Photo by Ana Lucia Rodriguez for the ONDAS Project
Logo created by the Smith Lab http://smithneurallab.weebly.com/
The May-Collado Lab is committed to equity, justice, and inclusivity in STEM.
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Assistant Professor
Department of Biology, University of Vermont. Research Associate, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, SI. Chair of the Committee of Scientific Advisors, The Society of Marine Mammalogy. Member of the UVM SACNAS Chapter Phone: (802) 656-4138 Office: 215 MLS; Lab 224 Department of Biology, UVM Email: lmaycoll@uvm.edu instagram: @maycolladolab
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Interests: Evolution, Behavior, Conservation
I am a marine mammal evolutionary biologist researching the phylogenetic and ecological factors shaping the
acoustic repertoire of aquatic mammals. My research implements phylogenomics, field observations, autonomous underwater recording systems, unmanned aerial vehicles to study, and machine learning tools to study the diversity of communicative signals produced by aquatic mammals in their natural environment. Our research is done in collaboration with local scientists and students in Central America in an effort to ensure we contribute to the formation of the next generation of Hispanic marine mammal scientists in the region.
acoustic repertoire of aquatic mammals. My research implements phylogenomics, field observations, autonomous underwater recording systems, unmanned aerial vehicles to study, and machine learning tools to study the diversity of communicative signals produced by aquatic mammals in their natural environment. Our research is done in collaboration with local scientists and students in Central America in an effort to ensure we contribute to the formation of the next generation of Hispanic marine mammal scientists in the region.
2023 Peer Review Publications
- May-Collado, L. J., Bottoms, S., Durant, G., Palacios-Alfaro, J.D., and J. J. Alvarado. In press. Singing activity of the Breeding Stock G humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) (Artiodactyla: Balaenopteridae) at Caño Island Biological Reserve, Costa Rica before, during, and after COVID-19 lockdowns. Revista Biologia Tropical, Special Volume on the Aquatic Mammals of Central America.
- Manali Rege-Colt, Julie N. Oswald, Joelle De Weerdt, Jose David Palacios-Alfaro, Maia Austin, Emma Gagne, Jacqueline Maythé Morán Villatoro, Catherine Teresa Sahley, Gilma Alvarado-Guerra, and Laura J. May-Collado*.2023. Whistle repertoire and structure reflect ecotype distinction of pantropical spotted dolphins in the Eastern Tropical Pacific. Scientific Reports.13:13449
- Antichi, S., Austin, M., May-Collado, L.J., Urban, J. R., Martinez-Aguilar, S., and L. Viloria-Gomora. 2023. Differences in the whistles of two ecotypes of bottlenose dolphins in the Gulf of California. Submitted to Journal of the Acoustical Society of America- Express Letters. https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0019502
- Agnarsson, I., Coddington, J. A., Caicedo-Quiroga, L., May-Collado, L. J., and S. Palsson. 2023. Deep mtDNA sequence divergences and possible species radiation of whip spiders (Arachnida, Amblypigi, Phrynidae, Phrynus/Paraphrynus) among Caribbean Oceanic and Cave Islands. Taxonomy 3: 133-147. https://doi.org/10.3390/taxonomy3010011
- Ramirez, J. D., Sanchez, R., May-Collado, L. J., Gonzalez Maya, J.F., and B. Rodriguez Herrera. 2023. Lista actualizada, estado de conservación, y endemismo de los mamíferos de Costa Rica. Therya Asociación Mexicana de Mastozoología. DOI: 10.12933/therya-23-2142
2023 Contributions to Public Engagement
"Bachata de Ballenatos" and "Meditacion y Agua" contain recordings done by our lab. This is an effort to engage the public in conservation through music!
2023 Lab Highlights!
Dr. May-Collado and Dr. Easton White (UNH) will receive NSF founding training students in Marine Biology in collaboration with Dr. Juan Jose Alvarado and Dr. Mario Espinoza at the University of Costa Rica.
Continue collaboration with Panacetacea to deploy Soundtraps in Gulf of Chiriqui.
LECAN is directed by Dr. Juan Jose Alvarado at UCR/CIMAR with whom we will be staring the IRES-NSF funded marine biology training program.
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Manali presenting her work on the vocal repertoire of pantropical spotted dolphins at the 2023 Northeast Regional Acoustics Symposium. This work is published in Scientific Reports.
Maia, Ilaria, and Manali at the Northeast Regional Acoustic Symposium, University of New Hampshire
Maia has been granted the Short-Term Fellowship by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. The fellowship will cover fieldwork expenses for 2023 and 2024. Maia also obtained the Robert Fabri Fialho Research Award at UVM. Dr. Fialho was an active member of the Biology Department her at UVM was passionate about ecology, evolution, and animal behavior.
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Franny is the new recipient of the Kay, Klieman, and Larrabee Summer Undergraduate Research Award to continue her work on humpback whale songs.
Ilaria received the John Wheeler Graduate Student Research and Development Award to begin her doctoral research on humpback whale social calls.
Betzi, meta-data analysis on the impact of tourism on wildlife stress has been accepted in Biological Reviews.
Dr. Eric Ramos, started his postdoc in the May-Collado lab!
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2023 fieldwork involved the continuation of the ONDAS Initiative by deploying more soundtraps and hydromoths in the Pacific and Caribbean coasts of Costa Rica and Panama. The ONDAs project involves a series of studies on the communication and behavioral ecology of humpback whales (northern and southern populations) and various toothed whale species, and the study of the soundscape of various marine communities. To follow our fieldwork follow our Instagram account @maycolladolab.
Posdoctoral Fellow Eric Ramos using a drone to follow mixed species dolphin groups in Gandoca Manzanillo, Costa Rica. Photo Laura J May Collado
Photographing and recording humpback whales (breeding stock G) in the waters of the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica. Photo by Laura J May Collado
Postdoc Eric Ramos studying manatee behavior in Belize. Photo by Eric Ramos
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A mixed species group of dolphins with bottlenose and Guiana dolphins in Gandoca-Manzanillo, Costa Rica. Photo by Eric Ramos.
AMP student Franny Oppenheimer and PhD student Ilaria Coero Borga, studying humpback whales in the Gulf of Chiriquí Panama with researcher Kristin Rasmussen.
Dr. May-Collado studying whales in Santa Elena Bay, Costa Rica. Photo by Laura J May Collado
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Collaborators Jeremy Kiszka and Jose David Palacios photographing Guiana dolphins in Gandoca Manzanillo. Photo Laura J May Collado
Researcher Jose David Palacios deploying hydromoths recorders in coral reefs to study the effect of bleaching on the soundscape (photo by Ana Lucia Rodriguez Tinoco)
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Tedx and Social Media
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Video source by Paulo Castro. https://peerj.com/articles/6670/
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Great conversation with my dear friend Monika Naranjo Gonzalez in her Antarctica Podcast.
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