Jack Barkowski

 
I graduated from the University of Massachusetts, Boston in the fall of 2019 with a B.S. in environmental science. During my undergraduate studies, I discovered a passion for research in the field and the lab by studying a range of wildlife, from bugs to birds to mammals. While studying at the Nantucket Field Station, I found a class on the biology of marine mammals particularly captivating and sought opportunities to continue to study these animals. I traveled to Namibia and Italy to intern with two different research groups: the Namibian Dolphin Project and Delfini del Ponente. During these internships, I worked on a variety of projects, including acoustic research into bottlenose and heaviside's dolphins, cape fur seals, and flamingoes. To finish my undergraduate degree, I completed an Honors Research Thesis investigating the presence of microplastics in the scat of grey seals from a Nantucket Sound haul out.

In February 2020, I began working for Dr. Alison Stimpert as an analyst on the SanctSound project. This project is a collaborative effort from NOAA and the US Navy to better understand underwater sound in the National Marine Sanctuary System. My thesis will use the SanctSound data to study humpback whale vocalizations within the three West Coast marine sanctuaries. Since joining the Vertebrate Ecology Lab, I've enjoyed working the Marine Mammal Stranding Network and serving as an MLML liaison to the Monterey Area Research Institutions' Network for Education (MARINE).