Eric Keen

Current positions

• Visiting assistant professor, Sewanee: The University of the South. Sewanee, TN, USA.
• Assistant director, Sewanee DataLab for Social Good
• Data scientist, Azura Consulting LLC & NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center
• Science co-director, North Coast Cetacean Society
• Research biologist, Marine Ecology & Telemetry Research

Education

• PhD. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California: San Diego. 2011 – 2017.
  • Degree: Oceanography, with a concentration in Biological Oceanography
  • Frieman Prize for Best Student Paper (2016-2017)
• MSc.. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California: San Diego. 2015.
• Fulbright Scholar, Indonesia, 2008 – 2009.

• Bachelor of Arts.Sewanee: University of the South. 2004 – 2008.
  • Majors in Environmental Studies: Ecology & Biodiversity and Religion
  • Phi Beta Kappa
  • National Morris K. Udall Scholar for Environmental Leadership
  • Class of 2008 Environmental Service Award

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

Research

Submitted manuscripts

• Wray J, EM Keen, É O’Mahony, B Hendricks. Cultural transmission of bubble net feeding in Canadian Pacific humpback whales. Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
• Keen EM, B Hendricks, C Shine, J Wray, CR Picard, H Alidina. A simulation-based tool for estimating whale-vessel encounter rates. Ocean & Coastal Management.
• Keene, E, EM Keen, G Schorr, E Falcone. Fin whale movements in the California Current System. Mammalian Biology.
• Qualls, KM, KS Bernard, EM Keen, L Cianelli, CR Picard. Drivers of Euphausia pacifica and Thysanoessa spinifera Abundances in the Kitimat Fjord System, BC Canada. Progress in Oceanography.

Peer-reviewed publications

2021

• Keen, EM, J Pilkington, É O’Mahony, K-L Thompson, L Nichol, H Meuter, N Robinson, A Dundas, CR Picard, H Alidina, J Wray. (2021) Fin whales of the Great Bear Rainforest: Balaenoptera physalus velifera in a Canadian Pacific fjord system. PLOS ONE.
• Keen, EM, J Wren, E O’Mahony, J Wray. (2021) catRlog: a photo-identification project management system based in R. Mammalian Biology.
• Wray, J, E O’Mahony, EM Keen. (2021) Social survival: social niche partitioning among humpback whales within a proposed critical feeding habitat.  PLOS ONE.
• Hendricks B, EM Keen, C Shine, J Wray, CR Picard, H Alidina (2021). Acoustic tracking of fin whales: habitat use and movement patterns in a Canadian Pacific fjord system. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 149(6).

2020

• Keen, EM, J Wray, B Hendricks, E O’Mahony, C Picard, H Alidina (2020) Determining marine mammal detection functions for a stationary land-based survey site. Wildlife Research 
• Towers, JR, EM Keen, K Balcomb-Bartok, J Vonick, D Davis. (2020) Live strandings of Bigg’s killer whales (Orcinus orca) along the west coast of North America. Aquatic Mammals Journal 46(5).
• Griffiths, ET, F Archer, S Rankin, JL Keating-McCullough, EM Keen, J Barlow, JE Moore. (2020) Detection and classification of narrow banded high frequency echolocation clicks from drifting recorders. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 147(3511)

2019

• Keen, EM, E Falcone, G Schorr. (2019) Diel dive behavior of fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) in Southern California Bight. Aquatic Mammals Journal 45(2), 233-243.
• Keen, EM, K Scales, B Rone, E Hazen, E Falcone, G Schorr. (2019) Night and day: diel differences in ship strike risk for fin whales along the US west coast. Frontiers in Marine Science. 
• Wray, J, EM Keen (2019) Calving rate decline in humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in northern British Columbia. Marine Mammal Science 36(2).
• Hendricks, B, JL Wray, EM Keen, HM Alidina, TA Gulliver, CR Picard. (2019) Automated localization of whales in coastal fjords. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 146: 4672.

