Kiersten Madden

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Kiersten Madden
The University of Texas at Austin
Marine Science Institute
750 Channel View Dr.
Port Aransas, TX 78373
Phone: 1.361.749.6847
Fax: 1.361.749.6777
Email: kmadden@utmsi.utexas.edu

If you would like to see journal entries and pictures from my trip to Bird Island, South Georgia click here

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Detailed information on diet and foraging behavior is important for understanding predator-prey interactions and food-web dynamics. Therefore, the primary objective of my dissertation was to gain a more complete understanding of the natural foraging behavior of Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) diving in the Antarctic fast-ice environment. To accomplish this goal, adult seals were instrumented with video data recorders that recorded the animal's three-dimensional movements and encounters with prey. With this information, I was able to test hypotheses about diet, foraging tactics, foraging efficiency, and individual and geographic variability. Some results showed similarities to previous studies on the foraging behavior of Weddell seals, but other results provided new insights. Ultimately, these results will improve our understanding of the energetic basis upon which foraging decisions are made by Weddell seals and how these decisions compare with those of other diving predators.

Weddell seal with head-mounted
video camera.

Weddell seal instrumented with video
camera (head) and data logger (back).

Three-dimensional dive path of Weddell seal
with Antarctic silverfish (Pleuragramma antarcticum) captures shown.

Image from head-mounted video camera of
Weddell seal capturing a small, midwater Antarctic silverfish.

EDUCATION

Ph.D. Candidate, THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS                                               Austin, TX
                                                                                                                                present
                  Department of Marine Science

B.A., summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, AUGUSTANA COLLEGE         Rock Island, IL
                                                                                                                                     2002
                  Major: biology
                  Minor: environmental science

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MARINE SCIENCE INSTITUTE                     Port Aransas, TX
                                                                                                              2003 - 2007
           Graduate Research Assistant

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MARINE SCIENCE INSTITUTE Port Aransas, TX
2004 - 2005
NSF GK-12 Fellow

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS Austin, TX
2002 - 2003
Teaching Assistant

BROOKFIELD ZOO Brookfield, IL
2002
Environmental Education Program Assistant

US FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE Rock Island, IL
2001
Summer Intern

PUBLICATIONS

Journal Articles

Madden KM, Fuiman LA, Williams TM, Davis RW (under review) Identification of foraging dives of free-ranging Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii): Confirmation using video records. Marine Ecology Progress Series.

Madden KM, Fuiman LA, Williams TM, Davis RW (in prep) Individual variability in foraging behaviour and success of free-ranging, female Weddell seals. Journal of Animal Ecology.

Fuiman LA, Madden KM, Williams TM, Davis RW (2007) Structure of Foraging Dives by Weddell Seals at an Isolated Hole in the Antarctic Fast-Ice Environment. Deep Sea Research II 54: 270-289.

Published abstracts and/or oral presentations

Madden KM, Fuiman LA, Wililams TM, Davis RW (2006) Individual variability in foraging behavior and success of free-ranging Weddell seals. Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research – Open Science Conference. Hobart, Tasmania.

Fuiman LA, Madden KM, Davis RW, Williams TM (2006) Hunting behavior of Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) diving from an isolated hole in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research – Open Science Conference. Hobart, Tasmania.

Fuiman LA, Madden KM, Davis RW, Williams TM (2005) Hunting behavior of Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) diving from an isolated hole in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. 2^nd International Bio-logging Science Symposium. St. Andrews, Scotland.

Popular articles

Madden KM (2006) Science and the Sea: Relax and Save Your Energy. In: Johnson E (ed) Gulf Coast Connections: Texas Saltwater Fishing 15(9): 47.

INVITED SEMINARS

Albatross, Penguins, and Seals – Oh My, Brown Bag Lunch Series, Joint Effort Leisure Ministry Center, Port Aransas, TX, March 2007.

Christmas with the seals on Bird Island, South Georgia, Public Lecture Series, The University of Texas Marine Science Institute, Port Aransas, TX, Feb 2007.

Individual variability in foraging behavior and success of free-ranging Weddell seals, Sydney Harbor Institute of Marine Science, Australia, July 2006.

Foraging behavior of Weddell seals, The University of Texas Marine Science Institute, Port Aransas, TX, July, 2006.

Foraging behavior of free-ranging Weddell seals, Population Ecology Seminar Series, The University of Texas at Austin, April, 2006.

PARTICIPATION IN SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITIONS

BRITISH ANTARCTIC SURVEY RESEARCH STATION
Bird Island, South Georgia (2006)

Attachment of video cameras and data loggers to male Antarctic fur seals

ALICE COVE FIELD CAMP
Prince William Sound, Alaska (2006)

Observation of sea otters for development of 24-hour time-activity budgets

ALASKA SEA LIFE CENTER
Seward, Alaska (2006)

Attachment of video camera and data logger to captive, female Steller sea lion

OCEAN DAWN and KITTIWAKE II
Prince William Sound, Alaska (2003)

Attachment of satellite tags and time-depth recorders to juvenile Steller sea lions