Eric Keen

Current

• Visiting Professor, Sewanee: The University of the South
• Biologist, Marine Ecology and Telemetry Research
• Science Director, North Coast Cetacean Society

Publications

• Keen, EM, J Wray, J Pilkington, KL Thompson, CR Picard. (2018) Distinct habitat use strategies of sympatric rorqual whales within a fjord system. Marine Environmental Research 140: 180-189.
• Hendricks, B, EM Keen, JL Wray, HM Alidina, L McWhinnie, H Meuter, CR Picard. (2018) Automated monitoring and analysis of marine mammal vocalizations in coastal habitats. IEEE Oceans 2018.
• Keen, EM, and KM Qualls. (2018) Respiratory differences in sympatric rorqual whales: the influence of prey depth and implications for temporal access to prey. Journal of Mammalogy 99(1): 27-40.
• Keen, EM. (2017) Whales of the Rainforest: habitat use strategies of sympatric rorqual whales within a fjord system. Doctoral Thesis. University of California: San Diego. In press.
• Keen, EM. (2017) Aggregative and feeding thresholds of sympatric rorqual whales within a fjord system. Ecosphere 8(3): 10.1002/ecs2.1702. [Supplementary material]
• Keen, EM, J Wray, H Meuter, KL Thompson, JP Barlow, CR Picard. (2017) “Whale wave”: shifting strategies structure the complex use of critical fjord habitat by humpbacks. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 567: 211-233. [Supplementary material]
• Keen, EM, KB Watson, KM Qualls, RM Keen. (2016) A handheld rangefinder for seabird surveys in confined channels. Marine Ornithology 44: 137-144.
• Keen, EM. (2015) Net savvy: a practical guide to zooplankton sampler design. NOAA-TM-NMFS-SWFSC-545.
• Bagulayan, A, JN Bartlett-Roa, AL Carter, BG Inman, EM Keen, EC Orenstein, NV Patin, KNS Sato, EC Sibert, AE Simonis, AM Van Cise, and PJS Franks. (2012) Journey to the Center of the Gyre: The Fate of the Tohoku Tsunami Debris Field.  Oceanography 25(2):200–207.
• Evans, JP, and EM Keen. (2013) Regeneration failure in a remnant stand of pignut hickory (Carya glabra) on a protected barrier island in Georgia, USA. Natural Areas Journal.
• Hollingshead, N, J Evans, eds. 2010. (EM Keen, contributing author) Cumberland Voices: South Cumberland Conservation Action Plan

Conferences & Symposia

• Keen, EM, EA Falcone, R Andrews, GS Schorr (2018) Diel dive behavior of fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) in the Southern California Bight: implications for ship strike and noise exposure. Poster at Southern California Marine Mammal Workshop, Newport Beach, CA.
• Keen, EM, B Hendricks, J Wray, H Meuter, CR Picard, H Alidina. (2017) SWAG :: Ships, whales and acoustics in Gitga’at Territory. Oral presentation. Biennial Conference for Society of Marine Mammalogy, Halifax, CA.
• Keen, EM, KM Qualls, KL Thompson, J Wray, CR Picard. (2017) Novel spatial analytics to identify candidate environmental cues for foraging whales. Poster. Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography, Honolulu, USA. 26 Feb – 5 March.
• Keen, EM, CR Picard. (2017) Novel spatial analytics reveal influence of prey depth upon alcid distribution within a fjord system. Poster. Pacific Seabird Group meeting, Tacoma, WA, USA, 22-26 February.
• Keen, EM, J Wray, K Thompson, J Pilkington, CR Picard. (2017) Parsing habitat use strategies of sympatric rorqual whales within a fjord system. Poster. Southern California Marine Mammal Workshop. Newport Beach CA, USA, January.
• Keen, EM (2016) Aggregative and feeding thresholds of rorqual whales in a fjord system. Western Society of Naturalists. Oral presentation. Monterey CA, November 2016.
• Keen, EM. (2016) Spatial scale and context dependence of whale-prey associations within a fjord system. Poster. American Cetacean Society. Monterey CA, November.
  • 1st prize, Student Poster Contest
• Keen, EM, J Wray, H Meuter, K Thompson, CR Picard. (2016) “Whale wave”: a seasonal offshore-inshore shift in humpback habitat use. Poster. 21st Biennial, Society for Marine Mammalogy. San Francisco, Dec. 13-18.
• Keen, EM. (2014) Ecological baselines: inland whales, seabirds & their prey in the Great Bear Fjordland, British Columbia. Poster. Southern California Marine Mammal Workshop, Newport Beach, CA, USA.
• Keen, EM (2014) The Bangarang Project, Season 1. Oral presentation. Gitga’at Research Symposium, February 2014.

