Journal Publications

2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 |2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2005 | Non-Peer Reviewed Contributions
Formally supervised students denoted with *

N. Jadhav, S. Bhattacharya, D. Vogt, Y. Aluma, P.H. Tønessen, A. Prabhakara, S. Kumar, S. Gero, R.J. Wood, S. Gil (2024) Reinforcement Learning-Based Framework for Whale Rendezvous via Autonomous Sensing Robots. Science Robotics. 9(95) DOI: 10.1126/scirobotics.adn7299

A.Leitao, M. Lucas, S. Poetto, T.A. Hersh, S. Gero, D.F. Gruber, M. Bronstein, and G. Petri (2024) Evidence of social learning across symbolic cultural barriers in sperm whales. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.96362.1

P. Sharma, S. Gero, R. Payne, D. Gruber, D. Rus, A. Torralba, and J. Andreas. (2024) Contextual and Combinatorial Structure in Sperm Whale Vocalisations. Nature Communications. 15: 3617

F. Vachon*, L. Rendell, S. Gero, and H. Whitehead (2024) Abundance estimate of Eastern Caribbean sperm whales using large scale regional surveys Marine Mammal Science. doi: 10.1111/mms.13116

E.R. Jacob*, S. Gero, C.E. Malinka, P.H. Tønnesen* K. Beedholm, S.L. DeRuiter, P.T. Madsen (2024) The active space of sperm whale codas: inter-click information for intra-unit communication. Journal of Experimental Biology.

P. Tønnesen and S. Gero. (2024) Studying the effect of camera tag associated white light on the diving and foraging behavior of Eastern Caribbean sperm whales. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers 203: 104200. doi: 10.1016/j.dsr.2023.104200

G. Beguš, R.L. Sprouse, A. Leban, and S. Gero (2023) Vowels and Diphthongs in Sperm Whales. OSF Preprints. doi: 10.31219/osf.io/285cs

G. Beguš, A. Leban and S. Gero. (2023) Approaching an unknown communication system by latent space exploration and causal inference. arXiv: 2303.10931.

T. Hersh*, S. Gero, L. Rendell, M. Cantor, L. Weilgart, M. Amano, S.M. Dawson, E. Slooten, C.M. Johnson, I. Kerr, R. Payne, A. Rogan, R. Antunes, O. Andrews, E.L. Ferguson, C.A. Hom-Weaver, T.F. Norris, Y.M. Barkley, K.P. Merkens, E.M. Oleson, T. Doniol-Valcroze, J.F. Pilkington, J.Gordon, M. Fernandes, M. Guerra, L. Hickmott, and H. Whitehead (2022) Evidence from sperm whale clans of symbolic marking in non-human cultures. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2201692119

J. Andreas, G. Beguš, M.M. Bronstein, R. Diamant, D. Delaney, S. Gero, S. Goldwasser, D.F. Gruber, S. de Haas, P. Malkin, N. Pavlov, R. Payne, G. Petri, D. Rus, P. Sharma, D. Tchernov, P. Tønnesen, A. Torralba, D. Vogt, and R.J. Wood (2022) Towards Understanding the Communication in Sperm Whales. iScience. 104393.

F. Vachon*, A. Eguiguren, L. Rendell, S. Gero, and H. Whitehead (2022) Distinctive, fine-scale distribution of Eastern Caribbean sperm whale cultural groups relates to island fidelity rather than environmental variables. Ecology and Evolution. 12(11): e9449. doi: 10.1002/ece3.9449

F. Vachon*, T. Hersh*, L. Rendell, S. Gero, and H. Whitehead (2022) Ocean nomads or island specialists? Culturally driven habitat partitioning contrasts in scale between geographically isolated sperm whale populations. Royal Society Open Science. 9: 211737.

