Personal profile
Research Expertise
I am interested in marine acoustic ecology and most of my work has been focused on the acoustic behaviour of marine mammals, from ice-breeding seals to baleen whales. In addition, I have a particular interest in assessing and understanding the impacts of anthropogenic noise on the marine environment. I am also excited by the development and application of new tools for the study of natural soundscapes and the assessment of biodiversity and species richness using passive acoustics.
Keywords
- Industrial Impacts on Oceans
- Anthropogenic noise
- Marine Renewable Energy
- QL Zoology
- Marine mammals
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 1 No Poverty -
SDG 2 Zero Hunger -
SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being -
SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation -
SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy -
SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth -
SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities -
SDG 13 Climate Action -
SDG 14 Life Below Water -
SDG 15 Life on Land -
SDG 17 Partnerships for the Goals
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- 1 Similar Profiles
Collaborations from the last five years
Projects
- 1 Finished
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MERIKA: Marine Energy Research Innovation and Knowledge Accelerator
Vögler, A. (PI), Kenter, J. O. (PI), Billing, S.-L. (PI), Greenwood, C. (Researcher), Morrison, J. (Researcher), Bremner, B. (Researcher), Loxton , J. (Researcher), Schläppy, M.-L. (Researcher), del Villar-Guerra, D. (Researcher), Nall, C. (Researcher), Greenhill, L. (Researcher), Risch, D. (Researcher), Billing, S.-L. (Researcher) & Martino, S. (Researcher)
1/01/14 → 31/12/17
Project: Research
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Evaluating the performance of automated detection systems for long-term monitoring of delphinids in diverse marine soundscapes
White, E. L., White, P. R., Bull, J. M., Risch, D., Quer, S., Beck, S. & Paiva, V. H. R. (Editor), 11 Jun 2025, In: PLoS ONE. 20, 6, 18 p., e0323768.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile2 Citations (Scopus)18 Downloads (Pure) -
Sounds of the deep: How input representation, model choice, and dataset size influence underwater sound classification performance
Olcay, A., White, P. R., Bull, J. M., Risch, D., Dell, B. & White, E. L., 1 Apr 2025, In: The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. 157, 4, p. 3017-3032 15 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
1 Citation (Scopus) -
Suitability of assessing population-level impacts from construction of a single wind farm – a case study on North Sea harbour porpoises
van Geel, N. C. F., Benjamins, S., Marmo, B., Nabe-Nielsen, J., Wittich, A., Risch, D., Todd, V. L. G. & Wilson, B., 15 May 2025, In: Frontiers in Marine Science. 12, 17 p., 1539143.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile1 Citation (Scopus)36 Downloads (Pure) -
Worldwide Soundscapes: A Synthesis of Passive Acoustic Monitoring Across Realms
Darras, K. F. A., Rountree, R. A., Van Wilgenburg, S. L., Cord, A. F., Pitz, F., Chen, Y., Dong, L., Rocquencourt, A., Desjonquères, C., Diaz, P. M., Lin, T. H., Turco, T., Emmerson, L., Bradfer-Lawrence, T., Gasc, A., Marley, S., Salton, M., Schillé, L., Wensveen, P. J. & Wu, S. H. & 30 others, , 6 May 2025, In: GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY. 34, 5, e70021.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access20 Citations (Scopus) -
Assessing the potential of acoustic telemetry to underpin the regional management of basking sharks (Cetorhinus maximus)
Thorburn, J., Collins, P. C., Garbett, A., Vance, H., Phillips, N., Drumm, A., Cooney, J., Waters, C., Ó’maoiléidigh, N., Johnston, E., Dolton, H. R., Berrow, S., Hall, G., Hall, J., Delvillar, D., Mcgill, R., Whoriskey, F., Fangue, N. A., Mcinturf, A. G. & Rypel, A. L. & 14 others, , 12 Jul 2024, In: Animal Biotelemetry. 12, 1, 13 p., 20.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile1 Citation (Scopus)146 Downloads (Pure) -
Development of a machine learning detector for North Atlantic humpback whale song
Kather, V., Seipel, F., Berges, B., Davis, G., Gibson, C., Harvey, M., Henry, L.-A., Stevenson, A. & Risch, D., 13 Mar 2024, In: The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. 155, 3, p. 2050-2064 16 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile7 Citations (Scopus)76 Downloads (Pure) -
Harbour porpoises respond to chronic acoustic deterrent device noise from aquaculture
Findlay, C. R., Coomber, F. G., Dudley, R., Bland, L., Calderan, S. V., Hartny-Mills, L., Leaper, R., Tougaard, J., Merchant, N. D., Risch, D. & Wilson, B., 5 Apr 2024, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Biological Conservation. 293, 9 p., 110569.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile4 Citations (Scopus)91 Downloads (Pure)
Activities
- 1 Participation in conference
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Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme (SMASS) Marine Forum 2022
Risch, D. (Participant) & Benjamins, S. (Participant)
26 Nov 2022Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Participation in conference
Press/Media
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Conservation Star Named SAMS and UHI Overall Student of The Year
1/07/25
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Research
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University of the Highlands and Islands Researchers Report Research in Wind Farms (Suitability of assessing population-level impacts from construction of a single wind farm - a case study on North Sea harbour porpoises)
Benjamins, S., Risch, D. & van Geel, N.
3/06/25
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Research
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There's an eerie mystery sound in the ocean. It could be a conversation.
26/11/24
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Research
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There's an eerie mystery sound in the ocean. It could be a conversation.
26/11/24
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Research