Dr. Stephanie King
Professor of Animal Behaviour, University of Bristol, UK
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Stephanie is a behavioural biologist with a primary focus on animal communication systems and how these systems have evolved to help mediate complex social behaviours. To date, much of her research has focused on the temporal and social aspects of vocal interactions in bottlenose dolphins, and their use of individually distinctive signature whistles. She has nearly two decade's worth of experience studying marine mammal acoustic communication, as well as extensive experience in assessing the consequences of anthropogenic noise disturbance on marine mammal populations.
Stephanie's current research interests focus on understanding the interplay between vocal communication, social complexity and cooperative strategies. She continues to use bottlenose dolphins as a model system, with the aim of understanding how dynamic social environments may influence and shape the communicative strategies that animals employ when making decisions of when and with whom to cooperate. Stephanie is a PI of Shark Bay Dolphin Research alongside Prof Richard Connor, Prof Michael Krützen and Dr Simon Allen. Please visit www.sharkbaydolphins.org to find out more about the research currently underway in Shark Bay. |
Fellows and Postdocs
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Dr Pernille Meyer Sørensen
Collaborator - Carlsberg Fellow Pernille completed her PhD at the University of Bristol with the Cetacean CommgCog Group on social complexity and communication in bottlenose dolphins, and was then a Human Frontiers Science Program postdoc with the group on social rhythm in cetaceans. Pernille is now an independent Carlsberg Fellow at Aarhus University but still actively collaborates with Cetacean CommCog. Follow Pernille on Bluesky: @pernillemsorensen.bsky.social |
Dr Franca Eichenberger
NERC funded postdoc Franca completed her PhD at the University of St Andrews and is soon to join the Cetacean CommgCog Group on a NERC funded project on between-group cooperation in bottlenose dolphins. |
Dr Danai Papageorgiou
Collaborator - Emmy Noether Group Leader Danai is a behavioural ecologist interested in how group living animals coordinate their lives together. Danai was a Marie Curie Research Fellow with the Cetacean CommCog group and is now an Emmy Noether Group Leader at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Danai still collaborates with Cetacean CommCog. Follow Danai on Bluesky: @danaipapageorgiou.bsky.social 
Dr Taylor Hersh
HFSP Research Fellow Taylor is supported by a Human Frontier Science Program Long-Term Fellowship and is studying bottlenose dolphin alliance whistle repertoires. She completed her PhD at Dalhousie University (Canada) and has done postdocs at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics (Netherlands) and Oregon State University (USA). |
Dr James Davies
Leverhulme Trust funded postdoc James is a postdoctoral researcher working on our Leverhulme Trust funded project, The Evolution of Animal Play. This project will use broad phylogenetic comparative data across taxa alongside intricate behavioural studies of wild dolphins in order to shed new light on the origins of animal play and its functions in dolphins. James completed his PhD at the University of Cambridge researching memory and mental time travel across various taxa, including bottlenose dolphins. |
PhD Candidates
Emma Chereskin PhD Candidate, University of Bristol Emma completed her MSc at the University of Bristol in the Cetacean CommCog Group. For her PhD, Emma will use long-term social and life-history data spanning four decades and field-based manipulations using state-of-the-art technology (integrating drones and playback experiments) to determine the role that vocal signals play in coordinating polyadic cooperative acts among male dolphins. 
Claire Gauquelin des Pallieres
PhD Candidate, University of Bristol For her PhD, Claire is using long-term social and life-history data spanning four decades, fine-scale video data from drones and acoustic data from hydrophone arrays to investigate the behavioural mechanisms mediating cooperation within and between male dolphin alliances. |
Sam Hill-Cousins
PhD Candidate, University of Western Australia Sam completed his BSc (Hons) and MSc at the University of Bristol. For his Master's thesis Sam used drone-mounted video and long-term behavioural data to investigate the social function of synchronous displays among allied male Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins in Shark Bay, Australia. For his PhD, Sam continues to work with the Shark Bay dolphins on foraging ecology and behavioural complexity. 
Siming Wang
PhD Candidate, University of Cambridge For her PhD, Siming is using fine-scale video data from drones and machine learning to investigate the drivers of collective decision-making in bottlenose dolphins. |
MSc Students
Abigail Haddock
MSc, University of Bristol Abby is a long-term collaborator from the Dolphin Research Center. For her Master's thesis Abby is investigating affective state in bottlenose dolphin whistles. |
Kai Harper
MSc, University of Bristol Kai's Master's thesis investigates the impact of anthropogenic noise on grey seal communication. |
Group Alumni
Mackenzie Meier
MSc, University of Bristol For her Master's thesis Mackenzie investigated the information content in bottlenose dolphin whistles during a cooperative task. |
Dr Kathryn Holmes
PhD, University of Western Australia For her PhD Katy investigated the ontogeny of alliance formation in the Shark Bay dolphin population, with a focus on juvenile social play. Katy is now a scientist for the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program. |
Natalie Klepacova
MSc, University of Bristol For her Master's thesis Natalie investigated the long-term effects of extreme climatic events on the behavioural activity of Shark Bay's iconic dolphin population. |
Rufus Sowerbutts
MSc University of Bristol For his Master's thesis Rufus investigated the social drivers of signature whistle complexity in bottlenose dolphins. |
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Laura Palmer
PhD, University of Bristol Laura completed her PhD with Cetacean CommCog, using signature whistles to track individual bottlenose dolphins in Cardigan Bay, Wales to inform their conservation. |
Stephanie Mason
PhD, University of Western Australia Stephanie completed her PhD on the ontogeny of vocal complexity in the WA magpie (with Prof. Amanda Ridley). |
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