D. Blount, S. Gero, J. Van Oast, J. Parham, C. Kingen, B. Scheiner, T. Stere, M. Fisher, G. Minton, C. Khan, V. Dulau, J. Thompson, O. Moskvyak, T. Berger-Wolf, C.V. Stewart, J. Holmberg, J.J. Levenson (2022) Flukebook: An Open Source AI Platform for Cetacean Photo Identification. Mammlian Biology

M. Glarou, S. Gero, A. Frantzis, J.M. Brotons, F. Vivier, P. Alexiadou, M. Cerdà, E. Pirotta, F. Christiansen. (2023) Estimating body mass of sperm whales using aerial photogrammetry. Marine Mammal Science. doi: 10.1111/mms.12982

P. Arranz, F. Christiansen, M. Glarou, S. Gero, F. Visser, M.G. Oudejans, N. Aguilar Soto, and K. Sprogis (2022) Body condition and allometry of free-ranging short-finned pilot whales in the North Atlantic. Sustainability. 14(22): 14787. doi: 10.3390/su142214787

T. Hersh*, S. Gero, L. Rendell, and H. Whitehead (2021) Using identity calls to detect structure in acoustic datasets. Methods in Ecology and Evolution. 12: 1668-1678.

J. A. Goldbogen, D. E. Cade, D. M. Wisniewska, J. Potvin, P. S. Segre, M. S. Savoca, E. L. Hazen, M. F. Czapanskiy, S. R. Kahane-Rapport, S. L. DeRuiter, S. Gero, P. Tønnesen, W. T. Gough, M. B. Hanson, M. M. Holt, F. H. Jensen, M. Simon, A. K. Stimpert, P. Arranz, D. W. Johnston, D. P. Nowacek, S. E. Parks, F. Visser, A. S. Friedlaender, P. L. Tyack, P. T. Madsen, N. D. Pyenson (2019) Why whales are big but not bigger: Physiological drivers and ecological limits in the age of ocean giants. SCIENCE 13 DEC 2019: 1367-1372

P.C. Bermant, M.M. Bronstein, R.J. Wood, S. Gero#, and D.F. Gruber# (2019) Deep Machine Learning Techniques for Sperm Whale Bioacoustics: Detection and Classification of Echolocation Clicks and Codas. Scientific Reports. 9, Article number: 12588 # Co-senior authors

Cantor, M., S. Gero, H. Whitehead and L. Rendell (2019) Sperm whale, the largest toothed creature on Earth. In: Ethology and behavioral ecology odontocetes. Edited by B. Würsig. Springer: 261-280. Info

L. Rendell, M. Cantor, S. Gero, H. Whitehead and J. Mann. (2019) Causes and consequences of female centrality in cetacean societies. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. 374:

W.A.M. Beslin*, H. Whitehead, and S. Gero (2019) Automatic acoustic estimation of sperm whale body lengths achieved through machine recognition of on-axis clicksJournal of the Acoustical Society of America. 144, 3485

C. Konrad*, S. Gero, T. Frasier T, H. Whitehead (2018). Kinship influences sperm whale social organization within, but generally not among, social units. Royal Society Open Science 5: 180914.

A. Bøttcher*, S. Gero, K. Bedholm, H. Whitehead, and P.T. Madsen (2018Variability of the inter-pulse interval in sperm whale clicks with implications for size estimation and individual identificationJournal of the Acoustical Society of America. 144(1): 365-374.

C. Konrad*, T. Frasier, L. Rendell, H. Whitehead, and S. Gero (2018) Kinship and association do not explain variation in vocal repertoire among individual sperm whales or their social unitsAnimal Behaviour. 145: 131-140.

P. Tønnesen*, S. Gero, M. Ladegaard, M. Johnson, and P.T. Madsen (2018First year sperm whale calves echolocate and perform long, deep dives. Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology. 72: 165-180.

C. Konrad*, T. Frasier, H. Whitehead, and S. Gero (2018) Kin selection influences, but does not fully explain, rates of allocare in sperm whales. Behavioral Ecology.

 C. Konrad*, A. Dupuis, S. Gero, and T. Frasier (2017) A sexing technique for highly degraded cetacean DNA. Aquatic Mammals 43(6): 655-660.

M. Cantor. H. Whitehead, S. Gero, and L. Rendell (2016) Cultural turnover among Galápagos sperm whalesRoyal Society Open Science 3: 160615

S. Gero and H. Whitehead (2016) Critical Decline of the Eastern Caribbean Sperm Whale Population. PLoS ONE 11 (10): e0162019.

S. Gero, A. Bøttcher*, H. Whitehead, and P.T. Madsen (2016) Socially segregated, sympatric sperm whales clans in the Atlantic Ocean. Royal Society Open Science 3: 160061

S. Gero, H. Whitehead, and L. Rendell (2016) Individual, unit, and vocal clan level identity cues in sperm whale codas. Royal Society Open Science 3: 150372.

