Morgan Martin and the Underwater Acoustics

Doesn't that sound like the cooleset band ever? Meet Morgan J. Martin, PhD, a marine scientist who studies underwater sounds with whales, dolphins, and porpoises.

June 10, 2020

By: Discovery and The Explorers Club

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Photo By: Jeremy Smith

Photo By: Dr. Simon Elwen, The Namibian Dolphin Project

Photo By: S. Flynn, The Namibian Dolphin Project

Photo By: Jeff Slater

Photo By: Birhan Urguz

Photo By: Morgan Martin

This is a gray whale calf (~2 months old) off the Baja Peninsula, Mexico. Gray whales breed and give birth in small bays along the Baja coastline. This calf was very curious of our boat and its mother was only a few feet away, keeping a close eye on her baby.

Heaviside’s and dusky dolphins are the two most commonly seen cetacean species off the coast of Namibia. Dusky dolphins are known for their extreme acrobatics and can form groups of over 500 individuals.

Two Heaviside’s dolphins socializing off the coast of Namibia.

These are Heaviside’s dolphins that I recorded as part of my PhD research in Namibia. I had two hydrophones (underwater recording microphones) suspended below my kayak and a Dictaphone hanging around my neck. I would paddle up to groups of dolphins and record their vocalizations underwater while speaking notes on the dolphin behaviors into my dictaphone.

This is a humpback whale making a foraging dive in Antarctica. Southern hemisphere humpback whales migrate to Antarctica each year to feed on krill for 3-4 months before returning to warmer waters to breed and give birth. I spent the winter this year working as a bioacoustics wildlife guide in Antarctica and had the opportunity to collect acoustic recordings of whales, seals and lots of penguins.

This photo was taken off Borneo, Indonesia. I volunteered to work as a marine mammal observer for two weeks out of this small wooden boat. Species Featured: Bottlenose Dolphin