Daphne Shen

I graduated from Cornell University in 2015 with a B.S. in Biological Sciences (Marine Biology concentration). During my undergraduate studies, I assisted with various research projects including acoustic analysis of elephant calls with the Bioacoustics Research Program and analysis of corals to determine prevalence and severity of pathogens in the Caribbean sea fan. It was a field course that I took about the anatomy and function of marine vertebrates that convinced me that I wanted to work with marine megafauna and contribute to wildlife conservation efforts.

After graduating, I worked with the National Park Service at Fire Island National Seashore primarily monitoring piping plovers and other threatened and endangered species, collaring deer with radio collars, and conducting surveys of horseshoe crabs and colonial waterbirds. I spent several years as a stranding technician at the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation, doing rescue, rehabilitation, and release of marine mammals and sea turtles in New York. I gained a lot of hands on experience doing husbandry and clinical work with various species of cetaceans, pinnipeds, and sea turtles during this time. Most recently, I worked with the NPS at Padre Island National Seashore's Division of Sea Turtle Science and Recovery, documenting/tagging nesting females, excavating nests and protecting hatchlings, and rescuing stranded sea turtles.

I joined the Vertebrate Ecology Lab under the guidance of Dr. Gitte McDonald in Fall 2019 and am excited to work with the Marine Mammal Stranding Network and learn all about west coast marine life.