Douglas Nowacek

Randolph K. Repass and Sally-Christine Rodgers University Distinguished Professor of Conservation Technology in Environment and Engineering

Sound propagates very efficiently through sea water, and marine mammals take advantage of this medium to communicate and explore their environment. My research is focused on the link between acoustic and motor behavior in marine mammals, primarily cetaceans and manatees, specifically, how they use sound in ecological processes. The cetaceans, or whales and dolphins, are divided into two main groups, the toothed whales (odontocetes) and the baleen whales (mysticetes). One of my specific areas of research is the use of echolocation and foraging behavior in one of the odontocetes, the bottlenose dolphin. Another focus of my current research is the effect(s) of anthropogenic noise on marine mammals.

Appointments and Affiliations

• Randolph K. Repass and Sally-Christine Rodgers University Distinguished Professor of Conservation Technology in Environment and Engineering
• Professor
• Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Faculty Network Member of The Energy Initiative

Contact Information

• Office Location: Duke Univ Marine Lab, 135 Duke Marine Lab Rd, Beaufort, NC 28516
• Office Phone: (252) 504-7566
• Email Address: doug.nowacek@duke.edu
• Websites:
  • Nowacek Lab Page

Education

• Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1999
• B.A. Ohio Wesleyan University, 1991

Research Interests

Marine mammal behavioral and acoustic ecology
Ocean noise
Offshore renewable energy

Awards, Honors, and Distinctions

• Sally Connally Hardie Visiting Researcher. University of St. Andrews, Scotland. 2018
• Visiting Scholar. University of Tasmania. 2013

Courses Taught

• BIOLOGY 279LA: Sound in the Sea: Introduction to Marine Bioacoustics
• BIOLOGY 784LA: Sound in the Sea: Introduction to Marine Bioacoustics
• ECE 384LA: Sound in the Sea: Introduction to Marine Bioacoustics
• ECE 461: Ocean Engineering
• ECE 590: Advanced Topics in Electrical and Computer Engineering
• ECE 784LA: Sound in the Sea: Introduction to Marine Bioacoustics
• ECS 280LA: Sound in the Sea: Introduction to Marine Bioacoustics
• EGR 393: Research Projects in Engineering
• ENVIRON 280LA: Sound in the Sea: Introduction to Marine Bioacoustics
• ENVIRON 394A: Research Independent Study
• ENVIRON 461: Ocean Engineering
• ENVIRON 723A: Offshore Renewable Energy & Wildlife Conservation
• ENVIRON 784LA: Sound in the Sea: Introduction to Marine Bioacoustics
• MARSCI 280LA: Sound in the Sea: Introduction to Marine Bioacoustics
• MARSCI 323A: Offshore Renewable Energy & Wildlife Conservation
• MARSCI 393: Research Independent Study
• MARSCI 393A: Research Independent Study
• MARSCI 394: Research Independent Study
• ME 426: Ocean Engineering

In the News

• Marine Lab Study Finds Microplastics Embedded in Tissues of Whales and Dolphins (Aug 10, 2023 | Duke Today)
• Can Wind Farms Provide Sustainable Energy Without Risking Sea Life? (Oct 17, 2021 | Nicholas School of the Environment)
• The Whale Whisperers: How Moms Talk to Calves Without Alerting Predators (Oct 10, 2019 | Nicholas School of the Environment)
• Man-Made Sounds Damage Marine Life. Duke Researchers Are Trying to Protect Them (Mar 26, 2019)
• At Beaufort, the Ocean Is For Engineering Study, Too (Jul 17, 2018 | Pratt School of Engineering)
• Duke Marine Lab's Stunning Journey to Study Antarctic Whales (Jan 19, 2018 | Nicholas School of the Environment)
• Turn Down the Volume: New Guide Helps Reduce Seismic Surveys Impacts on Marine Species (Sep 11, 2016)
• A group of scientists is begging Obama to save right whales (Apr 15, 2016 | The Huffington Post)
• Asking President Obama to Save Right Whales (Apr 14, 2016)
• Douglas Nowacek comments: Deafening Atlantic oil prospecting to go ahead despite threat to marine life (Mar 30, 2016 | The Guardian)
• Douglas Nowacek: Marine life needs protection from noise pollution (Sep 14, 2015 | Scientific American)
• New International Standards Needed To Manage Ocean Noise (Sep 2, 2015)
• Researchers recommend treating ocean seismic testing as pollution (Sep 2, 2015 | The News & Observer)
• Nicholas' Nowacek Testifies Before Congress On Impacts Of Seismic Activity On Marine Life (Jul 15, 2015)
• Douglas Nowacek comments: Science panel weighs in on potential impacts of seismic testing off N.C. coast (Apr 28, 2015 | WHQR-Wilmington)
• A whale of a fight is brewing over Atlantic coastal drilling (Feb 25, 2015 | McClatchy DC)
• The whale savers (Oct 20, 2014 | Christian Science Monitor)
• Minke Whales Lunge Up To 100 Times An Hour To Feed Under Sea Ice (Aug 14, 2014)

Representative Publications

• Cioffi, WR; Quick, NJ; Swaim, ZT; Foley, HJ; Waples, DM; Webster, DL; Baird, RW; Southall, BL; Nowacek, DP; Read, AJ, Trade-offs in telemetry tag programming for deep-diving cetaceans: data longevity, resolution, and continuity, Animal Biotelemetry, vol 11 no. 1 (2023) [10.1186/s40317-023-00334-1] [abs].
• Boisseau, O; Nowacek, D; Roberts, J; Pabst, DA; Clabaugh, A; Moscrop, A; McLanaghan, R; Yack, T; Levenson, JJ, Acoustic density estimates of beaked whales off the mid-Atlantic coast of the USA in winter and spring, Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, vol 199 (2023) [10.1016/j.dsr.2023.104108] [abs].
• Merrill, GB; Hermabessiere, L; Rochman, CM; Nowacek, DP, Microplastics in marine mammal blubber, melon, & other tissues: Evidence of translocation., Environmental Pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987), vol 335 (2023) [10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122252] [abs].
• Pallin, LJ; Kellar, NM; Steel, D; Botero-Acosta, N; Baker, CS; Conroy, JA; Costa, DP; Johnson, CM; Johnston, DW; Nichols, RC; Nowacek, DP; Read, AJ; Savenko, O; Schofield, OM; Stammerjohn, SE; Steinberg, DK; Friedlaender, AS, A surplus no more? Variation in krill availability impacts reproductive rates of Antarctic baleen whales., Global Change Biology, vol 29 no. 8 (2023), pp. 2108-2121 [10.1111/gcb.16559] [abs].
• Pallin, L; Bierlich, KC; Durban, J; Fearnbach, H; Savenko, O; Baker, CS; Bell, E; Double, MC; de la Mare, W; Goldbogen, J; Johnston, D; Kellar, N; Nichols, R; Nowacek, D; Read, AJ; Steel, D; Friedlaender, A, Demography of an ice-obligate mysticete in a region of rapid environmental change., Royal Society Open Science, vol 9 no. 11 (2022) [10.1098/rsos.220724] [abs].