Simone Baumann-Pickering

Simone Baumann-Pickering is a Professor of Biological Oceanography at the Marine Physical Laboratory, part of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. Her research focuses on acoustic ecology, marine mammal behavior, and conservation, with an emphasis on using passive acoustics to study species distribution, habitat utilization, and ecosystem dynamics. She leads the Scripps Acoustic Ecology Laboratory, which develops innovative methods for long-term acoustic monitoring and species classification.

Education:

• PhD in Biology, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Germany
• M.S. in Biology, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Germany
• B.S. in Biology, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Germany
• B.S. in Media Engineering, Stuttgart Media University, Germany

Research Interests: Acoustic ecology, adaptive strategies in changing environments, conservation management, habitat modeling, and species discrimination through sound. Her work bridges technology and ecology, leveraging machine learning and hydrophone arrays to address conservation challenges.

Recent Research Trends: Her articles emphasize the integration of acoustic data with environmental variables (e.g., oceanographic conditions, climate fluctuations) to understand species behavior and distribution. Key themes include sperm whale demographics, beaked whale habitat utilization, and the impacts of vessel noise on marine ecosystems.

Grants & Projects: She leads initiatives like SanctSound, which builds data systems for marine management decisions. Her work often involves collaboration with federal agencies and conservation organizations to inform policy.

Labs & Teams: The Scripps Acoustic Ecology Laboratory develops tools such as Where’s Whaledo to advance array-based localization of marine animal vocalizations, enhancing conservation and research capabilities.