This course is offer every other year. Next one is in Fall 2025

About CUREs

 Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) provide early opportunities to undergrads to participate in scientific research. CUREs allow students to get hands-on experience in the process of scientific discovery, which increases students interest in science, helps them decide if they want to pursue research careers, increases confidence in their ability to do science, and promotes early participation in the scientific community through publication, conference presentation, and more. A hallmark of a CURE course is that students participate in all aspects of a research project from asking questions, proposing hypothesis, making predictions, selecting tools for visualization, data processing and statistical analysis, to communicating findings. All this while learning to navigate the messiness of the real-world data! Regardless of your ultimate career goals, participation in a CURE will help you to develop skills in interpretation of results and establishing solid arguments (Corwin et al. 2014). For more information about CUREs, go to CUREnet: https://serc.carleton.edu/curenet/index.html   

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CURE Fall 2019
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CURE Fall 2018

Course Description

My goal is to engage undergraduate students in topics I work on: marine soundscape ecology, marine animal bioacoustics, and cetacean ecology, behavior, and conservation. For this CURE, students will work on projects related to two topics. Topic I involves the use of sound as a tool to study marine communities, the vocal repertoire of marine species, and human impacts on wild populations. Topic II involves the use of traditional photo-identification methods in dolphins to study association patterns and population size (more details below).

Learning goals

  • To offer the opportunity to make discoveries and contributions to the scientific community, policy-makers, and the public.
  •  Engage students in all aspects of research: literature reading and discussion, asking questions that can be answered during the semester, collecting, processing, and analyzing data, learning how to interpret analytical results and how to communicate the results. 
  • Create an environment that promotes active collaboration and contributions among students and instructor during the semester through problem solving and analysis.
  • Learn that science is not about eureka moments! Good science takes time, involves failure, troubleshooting, discussions, re-evaluations, and yes frustration. Good science is always challenging at different levels, from collecting the data to its analysis. 
  • Learn that there is not a single “right” way to do science! Different questions, systems,or species will require different approaches. For example, some research questions rely on well-planned experimental designs involving multiple controls. My research is field based and correlative, which is bound to be limited by replication, sample size, lack of controls (because they are impossible to have!), and logistics. However, field-based projects are essential for our understanding of our biological world, and are often the spark for more controlled experimental studies. 
 

CURE 2018 Projects Booklet

CURE 2019 Projects Booklet

CURE 2020 POSTER PRESENTATIONS

CURE 2021 Projects Booklet
CURE 2023 Project Booklet

Fish Acoustics 

 Toadfish mating call acoustic structure in two sites that vary boat traffic in Bocas del Toro, Panama.
​Emma Gagne (presented at the Student Research Conference @ UVM Spring 2020)
Toadfish calling activity decreases with boat traffic in Bocas del Toro, Panama. 
​Isabel Mize
Effects of boat traffic on the mating call acoustic structure of the  Bocon Toadfish in Bocas del Toro, Panama
​Cooper Peterson.
Temporal variation of toadfish calling behavior in relation to boat traffic in Bocas del Toro, Panama.
​Michael Beaudette.

Humpback whale song studies

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Singing patterns of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in wintering grounds off the coast of Guerrero, Mexico.
Cybele Adamcewicz and Isabel Belash.
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Singing patterns of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in wintering grounds off the coast of Panama and potential negative effects of tour boat traffic.
​Danielle McAree, Kate Ziegler, and Shelby Rosten (presented at the World Marine Mammal Biennal Conference, Barcelona, Dec. 2019)
Song structure of Southern Hemisphere humpback whales wintering off the coasts of Costa Rica and Panama in 2019.
Rachel Strack (presented at the Student Research Conference @ UVM Spring 2020)
Incorporating automated SPCC into song structure comparison of Central American (DPS6) humpback whales.
Avery Clotfelter (presented at the Student Research Conference @ UVM Spring 2020)

Dolphin and Manatee Bioacoustics

Bottlenose dolphin signature and variant whistles acoustic structure varies with boat traffic.
Brennan Paradee
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​Diversity of Signature Whistles in Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) of Dolphin Bay, Bocas del Toro, Panama 
Rebecca Daw (to be presented at the World Marine Mammal Biennal Conference, Barcelona, Dec. 2019) 
The acoustic repertoire and temporal activity of Antillean Manatees (Trichechus manatus manatus) in Belize
​Carly Sarbacker
Bottlenose dolphin acoustic repertoire in Bocas del Toro
Addie Weeks

Spotted dolphin acoustic behavior in Central America 
Lauren Barnes

Soundscape Ecology

Temporal shifts in fish call diversity in Diablo, Costa Rica.
Katherine Helmer. (presented at the Student Research Conference @ UVM Spring 2020)

Factors influencing the acoustic dynamics of protected marine communities in Costa Rica and Panama.
Sean O'Sullivan and Elie Byrne

Factors determining acoustic diversity in the marine community of Sharkhole, Bocas del Toro Panama.
David Sileo

Acoustic characteristics of two sites located a different distances of the Canal of Panama, Panama  and their potential impact to marine life.
Kenneth Tang

​Monitoring Marine Biodiversity through Soundscape Analysis: Isla del Caño, Costa Rica
Jessa Houghton Caroline Dunbar, and Jade McMillan

Behavioral Ecology

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Behavioral budget of Antillean manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus) of Belize. 
Summer Barnes (presented at the Student Research Conference @ UVM Spring 2020)

Using unmanned vehicles aerial footage to study interspecific interactions between humpback whales and other marine species in Guerrero, Mexico.
Matt Herberg
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Studying humpback whale and dolphin interactions in Guerrero, Mexico using UAV data. 
Quynh Vo
Female Productivity and Calf Survivorship of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Bocas, Panama
​Kahlia Gonzales and Natalia Swack (to be presented at the World Marine Mammal Biennal Conference, Barcelona, Dec. 2019 and at presented at the Student Research Conference @ UVM Spring 2020)
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Bocas del Toro bottlenose dolphin Population viability 
Amanda Jones (presented at the Student Research Conference @ UVM Spring 2020)
Social Structure of Bottlenose Dolphins in Bocas del Toro Panama
​Erin Powell (presented at the Student Research Conference @ UVM Spring 2020)
Female home ranges of Bottlenose Dolphins in Bocas del Toro Panama
Hannah Hutchens (presented at the Student Research Conference @ UVM Spring 2020)