Profile

Prof Patrick Miller
Professor
My research focuses on social communication and behavioral ecology of marine mammals. I record and describe the behaviour patterns of marine mammals in order to elucidate their function, often using novel research tools. I seek to unravel how the marine environment and anthropogenic stressors such as sonar might influence foraging, social interactions, swimming behaviour, and body condition.
Current Projects
Novel methods to study body condition of cetaceans at sea
Body condition influences how animals trade-off foraging and anti-predator behaviors, and modulates responses to human disturbance. However, current methods for estimating lipid store body condition in cetaceans are descriptive or do not measure full-body fat stores. In this study, we are working to validate, establish and utilize a novel, non-invasive method to measure total body lipid-stores of free-ranging cetaceans by analysis of their underwater swimming pattern. The results of this study will establish and validate an innovative technique to measure body condition in cetaceans, and examine the interplay of body condition with foraging and anti-predator behaviors and reproductive status of females.
Killer whales in the North Atlantic
Killer whales are generalist predators as a species, but each population seems to be remarkably specialized on certain prey types. This project seeks to describe natural behaviour of killer whales in the North Atlantic, focusing upon interatctions between foraging behaviour, social interactions and acoustic communication of herring-feeding killer whales. Work in this area also seeks to explore interactions of killer whales with other speces, and how killer whales respond to underwater noise.
Effects of noise on cetaceans and other animals
The underwater environment is subject to the input of noise from human activities, but there are wide gaps in our understanding about how noise might affect marine mammals. My work within the international collaboration known as '3S' has focused on describing how several species of cetaceans respond to experimental presentation of sonar and various control sounds including killer whale sounds. To aid in management of this important problem, a key component of this work is to determine the levels of noise at which responses start I am using animal models ranging from the fruit fly D montana to long-finned pilot whale to explore how noise influences communication systems and how signallers might respond to noise within ecological and evolutionary time scales.
Recent publications
8 (of 8 published available) for pm29 with keyword POPULATIONS clear keyword filter. (source: University of St Andrews PURE)
Please click title of any item for full details.
Frontiers in Marine Science
vol.5
(Article)
Sascha Kate Hooker, Natacha Aguilar de Soto, Robin W. Baird, Emma Louise Carroll, Laura Feyrer, Patrick Miller, Aubrie Onoufriou, Greg Schorr, Hal Whitehead
Keywords: Beaked whale, Hyperoodon, Mesoplodon, Ziphius, Berardius
Bioacoustics
vol.Latest Articles
(Article)
Anastasya Yu. Danishevskaya, Olga Alexandrovna Filatova, Filipa Isabel Pereira Samarra, Patrick Miller, John K B Ford, Harald Yurk, Craig O. Matkin, Erich Hoyt
Keywords: Crowd intelligence, Categorization, Killer whale, Dialect
Ecology and Evolution
vol.Early View
(Article)
Filipa Isabel Pereira Samarra, Sonia Christina Marques Pascoal, Jefferson Alden Graves, Patrick Miller
Keywords: Ecological niche, Genetic differentiation, Killer whales, Microsatellites, Orcinus orca, Population ecology
Journal of Applied Ecology
vol.55 pp.396-404
(Review article)
Catriona M Harris, Len Thomas, Erin Falcone, John Hildebrand, Dorian Houser, Petter Kvadsheim, Frans-Peter A. Lam, Patrick Miller, David J. Moretti, Andrew Read, Hans Slabbekoorn, Brandon L. Southall, Peter Lloyd Tyack, Douglas Wartzok, Vincent Janik
Keywords: Sonar, Cetaceans, Human disturbance, Impact assessment, Anti-predator response, Anthropogenic noise, Behavioural response, Marine mammals, Dose response
Behavioral Ecology
vol.28 pp.500-514
(Article)
Filipa Isabel Pereira Samarra, Patrick Miller
Keywords: Ecological context, Hierarchical structure, Killer whale, Multilevel societies, Orca, Social structure
Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
vol.140 pp.3755-3764
(Article)
Olga A. Filatova, Filipa I. P. Samarra, Lance G. Barrett-Lennard, Patrick Miller, John K. B. Ford, Harald Yurk, Craig O. Matkin, Erich Hoyt
Journal of Theoretical Biology
vol.373 pp.82-91
(Article)
Olga Alexandrovna Filatova, Patrick Miller
Keywords: Learning, Dialect, Killer whale, Cultural transmission, Cultural evolution, Bottle-nosed dolphins, Bird song dialects, Orcinus-orca, Cultural-evolution, Selective attrition, Tursiops-truncatus, Call, Convergence, Divergence, Signatures
Marine Mammal Science
vol.31 pp.688-706
(Article)
Filipa Isabel Pereira Samarra, Volker Bernt Deecke, Anne E. Simonis, Patrick Miller
Keywords: Ultrasonic whistles, Orca, Killer whale, Orcinus orca, Geographic variation
Contact Details:
Prof Patrick MillerBute Building
University of St Andrews
St Andrews
KY16 9TS
Fife
UK
tel: 01334 463554
fax:
room: B6 (office). B4/5 (lab)
email: pm29@st-andrews.ac.uk
Related:
research@st-andrewsSea Mammal Research Unit
Centre for Social Learning & Cognitive Evolution
School of Biology
Institute of Behavioural and Neural Sciences
IBANS Animal Cognition
IBANS Behavioural Ecology
Centre for Biological Diversity
Scottish Oceans Institute
BDG
Biology Ethics Committee
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The Secretary
Scottish Oceans Institute
Institiud Chuantan na h-Alba
Gatty Marine Laboratory
East Sands St Andrews
KY16 8LB
Scotland
UK
tel: +44 (0) 1334 463472
fax: +44 (0) 1334 463443
email: soi@st-andrews.ac.uk
Participating Schools