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Dr. Katherine McHugh

Staff Scientist

Sarasota Dolphin Research Program (SDRP)

Today's Research for Tomorrow's Oceans
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Contact:

kmchugh@mote.org

(941) 388-4441, ext. 450

Biography:

Katie McHugh is a Staff Scientist employed by the Chicago Zoological Society, and based at Mote Marine Laboratory as part of a partnership to engage in dolphin research, education, and conservation action. With a lifelong interest in marine wildlife conservation, Katie began studying wild dolphins with the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program as a Mote intern in 2000 while completing B.S. and M.S. degrees in Earth Systems at Stanford University. After a short detour that included assisting with small cetacean research in the Bahamas and New Zealand and a yearlong fellowship working on marine protected area and fisheries management at Environmental Defense, Katie returned to the SDRP as a graduate student researcher in 2004, completing her Ph.D. in animal behavior at the University of California Davis studying juvenile dolphin behavior and the effects of harmful algal blooms on dolphins. After completing her Ph.D., Katie has remained with the SDRP working on research aimed at understanding and mitigating adverse human-dolphin interactions, and she is also responsible for overseeing behavioral research as well as coordinating training programs for undergraduate interns and international trainees. Since 2012, Katie has also served as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at New College of Florida.

Education:

Ph.D. in Animal Behavior, University of California Davis (2010)
M.Sc. in Animal Behavior, University of California Davis (2006)
M.Sc. in Earth Systems, Stanford University (2002)
B.Sc. in Earth Systems, Stanford University (2001)

