Kathleen Stafford

Kathleen Stafford is an Associate Professor at Oregon State University's Marine Mammal Institute within the College of Agricultural Sciences. She holds a PhD in Interdisciplinary Oceanography and an MS in Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences from Oregon State University, preceded by a BA in Biology and French Literature from UC Santa Cruz.

Her research focuses on passive acoustic monitoring of marine mammals, investigating animal-environment interactions, occurrence patterns, phenology shifts, and habitat utilization in changing ocean ecosystems. Specializing in Arctic environments, she studies how reduced sea ice affects marine mammal distributions, migratory timing, and acoustic environments, using technologies from hydrophones to gliders.

Stafford's publications demonstrate expertise in Arctic bioacoustics, baleen whale ecology, climate change impacts on marine mammals, and innovative monitoring technologies. Recent work emphasizes killer whale range expansion, bowhead whale migration shifts, and acoustic differentiation of whale populations. She collaborates with physical oceanographers, zooplankton ecologists, and sea ice experts to understand ecosystem reorganization in Arctic gateways.

Professional affiliations include the Society for Marine Mammalogy, Arctic Institute of North America, Acoustical Society of America, and American Geophysical Union. No student advisees or scientific awards are documented in the provided profile.