Datasets

• Keen, Eric M; Wray, Janie; Meuter, Hermann; Thompson, Kim-Ly; Barlow, Jay P; Picard, Chris R (2017): Data from: “Whale Wave”: shifting strategies structure the complex use of critical fjord habitats by humpbacks. UC San Diego Library Digital Collections. http://doi.org/10.6075/J0GT5K3B
• Keen, Eric M. (2017): The Bangarang Project. UC San Diego Library Digital Collections. http://doi.org/10.6075/J0MK69TN

Reports

Gitga’at State of the Ocean 2015. A landmark compilation of recent findings from ocean-related research within Gitga’at territory, written specifically to inform the management decisions of Gitga’at leadership. These reports were reviewed internally and by regional experts from Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Reports I contributed:

• Keen, EM. (2016) Fin whales: density and distribution, 2013-2015. Gitga’at State of the Ocean 2015, eds. KL Thompson and CR Picard.
• Keen, EM, J Wray, H Meuter, JP Barlow, KL Thompson, CR Picard. (2016) Humpback whale distribution and habitat use. Gitga’at State of the Ocean 2015, eds. KL Thompson and CR Picard.
• Keen, EM. (2016). Oceanography of Gitga’at waters. Gitga’at State of the Ocean 2015, eds. KL Thompson and CR Picard.
• Keen, EM. (2016). Seabird abundance, density and distribution: 2013-2015. Gitga’at State of the Ocean 2015, eds. KL Thompson and CR Picard.

Bangarang Fieldwork Reports. These reports were generated in the field and shared with local collaborators to provide close-to-real-time updates on our research and what we are finding in their home system.

• Keen, EM. (2013) Bangarang Field Report: 2013.
• Keen, EM. (2014) Bangarang Field Report: 2014.
• Keen, EM. (2015) Bangarang Field Report: Leg 1, 2015.
• Keen, EM. (2015) Bangarang Field Report: Leg 2, 2015.
• Keen, EM. (2015) Bangarang Field Report: Leg 3, 2015.
• Keen, EM. (2015) Bangarang Field Report: Leg 4, 2015.
• Keen, EM. (2015) Bangarang Field Report: Leg 5, 2015.

Software

• Keen, EM. (2016) CountCOFI: CalCOFI data entry. (User’s guide; User’s guide)
• Keen, EM. (2016) bangarang. R package.
• Keen, EM. (2015) Gitga’at Underway. (User’s guide; press release)
• Keen, EM. (2015) Research Underway: Bangarang. (User’s guide; video tour)
• Keen, EM. (2015) Interactive seabird field guide for the Kitimat Fjord System.

Essays & Press Releases

• Keen, EM. (2011) “One young naturalist vs. Enbridge’s Northern Gateway Pipeline.” The Ecologist. 10 Mar.
• Keen, EM. (2011) “Bubble Net: Encounters with a feeding frenzy.” Spyhopper. American Cetacean Society.
• Keen, EM. (2010) Room at the Table Self-published: 212 pp.
• Keen,EM. (2014) Bangarang research in Gitga’at Territory in the Gitga’at Guardian Feb/Mar. 2014, p.6.
• Keen, EM. (2016) Gitga’at Oceanographic Initiative in the Gitga’at Guardian Jan /Feb 2016, p.7
• Keen, EM. (2017) In British Columbia, a strange pattern in humpback whale behaviour raises the stakes for conservation. The Conversation, 22 May.
• Keen, EM. (2018) How To Lunge Feed. Spyhopper, September 2018. American Cetacean Society.

Teaching

Positions

• Visiting Professor, Sewanee: The University of the South (current)
• Teaching assistant for SIO 3: Life in the Oceans
• NSF GK-12 Scripps Classroom Connection

Seminars 

• 2017. Whales of the rainforest: habitat use strategies of sympatric rorqual whales within Kitimat Fjord System, BC. The Canadian Society of Environmental Biologists. 20 April.
• 2017. Whales of the rainforest. Sewanee: The University of the South. 23 February.
• 2011. Whales in Fjords. Sewanee: The University of the South. 15 April.
• 2011. 17,506 Islands: the Indonesian archipelago. Sewanee: The University of the South. 15 April.

 Guest Lectures

• 2017. An Introduction to the ocean. Guest lecture, Environmental Studies 101 at Sewanee: The University of the South.
• 2017. Ocean-Climate coupling. Guest lecture, Environmental Studies 101 at Sewanee: The University of the South.
• 2016. Ecology of the ocean’s largest predators. Guest lecture, Oceanography 101 at Northwest Community College, Prince Rupert, Canada.
• 2015. Fjord oceanography. Guest lecture, Oceanography 101 at Northwest Community College, Prince Rupert, Canada.
• 2015. Fjord ecology. Guest lecture, Oceanography 101 at Northwest Community College, Prince Rupert, Canada.

Other Experience

• Founder and chair of Scripps cohort Seminar Series
• Co-coordinator of Scripps Ecology Seminar Series
• Presenter at Scripps Natural History Society
• Volunteer naturalist for Birch Aquarium

In the news

• “Whale Wave” publication: Save Our Seas, CBC News, Vancouver Sun
• Killer whale stranding (2015): ABC news, Vancouver Sun, Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC), The Globe and Mail, Fox13, CNN, The UK Mirror, Huffington Post BC, Huffington Post Canada
• Article and Interview on ScienceLive, December 2012.
• Interview in Coastal Tar Sands documentary #3.
• “Whale Song” press release.