Current Publications

Wells, R. S., Hohn, A. A., Scott, M. D., Sweeney, J. C., Townsend Jr., F. I., Allen, J. B., Barleycorn, A. B., McHugh, K. A., Bassos-Hull, K., Lovewell, G. N., Duffield, D. A., Smith, C. R., Irvine, A. B. (2025). Life history, reproductive, and demographic parameters for bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Sarasota Bay, Florida. Frontiers in Marine Science, 12, 1531528. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2025.1531528
Fahlman, A., Tyson Moore, R. B., Stone, R., Sweeney, J., Faulkner Trainor, R., Barleycorn, A. A., McHugh, K., Allen, J. B., Wells, R. S. (2023). Deep diving by offshore bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops spp.). Marine Mammal Science. https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.13045
DiMaggio, K. M., Acevedo, M. A., McHugh, K. A., Wilkinson, K. A., Allen, J. B., Wells, R. S. (2023). The fitness consequences of human-wildlife interactions on foraging common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Sarasota Bay, Florida. Marine Mammal Science, 1-17. https://doi.org/ 10.1111/mms.13042
Fhalman, A., Allen, A., Blawas, A., Sweeny, J., Stone, Rae., Faulkner Trainor, R., Jensen, F. H., McHugh, K., Allen, J. B., Barleycorn, A. A., Wells, R. S. (2023). Surface and diving metabolic rates, and dynamic aerobic dive limits (dADL) in near- and off-shore bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops spp., indicate that deep diving is energetically cheap.. Marine Mammal Science, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.13023
Longden, EG; Gillespie D; Mann, DA; McHugh, KA; Rycyk, AM; Wells, RS; Tyack, PL (2022). Comparison of the marine soundscape before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in dolphin habitat in Sarasota Bay, FL. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 152(6), 3170-3185. https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0015366
Greenfield, M.R., McHugh, K.A., Wells, R.S., Rubenstein, D.I. (2021). Anthropogenic injuries disrupt social associations of common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Sarasota Bay, Florida. Marine Mammal Science, 37(1), 29-44. https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12729
McHugh, K. A., Barleycorn, A. A., Allen, J. B., Bassos-Hull, K., Lovewell, G., Boyd, D., Panike, A., Cush, C., Fauquier, D., Mase, B., Lacy, R. C., Greenfield, M. R., Rubenstein, D. I., Weaver, A., Stone, A., Oliver, L., Morse, K., Wells, R. S. (2021). Staying Alive: Long-Term Success of Bottlenose Dolphin Interventions in Southwest Florida. Frontiers in Marine Science, 7, 624729. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.624729
Baker, I., O’Brien, J., McHugh, K., Berrow, S. (2020). Fine-scale sociality reveals female-male affiliations and absence of male alliances in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the Shannon Estuary, Ireland. Marine Mammal Science, 36(1), 66-88. https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12631
Kragh, I.M., McHugh, K., Wells, R.S., Sayigh, L.S., Janik, V.M., Tyack, P.L., Jensen, F.H. (2019). Signal-specific amplitude adjustment to noise in common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). Journal of Experimental Biology, 222.0(23.0), jeb216606. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.216606
McHugh, K. (2019). Odontocete Social Strategies and Tactics Along and Inshore. Ethology and Behavioral Ecology of Odontocetes, 8, 165-182. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16663-2_8
Balmer, B., McDonald, T., Hornsby, F., Allen, J., Barleycorn, A., Clarke, P., Cush, C., Honaker, A., McHugh, K., Speakman, T., Wells, R., Schwacke, L. (2018). Long-term trends in a northern Gulf of Mexico common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) population in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management, 18.0, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.47536/jcrm.v18i1.409
Baker, I., O’Brien, J., McHugh, K., Berrow, S. (2018). Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) social structure in the Shannon Estuary, Ireland, is distinguished by age- and area-related associations. Marine Mammal Science, 34.0(2), 458-487. https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12462
Baker, I., O’Brien, J., McHugh, K., Berrow, S. (2018). Female reproductive parameters and population demographics of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the Shannon Estuary, Ireland. Marine Biology, 165.0(1), 15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-017-3265-z
Fahlman, A., Brodsky, M., Wells, R., McHugh, K., Allen, J., Barleycorn, A., Sweeney, J.C., Fauquier, D., Moore, M. (2018). Field energetics and lung function in wild bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, in Sarasota Bay Florida. Royal Society Open Science, 5.0(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.171280
Fahlman, A., McHugh, K., Allen, J., Barleycorn, A., Allen, A., Sweeney, J., Stone, R., Trainor, R.F., Bedford, G., Moore, M.J., Jensen, F.H., Wells, R. (2018). Resting Metabolic Rate and Lung Function in Wild Offshore Common Bottlenose Dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, Near Bermuda. Frontiers in Physiology, 9.0, 886. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2018.00886
Baker, I., O’Brien, J., McHugh, K., Berrow, S. (2017). An Ethogram for Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the Shannon Estuary, Ireland. Aquatic Mammals, 43(6), 594-613. https://doi.org/10.1578/AM.43.6.2017.594

Additional Publications

Baker, I., O'Brien, J., McHugh, K., Berrow, S. (2018). Female reproductive parameters and population demographics of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the Shannon Estuary, Ireland. Mar. Biol., 165(15). doi:10.1007/s00227-017-3265-z

Baker, I., O'Brien, J., McHugh, K., Ingram, S.N., Berrow, S. (2018). Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) social structure in the Shannon Estuary, Ireland, is distinguished by age- and area-related associations. Mar. Mamm. Sci., 34(2), 458-487. doi:10.1111/mms.12462

Balmer, B., McDonald, T., Hornsby, F., Adams, J., Allen, J., Barleycorn, A., Clarke, P., Cush, C., Honaker, A., McHugh, K., Speakman, T., Wells, R., Schwacke, L. (2018). Long-term trends in a northern Gulf of Mexico common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) population in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. J. Cetacean Res. Manage., 18, 1-9.

Fahlman, A., McHugh, K., Allen, J., Barleycorn, A., Allen, A., Sweeney, J., Stone, R., Trainor, R.F., Bedford, G., Moore, M.J., Jensen, F.H., Wells, R. (2018). Resting Metabolic Rate and Lung Function in Wild Offshore Common Bottlenose Dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, Near Bermuda. Front. Physiol., 9, 886. doi:10.3389/fphys.2018.00886