Ellen Garland

Dr Ellen Garland is a Principal Research Fellow in the School of Biology at the University of St Andrews, Scotland. She is affiliated with the Centre for Biological Diversity, the Scottish Oceans Institute, the Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU), and the Centre for Social Learning & Cognitive Evolution. She leads multiple research projects funded by The Royal Society and is an active Principal Investigator in marine bioacoustics and animal culture.

Research Interests: Her primary research focuses on animal culture, social learning, bioacoustics, and behavioural ecology, particularly in cetaceans. She specializes in the cultural transmission, vocal learning, and function of humpback whale song, using vocal sequence analysis to define population structures for conservation. Her work contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goals related to life below water and biodiversity.

Recent Research Trends: Her recent publications (2023–2025) explore humpback whale song complexity, cultural evolution, mating systems, and the parallels between whale song and human language. These studies combine bioacoustics, genetics, and network analysis to understand cultural transmission and population dynamics.

• Scientific Awards:
• National Academy of Sciences Postdoctoral Fellowship (2012)
• Academy of Medical Sciences SUSTAIN career programme (2023)
• ASA Acoustic Expert Multimedia: Honourable mention (2023)
• Co-lead, UNEP CMS Expert Working Group on Animal Culture (2023)
• Executive Officer, South Pacific Whale Research Consortium (2019)

Advising and Grants: She supervises research and has led multiple funded projects with The Royal Society, including a University Research Fellowship extension (2022–2025) with over £360,000 in funding. She collaborates internationally and mentors early-career researchers. Her lab generates extensive datasets on cetacean vocalizations and genetics.

Laboratories and Teams: She is embedded in the Sea Mammal Research Unit and the Centre for Social Learning & Cognitive Evolution, working with interdisciplinary teams on marine mammal cognition, communication, and conservation.