S. Gero, J. Gordon, and H. Whitehead (2015) Individualized social preferences and long-term social fidelity between social units of sperm whales. Animal Behaviour 102: 15-23.

M. Cantor and S. Gero (2015) The Missing Metric: quantifying contributions of reviewers Royal Society Open Science 2: 140540.

H. Whitehead and S. Gero (2015) Conflicting rates of increase in the sperm whale population of the eastern Caribbean: positive rates do not reflect a health population Endangered Species Research 27: 207-218.

2014

S. Gero, M. Milligan*, C. Rinaldi, P. Francis, J. Gordon, C. Carlson, A. Steffen, P. Tyack, P. Evans, and Hal Whitehead (2014) Behavior and Social Structure of the Sperm Whales of Dominica, West Indies. Marine Mammal Science 30: 905-922 PDF

H. Whitehead and S. Gero (2014) Using social structure to improve mortality estimates; an example with sperm whales. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 5: 27-36 PDF

2013

S. Gero, J. Gordon, and H. Whitehead (2013) Calves as social hubs: dynamics of the social network within sperm whale units. Proceedings of the Royal Society B - Biological Sciences 280: 20131113

2012

S. Gero (2012) The surprisingly familiar family lives of sperm whales. Journal of the America Cetacean Society 41: 16-20.

H. Whitehead, R. Antunes, S. Gero, Sarah N.P. Wong, D. Engelhaupt, and L. Rendell (2012) Multilevel societies of female sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) in the Atlantic and Pacific: why are they so different? International Journal of Primatology 33: 1142-1164. DOI: 10.1007/s10764-012-9598-z PDF

2011

R. Williams, S. Gero, L. Bejder, J. Calambokidis, S.D. Kraus, D. Lusseau, A.J. Read and J. Robbins (2011) Underestimating the Damage: Interpreting Cetacean Carcass Recoveries in the Context of the Deepwater Horizon/BP Incident Conservation Letters 4: 228-233. DOI: 10.1111/j.1755-263X.2011.00168.x PDF

R. Antunes, T. Schulz, S. Gero, H. Whitehead, J. Gordon and L. Rendell (2011) Individually distinctive acoustic features in sperm whale codas Animal Behaviour 81(4): 723-730. DOI:10.1016/j.anbehav.2010.12.019 PDF

2010

T.M. Schulz, H. Whitehead, S. Gero and L. Rendell (2010) Individual vocal production in a sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) social unit. Marine Mammal Science 27(1): 149-166. DOI:10.1111/j.1748-7692.2010.00399.x PDF

2009

D. Engelhaupt, A.R. Hoelzel, C. Nicholson, A. Frantzis, S. Mesnick, S. Gero, H. Whitehead, L. Rendell, P. Miller, R. De Stefanis, A.A. Mignucci-Giannoni (2009) Female philopatry in coastal basins and male dispersion across the North Atlantic in a highly mobile marine species, the Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus). Molecular Ecology 18: 4193-4205. DOI:10.1111/j.1365-294x.2009.04355.x PDF

S. Gero, D. Engelhaupt, L. Rendell, and H. Whitehead (2009) Who Cares? Between-group variation in alloparental care-giving in sperm whales. Behavioral Ecology 20(4): 838-843. DOI:10.1093/beheco/arp068 PDF

2008

T.M. Schulz, H. Whitehead, S. Gero, and L. Rendell (2008) Overlapping and matching of codas in vocal interactions between sperm whales: Insights into communication function. Animal Behaviour 76: 1977-1988. DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2008.07.032 PDF

S. Gero, D. Engelhaupt, and H. Whitehead (2008) Heterogeneous associations within a sperm whale unit reflect pairwise relatedness. Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology 63: 143-151.
DOI: 10.1007/s00265-008-0645-x PDF Supplimentary Material

D. Lusseau, H. Whitehead, and S. Gero (2008) Incorporating uncertainty into the study of animal social networks. Animal Behaviour 75(5): 1809-1815. DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2007.10.029

2007

S. Gero, J. Gordon, C. Carlson, P. Evans, and H. Whitehead (2007) Population estimate and inter-island movement of sperm whales, Physeter macrocephalus, in the Eastern Caribbean. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 9(2): 143-150. PDF

