The Team

Vivienne Foroughirad - Principal Investigator

Vivienne is a behavioral ecologist interested in the fitness consequences of the social environment. Her research integrates genetics and long-term studies to characterize the evolutionary processes shaping patterns of variation in social structure across cetacean species. Vivienne earned her Ph.D. with Andy Read at the Duke University Marine Lab and then did a postdoc with Janet Mann at Georgetown University before moving to Galveston.

Email: vforough@tamug.edu
Bluesky: @vforoughirad.bsky.social
Pronouns: she/her/hers

Nikki Shintaku - PhD Student

Nikki is a PhD student in the Marine Biology program at Texas A&M University at Galveston. Her research interests include population genomics/genetics and behavioral ecology in bottlenose dolphins and how they inform marine conservation actions. She received a Master’s of Coastal Environmental Management from Duke University and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from University of California, Davis. Go Aggies!

Ashley Rogers - Masters Student

Ashley is a Masters student in the Marine Biology program at Texas A&M University at Galveston. Her research interests include social learning and foraging ecology in bottlenose dolphins and how they inform conservation and management strategies of the species. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology from Vanderbilt University.

Ava Reynolds - Undergraduate Technician

Ava is a senior Marine Biology student at Texas A&M University at Galveston. Her interests include marine mammal ecology and behavior. After completing her Bachelor’s degree, she plans to complete her Master’s degree.

Zoe Olson - Undergraduate Technician

Zoe is an undergraduate Marine Biology major at Texas A&M University at Galveston. She is interested in behavioral and acoustic ecology on odontocetes such as killer whales and bottlenose dolphins. After completing her Bachelor’s degree, she plans on continuing her education with a masters and a PhD to pursue a career in killer whale research. 

Dylan Hankins - Undergraduate ACES scholar

Dylan is an undergraduate Marine Biology major at Texas A&M University at Galveston. He is interested in researching cetacean behavioral and cultural ecology, specifically on odontocetes such as killer whales. After completing his Bachelor’s degree, he plans on continuing his education to complete his PhD.

Camari Knox - Undergraduate ACES scholar

Camari is an undergraduate student with the Marine Science department at Texas A&M University at Galveston, with plans of pursuing a Ph.D. Her research interests include ecophysics with particular focus on how physical variables influence marine mammal ecology as well as paleoceanography. She also plans to join ocean conservation efforts.

Paige Wright - Undergraduate Technician

Paige is an undergraduate Marine Biology student at Texas A&M University at Galveston. She is interested in killer whale and overall marine mammal behavior. She plans to continue her education after undergrad with a masters, and pursue a career focusing on cetacean behavior. 

Alumni

Madison Ealey - Undergraduate Technician 2024
Julianna Rosales - Undergraduate Technician 2024-2025