2018

• Keen, EM, Hendricks, B, JL Wray, HM Alidina, L McWhinnie, H Meuter, CR Picard. (2018) Integrating passive acoustic and visual monitoring of cetaceans in coastal habitats. Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics 35:010002.
• 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.
• Keen, EM, KM Qualls (2018) Respiratory behaviors in sympatric rorqual whales: the influence of prey depth and implications for temporal access to prey. Journal of Mammalogy 99(1):27-40.
• Hendricks, B, EM Keen, JL Wray, HM Alidina, TA Gulliver, H Meuter, CR Picard. (2018) Localizing bioacoustic signals with long-baseline hydrophone arrays. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 144(3).
• 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

2017

• 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.
• Keen, EM. (2017) Aggregative and feeding thresholds of sympatric rorqual whales within a fjord system. Ecosphere 8(3): 10.1002/ecs2.1702.
• Keen, EM, JL 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]

2016 and earlier

• 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.
• Evans, JP, 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 33(2):171-176.
• Bagulayan, A, JN Bartlett-Roa, AL Carter, BG Inman, EM Keen, EC Orenstein, NV Patin, KNS Sato, EC Sibert, AE Simonis, AM Van Cise, PJS Franks. (2012) Journey to the Center of the Gyre: The Fate of the Tohoku Tsunami Debris Field.  Oceanography 25(2):200–207.

 

Editorial responsibilities

• Aquatic Mammals Journal (Editorial board)
• Marine Mammal Science (reviewer)
• Marine Ecology Progress Series (reviewer)
• Journal of Experimental Marine Biology & Ecology (reviewer)

 

Conferences, seminars, & symposia

• EM Keen, J Wray, B Hendricks, C Picard, H Alidina. (2019) Ship strike mitigation scenarios within a proposed shipping lane: a pre-emptive decision framework in the remote coastal waters of Pacific Canada. Presentation at World Marine Mammal Conference, Barcelona, December.
• Wray, J, EM Keen (2019) Recruitment decline in humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in northern British Columbia. Presentation at World Marine Mammal Conference, Barcelona, December.
• E O’Mahony, J Wray, EM Keen. (2019) Non-invasive blow and aerial imagery collection for genetic and photographic comparison of putatively discrete groups of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in northern British Columbia. Presentation at World Marine Mammal Conference, Barcelona, December.
• Keen, EM, K Scales, B Rone, E Hazen, E Falcone, G Schorr. (2019) Night and day: diel differences in ship strike risk for fin whales along the US west coast. Poster at Southern California Marine Mammal Workshop, Newport Beach, CA.
• Keen, EM, Hendricks, B, JL Wray, HM Alidina, L McWhinnie, H Meuter, CR Picard (2018) Integrating passive acoustic and visual monitoring of cetaceans in coastal habitats. 176^th Conference of the Acoustic Society of America. Victoria, BC, Canada.
• Hendricks, B, EM Keen, JL Wray, HM Alidina, L McWhinnie, H Meuter, CR Picard (2018) Automated localization of cetaceans in coastal habitats. 176^th Conference of the Acoustic Society of America. Victoria, BC, Canada.
• 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 (2017) Whales of the rainforest. Sewanee: The University of the South. 23 February. (seminar)
• Keen, EM (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. (seminar)
• 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. (1^st 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.
• Keen, EM (2011) Whales in Fjords. Sewanee: The University of the South. 15 April. (seminar)
• Keen, EM (2011) 17,506 Islands: the Indonesian archipelago. Sewanee: The University of the South. 15 April. (seminar)

 

Software

• Keen, EM. (2018) Fin Island Research Suite (4 data entry programs written with R Shiny).
• Keen, EM. (2017) Find My Fins: Data entry for Fin Island Research Station. Visual Basic .NET.
• Keen, EM. (2016) CountCOFI: CalCOFI data entry. Visual Basic .NET. (User’s guide; User’s guide)
• Keen, EM. (2016) bangarang. R package.
• Keen, EM. (2015) Gitga’at Underway. Visual Basic .NET. (User’s guide)
• Keen, EM. (2015) Research Underway: Bangarang. Visual Basic .NET. (User’s guide; video tour)
• Keen, EM. (2015) Interactive seabird field guide for the Kitimat Fjord System. Built with Shiny in R.

