Education
BS 1995 Dalhousie University
PhD (expected) 2012 University of South Florida
psimard (at) mail (dot) usf (dot) edu

Peter is an incoming postdoctoral researcher interested in bioacoustics and the processes influencing the distribution and movements of odontocete cetaceans.  His work will involve deploying autonomous acoustic recorders near artificial and natural reefs in the shallow Gulf of Mexico in order to quantify the recreational vessel traffic and the use of these areas by dolphins.  Peter also uses boat-based visual surveys as a concurrent method of measuring dolphin distribution as well as to conduct photographic identification studies for movement and site fidelity research, and acoustic recordings for bioacoustics investigations.  Although Peter’s work can be field intensive, he spends much of his time developing and implementing computer algorithms for signal processing and time series analysis, and using GIS to investigate spatial patterns.   Peter also collaborates on Guiana dolphin and Amazon River dolphin research in Brazil, and with the Eckerd College Dolphin Project in St. Petersburg, Florida.