Research

I. How does biophysical ecosystem variation shape individual-level behavior, transmission of social information between individuals, & the emergence of group-level collective behaviors? How do these socially mediated behaviors feed back to shape ecological processes?

Select relevant publications:

Oestreich, WK*, Kohles, JE* et al. (2026). Resource variability shapes the ecology of social information and collective sensing. Trends in Ecology & Evolution. *co-lead authors
Oestreich, WK et al. (preprint; in review). Biophysical ecosystem variation shapes oceanic predator communication.
Oestreich, WK et al. (2022). The influence of social cues on timing of animal migrations. Nature Ecology and Evolution.
Dodson, S*, Oestreich, WK* et al. (2024). Long-distance communication can enable collective migration in a dynamic seascape. Scientific Reports. *co-lead authors

Some of the tools that we use, develop, & integrate.

II. How can we develop & integrate tools to illuminate ecosystem-behavior interactions under the extreme conditions of the open & deep ocean?

Select relevant publications:

Oestreich, WK et al. (2024). Listening to animal behavior to understand changing ecosystems. Trends in Ecology & Evolution.
Oestreich, WK et al. (2020). Animal-borne metrics enable acoustic detection of blue whale migration. Current Biology.
Oestreich, WK et al. (2024) Evidence for seasonal resource-tracking migration by a top predator of the deep sea. Movement Ecology.
Oestreich, WK et al. (2022). Acoustic signature reveals blue whales tune life history transitions to oceanographic conditions. Functional Ecology.

III. How can we leverage our own species' remarkable capacity for cooperative & collective behavior to understand & steward the ecosystems of which we are a part?

Select relevant publications:

Oestreich, WK et al. (2025) Collective science to inform global ocean protections. Ecology Letters.
Chapman, MS*, Oestreich, WK* et al. (2021). Promoting equity in the use of algorithms for high seas conservation. One Earth *co-lead authors
Oestreich, WK, Chapman, MS, Crowder, LB (2020). A comparative analysis of dynamic management in marine and terrestrial systems. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.
Oestreich, WK et al. (2019). The impact of environmental change on small-scale fishing communities: Moving beyond adaptive capacity to community response. Predicting Future Oceans.

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