Dr. Eric Montie’s research program focuses on fish & marine mammal biology and the bioacoustics of marine life with applied applications in environmental toxicology, noise pollution and climate change. His team utilizes passive acoustic recorders mounted on oceanographic instrument frames that allow continuous and long-term sampling of the underwater soundscape. These recordings provide information on the behavior of snapping shrimp, spawning patterns of fish, foraging patterns and communication of bottlenose dolphins and noise levels associated with human activity.

The long-term goal is to ‘eavesdrop’ on key behaviors of marine animals that can change rapidly or gradually in response to environmental changes and human impacts, thus providing a measure of resilience or shifting baselines in a globally changing environment.

In 2020, Montie founded the Estuarine Soundscape Observatory Network in the Southeast (or ESONS), which now monitors biological sound and human-made noise in four estuaries of South Carolina. In addition, he supervises the Lowcountry Dolphin Conservation Program, which focuses on the population dynamics and ecology of common bottlenose dolphins in the Port Royal Sound Area.

During this talk, Dr. Montie will discuss major highlights of these two monitoring programs that have been observed over the past 10 years.