.bsky.social · 4mo agoCongratulations to 2026 Louis M. Herman Research Scholarship recipient 🎉 @whalesmels.bsky.social from @subabel.bsky.social Melanie’s research examines how female acoustic signalling influences pair stability in humpback whales—shedding light on the role of communication in social dynamics.
We are BABEL, the Bioacoustics and Behavioral Ecology Lab at Syracuse University! We focus on the ecology and evolution of acoustic signaling and animal behavior. Research in the lab spans the fields of behavioral ecology, evolution, bioacoustics, oceanography, and conservation biology.
Happy new year! I wanted to share my new Python package called chatter that streamlines the process of applying AI/ML models to animal communication 🦜🦇🐋🐵👨🌾 masonyoungblood.github.io/chatter/
Fun to collaborate with @whalesmels.bsky.social on this study, where we worked with Mark Stanback to glean insights from his amazing hornbill nesting data! 🪶
Melanie Smith@whalesmels.bsky.social · 8mo agoVery pleased to announce our research on #nestlinggrowth and #broodreduction in #hornbills has been published! I started this work as an undergraduate and am grateful for everything I have learned from my co-authors. @dialektical.bsky.social onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Early results, only 1 of 4 species, & only Ch 1... but the dissertation is finally giving me results I can share! 🥳🐳 I presented a promising acoustic+visual species distribution model for the North Atlantic right whale & discussed the role of bottom temp & silicate as important predictors! 🦑🧪🔊 #ASA
Super excited to share the first part of my thesis work! Perhaps how you might be able to both recognize someone’s voice *and* understand what they’re saying, we find that both social identity and vocalization category can be decoded from gerbil auditory cortex activity👂🧠 tinyurl.com/4fba6wk4
Very pleased to announce our research on #nestlinggrowth and #broodreduction in #hornbills has been published! I started this work as an undergraduate and am grateful for everything I have learned from my co-authors. @dialektical.bsky.social onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Nestling Growth and Brood Reduction in the Southern Yellow‐Billed Hornbill (Tockus leucomelas)
In the southern yellow-billed hornbill, Tockus leucomelas, we found first-hatched nestlings had a higher growth rate and that growth rate was negatively correlated with mortality, such that early hat...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Really cool study - #whales play a super important role in the ecosystem in which they live! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Migrating baleen whales transport high-latitude nutrients to tropical and subtropical ecosystems - Nature Communications
Baleen whales migrate from high latitude feeding grounds to subtropical reproductive winter grounds, translocating limiting nutrients across ecosystems. This study estimates the latitudinal movement o...
nature.com
We ( @drcatmac.bsky.social and I) are writing a marine conservation science and policy textbook! We'd love to include case studies of ocean conservation success stories, and we welcome submissions of ideas here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... Please be clear and detailed! 🧪🦑🌎🐟
Getting reports of some sound problems with our Twitch livestream. Here's another stream while we sort out some technical difficulties! www.youtube.com/watch?v=eemj...
WATCH LIVE: 'Stand up for Science' rally with Bill Nye and others at Lincoln Memorial in Washington
YouTube video by PBS NewsHour
youtube.com
Amazing speech by @sarahmackattack.bsky.social inspiring us to be "bad" for the greater good - Embrace chaos and break the right rules. #StandUpForScience2025 #Philadelphia
ICB weekend read #BlackHistoryMonth guest blog From #Science to #Storytelling: How My Passion for Discovery Inspired Black #Nerds Matter by Deidric Davis, BIMS member, Eckerd College senior, marine #scientist & #podcaster integrativeandcomparativebiology.wordpress.com/2025/02/09/g...
