An interview with Marine Mammal Scientist, Emma Chereskin
BY MARGAUX MONFARED
Bottlenose dolphins are the most common members of the Delphinidae family, in which three species have been identified. These include the Common, the Indo-Pacific and the Burrunan dolphins. Research has shown that dolphins exhibit a variety of social behaviours within their pods, although their communication systems have been studied extensively, there is still much to learn. Meet Emma Chereskin, marine mammal scientist completing her Masters degree at the University of Bristol who studies sociality and vocal communication in Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins. She works in partnership with ‘Shark Bay Dolphin Research’, in Western Australia, who have been conducting critical long-term studies on dolphins since the mid 1980’s. Prior to her MRes, Emma worked with pilot whales in the Canary Islands and Humpback Whales both in Boston and Central America. Outside of her work she loves to cook and watch movies with her cat Juno!
Read below to find out more about her incredible dolphin research and keep up to date via her Instagram: @emmastudieswhales
You’ve built your life around the ocean. What drew you to it in the first place?
To be honest, I was terrified of the ocean for the longest time! I always knew I wanted to study animal systems, but I shied away from studying ocean creatures due to my fear! But, that changed in the summer of 2017 when I got the chance to study humpbacks in Panama during my undergraduate degree. I just could not turn down this amazing opportunity. I engaged with the ocean for the first time and fear turned into fascination. Once I started learning about the ocean, I couldn’t stop. I cannot imagine my life without the ocean now! It’s so important to me to acknowledge that there are lots of people who fear the ocean and to try to replace fear with facts and respect.
You are working on your MSc in partnership with ‘Shark Bay Dolphin Research’; can you tell us more about the work they do?
The team at Shark Bay Dolphin Research has been studying the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) of Shark Bay, Western Australia for almost 40 years now. We use a variety of research methods, such as playback experiments, behavioural observations, biopsies, and acoustic analysis. The research this team conducts provides key insight into the behaviour, social structure, genetics, communication and ecology of these dolphins. Over the years, the project has discovered examples of tool use in dolphins, cultural transmission of foraging techniques, and the most complex system of male alliance formation outside of humans. Check out more by visiting their website: http://www.sharkbaydolphins.org/
Your research focuses on vocal networks for Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins. Can you describe how you collect this data?
The raw acoustic data that I am using for my project was collected over the past several years by the research team at Shark Bay Dolphin Research using a towed array of 4 hydrophones. I then go through and identify signature whistles, which function as identity markers, like human names! Using acoustic localization, we can figure out which signature whistles belong to which individual dolphins. From there, we construct weighted and directed vocal networks using signature whistle exchanges. This means that our networks can tell you how many times a dolphin called to others and how many responses that dolphin received.
What do these vocal networks tell us about the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin’s behaviours?
This is what we are hoping to find out! Vocal networks have not been constructed for this species before, and, even outside of dolphins, vocal networks are relatively understudied in behavioural ecology. We are interested in learning what additional information vocal network analysis can tell us about the properties of social groups, such as the way information flows through the group and group connectedness. The research team has studied the social structure of this population using behavioural observations for many years and now we are adding an additional layer of analysis using acoustics and vocal networks. This information will give us a deeper understanding of the social dynamics in this population.
How many different vocal networks have you identified for this species?
The males of the population that I am studying in Shark Bay are unique in that they form multi-level alliances that can span decades! In these alliances, they will engage in coordinated efforts to compete with rivals over access to females. For my project, we have chosen 5 of these alliances to focus on and build networks for, totalling roughly 35 males.
How do you hope your voice and work will influence others?
I’m hopeful that my work can help others overcome a fear of the ocean and inspire them to make positive changes in their daily life to better protect our marine ecosystem. I’m hopeful as well that I can inspire others to pursue a career in marine science! This field needs dedicated activists and scientists now more than ever.
Who or what do you draw your inspiration from?
I draw my main motivation from the ocean itself. Despite the anthropogenic threats the ocean faces, it has such an amazing capacity to rebound if we can give it a chance. The goal of research is to better understand the world around us so that we can live more harmoniously with the Earth’s natural processes. Therefore, I believe that research itself is a type of activism and I hope that I can share knowledge that inspires positive change. I try to do the best work that I can in the hopes that through research and public outreach, I can make a positive impact on the ocean environment and leave it better than how I found it.
Which ocean species is on your bucket list to see?
It would be way too long of a list if I listed everything! So I’ll limit myself to 3: Killer whales, blue whales and Amazonian river dolphins (or botos)!
Whose work has influenced and inspired you?
I grew up watching Steve Irwin on Animal Planet and I’ve known since I was little that I wanted to work with animals! More professionally speaking, my undergraduate advisor, Dr. Laura May-Collado, had a profound impact on my career in marine mammal science. It was in her lab that I got the opportunity to study marine mammals for the first time and set me on my current career path. There are also so many other amazing female marine mammal scientists, such as my Master’s advisor, Dr. Stephanie King, that are doing brilliant work and just being a part of that community is so inspirational.
What is one thing you wish someone had told you/taught you a long time ago?
“Just ask.”
That’s my best advice and something I wish I had learned a long time ago. Just ask, whether it’s just a question, about an opportunity, or reaching out to someone. Putting yourself out there and asking for what you want is immensely powerful!
What has your experience as a woman in ocean science been like?
I have been so fortunate to have not 1, but 2 brilliant female academic advisors, Dr. Laura May-Collado and Dr. Stephanie King. Both experiences during my undergraduate and my current Master’s have been extraordinarily empowering. It definitely makes a difference when you can work with scientists that you admire who also happen to look like you.
That being said, there have also been some hardships. I did have one disheartening work experience due to misogyny and I had to quit a job that I really cared about because of it. It also seems rather hard to escape comments about ‘biological clocks’ and the sacrifices female scientists have to make if they choose to raise a family.
For the most part, my experience as a woman has been positive and uplifting. But I want to acknowledge that I’m fortunate in that aspect and not all women can say the same. Until we can say that every aspect and every female experience has been positive, we as a community still have work to do to combat sexism.
How has the recent COVID-19 Pandemic affected (or not) you and your research?
I am fortunate to be able to work with a project that has a long-term database. The data I am currently working with was collected in 2016-2019 so my analysis hasn’t been affected and I feel so lucky to be able to say that. However, I am not able to go into the field this summer as planned, and I had to complete half of my research project remotely. So, while I feel fortunate that my analysis hasn’t been affected, I am a bit disappointed I won’t be able to have a field season this year.
Where do you go from here?
The current plan is to finish my MRes degree by the end of this year! I am hopeful to be able to complete a PhD in the future as well. Other than that goal, I try to be receptive to all kinds of different opportunities. Personally, that is one of the things I enjoy about my field: that you can wind up anywhere!