Dataset curator

• Keen, EM (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, EM. (2017): The Bangarang Project. UC San Diego Library Digital Collections. http://doi.org/10.6075/J0MK69TN

  

News & non-fiction

• Keen EM, J Brew, B Brew, M Rudd (2021) www.datascience.pizza. Introduction to data science for social good: an online book.
• Keen EM (2020) Why are blue whales so gigantic? Scientific American. 
• Keen EM (2018) How to Lunge Feed. Spyhopper September 2018.
• Keen EM (2017) In British Columbia, a strange pattern in humpback whale behavior raises the stakes for conservation. The Conversation. May 22, 2017.
• Keen EM (2016) Gitga’at Oceanographic Initiative in the Gitga’at Guardian Jan /Feb.
• Keen EM (2014) Bangarang research in Gitga’at Territory in the Gitga’at Guardian Feb/Mar.
• Keen EM (2011) “One young naturalist vs. Enbridge’s Northern Gateway Pipeline.” The Ecologist.
• Keen EM (2011) “Bubble Net: Encounters with a feeding frenzy.” American Cetacean Society Spyhopper.

• Hollingshead, N, J Evans, eds. 2010. (EM Keen, contributing author) Cumberland Voices: South Cumberland Conservation Action Plan.

• Keen, EM. (2010) At Surface Dwell: Lessons from Lamalera and its whales. 212 pp. Fulbright fellowship, self-published.
• Keen, EM (2008) Oceania in Time-Lapse: Mapping the story of life Down Under. 139 pp. Senior undergraduate thesis, self-published.

Teaching & student mentorship

• 2018 – 2021. Visiting Assistant Professor, Sewanee: The University of the South, Sewanee, TN.
  • Pre-major advisor (2019 – 2021)
  • ENST 100: Walking the Land (2019 – 2021)
  • ENST 209: Ecosystems of the Ocean (2018 – 2020)
  • ESCI 240: Island Ecology Program (2018 – 2021)
  • BIOL 130: Field investigations in Biology (2018 – 2020)
  • BIOL 399: Special Topics in Biology: Marine Tetrapods (Fall 2019)
  • BIOL 424: Senior seminar (Spring 2020)
  • FYRP 104: Ecology of Place, First Year Program (Fall 2019)
  • FYRP 106: Walking in Place, First Year Program (Fall 2018)
  • FYRP 125: The Idea of Home (2020)
  • BIOL 444: Independent student research in Biology
    • BC-wide identification catalog for humpback whale (Spring 2019)
    • Humpback whale social calls: automated detection and repertoire (Spring 2019)
    • Island Ecology Program Photographic Database (Fall 2018)
    • Whale social network analysis (Spring 2018)
    • Marine Mammal Survey Techniques (Spring 2017)

• 2016. Teaching Assistant. SIO 3: Life in the Oceans. University of California, San Diego.
• 2012-2013. NSF GK-12 teaching fellow. NSF GK-12 Scripps Classroom Connection.

  

Funding & fellowships

• Smith Fund for Experiential Learning and Southern Appalachian studies (2019, <$5,000)
• Course development stipend, Collaborative for Southern Appalachian Studies (2018, <$5,000)
• Sewanee Faculty Research Grant (2019, <$5,000)
• Mitacs Accelerate Internship / Post-Doctoral Fellowship (2020, $15,000)
• Mitacs Accelerate Internship / Post-Doctoral Fellowship (2019, $30,000)
• Mitacs Accelerate Internship / Post-Doctoral Fellowship (2018, $30,000)
• Mitacs Accelerate Internship / Post-Doctoral Fellowship (2017, $15,000)
• Lewis and Clark Fund, American Philosophical Society (2015, < $5,000)
• National Geographic Society – Waitt Grant Fellow (2013-4, $15,000)
• Mullin Fund, Scripps Institution of Oceanography (2013, < $10,000)
• Edna Bailey Sussman Fellow at Cascadia Research Collective (2014, < $10,000)
• Edna Bailey Sussman Fellow at Cascadia Research Collective (2013, < $10,000)
• Explorers Club Exploration Fund (2012, < $5,000)
• Grant-in-Aid of Research, American Society of Mammalogists (2012, < $5,000)
• National Science Foundation GK-12 Teaching Fellow (2012)
• National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow (2011-4)

