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

Link between acoustic and motor behavior in marine mammals, specifically, how they use sound in ecological processes. Development of tools for marine conservation research

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 291: Projects in Electrical and Computer Engineering
• ECE 292: Projects in Electrical and Computer Engineering
• ECE 384LA: Sound in the Sea: Introduction to Marine Bioacoustics
• ECE 461: Ocean Engineering
• ECE 784LA: 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 323A: Offshore Renewable Energy & Wildlife Conservation
• ME 426: Ocean Engineering

In the News

• 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, Nature)
• 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

• Blawas, AM; Nowacek, DP; Rocho-Levine, J; Robeck, TR; Fahlman, A, Scaling of heart rate with breathing frequency and body mass in cetaceans., Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences, vol 376 no. 1830 (2021) [10.1098/rstb.2020.0223] [abs].
• Friedlaender, AS; Joyce, T; Johnston, DW; Read, AJ; Nowacek, DP; Goldbogen, JA; Gales, N; Durban, JW, Sympatry and resource partitioning between the largest krill consumers around the Antarctic Peninsula, Marine Ecology Progress Series, vol 669 (2021), pp. 1-16 [10.3354/meps13771] [abs].
• Cioffi, WR; Quick, NJ; Foley, HJ; Waples, DM; Swaim, ZT; Shearer, JM; Webster, DL; Friedlaender, AS; Southall, BL; Baird, RW; Nowacek, DP; Read, AJ, Adult male Cuvier's beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris) engage in prolonged bouts of synchronous diving, Marine Mammal Science, vol 37 no. 3 (2021), pp. 1085-1100 [10.1111/mms.12799] [abs].
• Wu, CY; Nowacek, DP; Nousek-McGregor, AE; McGregor, R; Howle, LE, Computational fluid dynamics of flow regime and hydrodynamic forces generated by a gliding North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis), Marine Mammal Science, vol 37 no. 3 (2021), pp. 826-842 [10.1111/mms.12798] [abs].
• Wu, C; Howle, LE; Nowacek, DP, Minimum drag on a three-dimensional North Atlantic right whale model via neutral trim pose, Integrative and Comparative Biology, vol 61 (2021), pp. E996-E997 [abs].