Guest blog- From Science to Storytelling: How My Passion for Discovery Inspired Black Nerds Matter
by Deidric Davis Senior at Eckerd College , originator of podcast -Black Nerds Matter Deidric’s first day at WMNF 88.5 Radio Station. They distribute his show There’s nothing I love more than…
integrativeandcomparativebiology.wordpress.com
What a horrifying doozy these first two weeks of the Trump administration have been. YOWZA. I’ve been pacing myself by focusing on climate policy, since it’s nearly impossible to keep up with everything. Here, in @rollingstone.com, is what I’m thinking so far: www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
What Now for Climate Under Trump? Act Locally
Trump is working to sabotage climate solutions — but there’s a lot regular people can do to push cities and states to fill the growing federal void.
rollingstone.com
We uncovered the same statistical structure that is a hallmark of human language in whale song, published today in Science. @inbalarnon.bsky.social @simonkirby.bsky.social @jennyallen13.bsky.social @clairenea.bsky.social @emma-carroll.bsky.social www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Came across this platform—looks useful for those of us working with spatial data. It’s said to hold 18,000+ datasets and links to other websites where one can download data from. Community driven so users can submit new datasets to help grow and improve the collection 🧪🌏🌱 www.geospatial.community
Geospatial Community
Find Geospatial data effortlessly
geospatial.community
🚨 Job opportunity! 🚨 We're hiring a Marine Conservation Intern to join our @wtsww.bsky.social team at #CBMWC! You must be between 18 & 25 to qualify for this internship.🐬 Find out more & apply today: www.welshwildlife.org/jobs/marine-conservation-intern #MarineConservationJobs #Wales #WTSWW
Critical to be aware where we're being misled & what is real “There are no known links between large whale deaths and ongoing offshore wind activities”. Climate crisis & subsequently warming waters impact food sources to force whales to new (unprotected) areas www.capeandislands.org/local-news/2...
Is offshore wind driving whales ‘crazy?’ Science says no
Just hours after his inauguration on Monday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order halting new federal leases for offshore wind projects. He cited, as one reason, the impact offshore wind m...
capeandislands.org
Need a coping strategy in the face of *waves arms around*? After seeing more misinformation accounts here, I've been doing a dive on #scicomm best practices. We scientists should triple down on this and dial up our prebunking and debunking efforts. Here's a 🧵 of strategies and resources: 🧪 1/
New pre-print! 🎙️🦉 Automated Note Annotation after Bioacoustic Classification: Unsupervised Clustering of Extracted Acoustic Features Improves Detection of a Cryptic Owl papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.... #bioacoustics #machinelearning #conservation
In addition to supporting DEI and collaborating with local communities, scientists should use indigenous names and common names when describing species, study sites, etc. Indigenous people deserve respect when research is conducted on their land. #Science #MarineScience #Academia
Not a great head space the past few days given both the metaphorical and horrifyingly real fires of 2025 — but my Libby hold on “What If We Get It Right” just came in, and damn if the buoyant optimism of @ayanaeliza.bsky.social hasn’t recalibrated my hopometer. It’s a life raft for climate despair.
Our global study on the state of trust in scientists is now out in Nature Human Behaviour! 🥳 With a team of 241 researchers, we surveyed 71,922 people in 68 countries, providing the largest dataset on trust in scientists post-pandemic 👇🧵https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-024-02090-5
Researchers found 15 people in Kansas City who had changed their mind about climate change, and asked them why. Fascinating! link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Sitting on a train and working on research is very academic core and I love it #PhDSky
Have you ever heard the underwater song of a bearded seal, the call of a walrus, the call of a baby crocodile, or the song of a fruit fly? All these sounds (and more) are on "The ‘Voices of Nature. How and Why Animals Communicate’ book website 👇 mathevon0.wixsite.com/soundjourney... #bioacoustics
Book The Voices of Nature | SOUNDJOURNEYBOOK
mathevon0.wixsite.com
Another powerful image to remind us of our impact on marine life. Did you know one plastic bottle can take up to 450 years to decompose? 🎨 Dafne Murillo #WhaleTales #TalesOfSavingWhales #StopSingleUse
The Biden admin. announced it will protect 600M+ acres of U.S. ocean from offshore exploration & drilling. Thank you Pres. Biden for responding to calls from coastal towns, communities, tribal leaders & countless others who depend on a clean, healthy ocean. oceanconservancy.org/news/biden-a...
STATEMENT: Ocean Conservancy Applauds Biden Administration's Robust Protections of U.S. Waters from Offshore Oil and Gas Drilling - Ocean Conservancy
"We must, and can, end offshore oil and gas production and move toward responsible, renewable energy sources – like offshore wind – to protect our ocean, while remaining aligned with our goals for Ame...
oceanconservancy.org