Education

PhD. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California: San Diego. 2011 – 2017.

• Doctoral thesis in predator conservation ecology within a British Columbia fjord system. Involved collaboration with multiple stakeholders: Canadian government, Gigta’at First Nation, several non-profit organizations, and academic institutions. Designed, coordinated, and implemented ecosystem-scale study. Trained, supervised and lived with teams of undergraduate and graduate researchers during 4-month field seasons living aboard a research vessel I owned, equipped, and captained myself.
• Scripps Editorial & Publications Committee (2012-3)
• Co-Coordinator Scripps Ecology Seminar Series (2012-3)
• Member Scripps Natural History Society (2012-3)
• Volunteer naturalist Birch Aquarium at Scripps Whale Watching (2012-3)
• Founder & Chair Scripps Cohort Seminar Series (2011-3)
• Student representative UCSD Graduate Student Association (2011-2)

BA. Sewanee: University of the South. 2004-2008 

• Majors: Ecology & Biodiversity, Religion.
• Environmental Service Award, 2008
• Sustainability Steering Committee, Student representative 2007-8
• Sewanee Green-House Environmental Residence, Co-founder 2008
• Sewanee Natural History Society, Co-founder and President 2007-8
• Sewanee Environmental Resident Program, Chair 2006-7
• Sewanee Forestry & Geology Club, Vice President 2005-6
• Sewanee Order of the Gownsmen, Member 2005-8
• Sewanee Outdoor Program, student trip leader 2006-8.
• Sewanee Track & Field Team, Member 2005-6.
• Sewanee Order of the Gownsmen, Member 2005-8.
• Sewanee Table Tennis Team, Co-founder and President 2004-8.

High school. Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy, Melbourne, FL. 2000 – 2004.

• Valedictorian
• Youngest presenter at Melbourne International Film Festival. Premiered senior thesis, a feature-length film.

Landmark Projects

• Cycling fundraising campaigns. In 2008, a friend and I biked 4,000 miles across Canada in 40 days; our efforts raised $12,000 to build a school in Guatemala. In 2010, I led a team of 10 Sewanee riders in a 12-day, 1,000-mile ride that raised $12,000 to build a school in Colombia. Both schools are now built and operational.
• Gitga’at Oceanographic Initiative. Consulting scientist, software engineer, data analyst. Through my doctoral research, I co-designed, catalyzed and led staff training for the launch of the coast’s first indigenous long-term oceanographic monitoring program.

Honors & Grants

• Frieman Prize, Scripps Institution of Oceanograph (2017)
• Lewis and Clark Fund, American Philosophical Society (2015)
• National Geographic Society – Waitt Grant Fellow (2013-4)
• Mullin Fund, Scripps Institution of Oceanography (2013)
• National Geographic Society – Waitt Grant (2013)
• Edna Bailey Sussman Fellow at Cascadia Research Collective (2014)
• Edna Bailey Sussman Fellow at Cascadia Research Collective (2013)
• Explorers Club Exploration Fund (2012)
• Grant-in-Aid of Research, American Society of Mammalogists (2012)
• National Science Foundation GK-12 Teaching Fellow (2012)
• National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow (2011-4)
• Fulbright Scholar, South Sumatra, Indonesia (2008-9)
• Phi Beta Kappa, Sewanee: University of the South (2008)
• National Morris K. Udall Scholar for Environmental Leadership (2007)

Work – Research

• Post-doctoral fellow, University of Victoria (2017)
• Marine Ecology Telemetry and Research (2016 – current)
• Cascadia Research Collective, Olympia, WA. S: John Calambokidis (2013)
• North Coast Cetacean Society, British Columbia. S: Janie Wray (2010, 2012)
• Centro Ballena Azul (Blue Whale Center), Chile. S: Rodrigo Hucke-Gaete (2010)
• Post-Baccelaureate Research Fellow. Sewanee Environmental Institute (2009-10)
• Tethys Research Institute, Italy. S: Sabina Airoldi (2009)
• Cetacean Fossil Lab, University of Otago, Dunedin, NZ. S: Ewan Fordyce (2007)
• Field Tech. Museum of the Rockies paleontology dig, Jordan, MT Volunteer. Supervisor: Dr. Jack Horner (2007)

Work – Other

• Firetower lookout, North Kaibab National Forest, Grand Canyon, AZ (2011)
• Assistant director, Sewanee Outdoor Program, TN. 20 wks, 40 hrs/wk (2010)
• Mechanic, Sewanee Bike Shop, TN. 3 school years, 10 hrs/wk (2006-8)

Training

• Small Boat Operator Scripps Institution of Oceanography (2013)
• Coastal Cruising & Keelboat I, II, & III US Sailing (2013)
• Wilderness First Responder Wilderness Medical Institute / NOLS (2013)
• Passive Acoustic Hardware Workshop NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center (2012)
• Advanced Open Water SCUBA PADI (2010)