  

Service, leadership, & involvement

Sewanee: The University of the South (as a professor & community member)

• Civic Engagement Fellow (2019 – 2020)
• Faculty committees
  • Working Group on Integrated Advising (2018 – 2019. Chair: Elizabeth Skomp)
  • Watson fellowship selection committee (2018 – current. Chair: Stephen Raulston)
• Pre-major advisor (15 advisees, 2019 – 2020)
• Advisor to student organizations
  • GreenHouse (2019 – 2020)
  • Sewanee Water Campaign (2018 – 2020)
• Office of Undergraduate Research
• SURF workshop: “Introduction to R programming” (2019)
• Judge for Scholarship Sewanee (2018, 2019)
• Community Council representative (2019 – current)
• Presenter, Faculty flash presentations (Easter 2019)
• Faculty participant in Sewanee Outing Program MS150 Jack and Back bike ride (2018)
• Panelist, Sewanee Water Series Faculty Panel (March 2018)
• Regular participant in Center for Teaching programming, faculty meetings, and faculty retreats.

 

Scripps Institution of Oceanography (as a graduate student)

• Scripps Editorial & Publications Committee (2012-2013)
• Co-Coordinator, Scripps Ecology Seminar Series (2012-2013)
• Co-Director, Scripps Natural History Society (2012-2013)
• Volunteer naturalist, Birch Aquarium at Scripps Whale Watching (2012-2013)
• Founder & Chair, Scripps Cohort Seminar Series (2011-2013)
• Student representative, UCSD Graduate Student Association (2011-2012)

 

Sewanee: The University of the South (as an undergraduate student)

• Sustainability Steering Committee, Student representative (2007-2008)
• Green-House Environmental Residence, Co-founder (2008)
• Natural History Society, Co-founder and President (2007-2008)
• Environmental Resident Program, Chair (2006-2007)
• Forestry & Geology Club, Vice President (2005-2006)
• Outdoor Program, student trip leader (2006-2008)
• Track & Field Team, Member (2005-2006)
• Order of the Gownsmen, Member (2005-2008)
• Table Tennis Team, Co-founder and President (2004-2008)

 

Other professional experience

• Data analyst, Independent Contractor. Recent clients: Kumu, NACCE, Thales
• Firetower lookout, North Kaibab National Forest, Grand Canyon, AZ (2011)
• Post-Baccalaureate Research Fellow, Sewanee Environmental Institute (2009-10)
• Assistant director, Sewanee Outdoor Program, TN. (2010)
• Research internships
  • Cascadia Research Collective, Olympia, WA. (2013)
  • North Coast Cetacean Society, British Columbia, Canada. (2010, 2012)
  • Centro Ballena Azul (Blue Whale Center), Chile. (2010)
  • Tethys Research Institute, Italy. (2009)
  • Cetacean Fossil Lab, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. (2007)
  • Museum of the Rockies paleontology dig, Jordan, MT. (2007)

 

Landmark Projects

• Ships, Whales, and Acoustics in Gitga’at Territory (SWAG). New land-based research methods for concurrent visual and acoustic monitoring of whale populations and ship interactions.
  • • Keen, EM. (2018) SWAG Field Report: 2017.
    • Keen, EM. (2018) SWAG Field Report: 2018.

• 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.
  • • 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.

• 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.
  • • 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.
• 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 are now built & operational.
• Whale Song! A peer-reviewed & educational children’s album about whales.