S. Gero and H. Whitehead (2007) Suckling behaviour in sperm whales calves: observations and hypotheses. Marine Mammal Science 23(2): 398-413. DOI: 10.1111/j.1748-7692.2007.00113.x PDF

2005

S. Gero, L. Bejder, H. Whitehead, J. Mann, and R.C. Connor (2005) Behaviourally specific preferred associations in bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops sp. Canadian Journal of Zoology 83(12): 1566-1573. DOI: 10.1139/Z05-155 PDF

Non-Peer Reviewed Contributions

P. Sharma, S. Gero, R. Payne, D. Gruber, D. Rus, A. Torralba, and J. Andreas. (2023) Contextual and Combinatorial Structure in Sperm Whale Vocalisations. bioRxiv: 2023-12.

D. Blount, G. Minton, C. Khan, J. Levenson, V. Dulau, S. Gero, J. Parham, J. Holmberg. (2020) Flukebook – Continuing growth and technical advancement for cetacean photo identification and data archiving, including automated fin, fluke, and body matching. Report to the Scientific Committee at the 68th annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission SC/68B/PH/06.

M. Cantor, S. Gero, H. Whitehead and L. Rendell. (2019) Sperm whale, the largest toothed creature on Earth. In: Ethology and behavioral ecology of toothed whales and dolphins, the odontocetes. Edited by B. Würsig. Springer.

S. Gero (2016) The Lost Cultures of Whales. The New York Times. October 9, 2016.

S. Gero, S. Pace, G. Kaufman, E.C.M. Parsons, F. Ritter, M. Sironi, and N. A. Rose (2016) Initial survey of global commericial swim-with-whale operations. Report to the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission SC/66/WW 

S. Gero and M. Cantor (2015Passing Review: how the R-index aims to improve the peer-review system by quantifying reviewer contributions. London School of Economics Impact Blog. May 20, 2015.

S. Gero and L.Rendell (2015) Oceanic Societies: studying cetaceans using a social network approach IN Animal Social Networks: perspectives and challenges. J. Krause, D. Croft, D. Franks, and D. James, Editors. Oxford University Press.

L. Rendell and S. Gero (2013) The behavioral ecologist’s essential social network cookbook – Invited Commentary to N. Pinter-Wollman et al. The dynamics of animal social networks: analytical, conceptual, and theoretical advances. Behavioral Ecology.

S. Gero (2012) On the Dynamics of Social Relationships and Vocal Communication between Individuals and Social Units of Sperm Whales. Ph.D. Thesis, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S. pp.163. Abstract

S. Gero (2011) Sperm Whale IN: Cachalot: The Digital Sea Monsters iPad App., Duke University.

S. Gero, M. Milligan, H. Whitehead, P. Madsen (2005-2015) Yearly reports on research activity and management recommendations. Report to the Ministry of Fisheries of Dominica.

S. Gero (2011) Sperm Whale (Online). OCEANA Marine Wildlife Encyclopedia.

S. Gero (2010) Sperm Whale (Online). Society for Marine Mammalogy Species Fact Sheet.

S. Gero (2008) CARIBwhale Cetacean Watching Guidelines: Background and recommendations for their development. pp.22.

S. Gero, J. Gordon, C. Carlson, P. Evans, and H. Whitehead. (2006) Population estimate and inter-island movement of sperm whales, Physeter macrocephalus, in the Eastern Caribbean. Report to the Scientific Committee at the 58th annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (SC/58/O4)

S. Gero, and H. Whitehead (2006) Opportunistic sightings of small cetaceans off the leeward shore of the Commonwealth of Dominica. Report to the Small Cetcean Subcommittee at the 58th annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (SC/58/SM1) PDF

S. Gero (2005) Fundamentals of Sperm Whale Societies: Care for Calves. M.Sc. Thesis, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S. pp.99.

L. Rendell, S. Gero, and H. Whitehead (2005) Sperm Whales in Dominica: a case study. Scientific reference paper for the United Nations Environment Programme Regional Workshop of Experts on the Development of the Marine Mammal Action Plan for the Wider Caribbean Region. July 2005. pp.12

S. Gero (2003) Bond Strength and its Relationship with Behaviour in the Fission-Fusion Social Structure of Free-Ranging Bottlenose Dolphins, Tursiops spp. B.Sc. Honours thesis, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S. pp.58