Our team reflects the international nature of science with members and collaborators from across the world.

Meet the Team

  • Woman wearing sunglasses, a baseball cap, and a pink neck gaiter, taking a selfie on a boat with ocean and cloudy sky in the background.

    Tess Gridley PHD

    Founding Director, Operations Manager and Principal Scientist

    ResearchGate
  • A smiling man with short hair wearing a gray t-shirt, sunglasses on his cap, holding a child wearing a blue jacket with colorful patterns, outdoors with a blurred cloudy sky in the background.

    Simon Elwen PhD

    Founding Director and Principal Scientist.

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  • Woman smiling with a cap and life vest, near water with mountains in the background.

    Sasha Dines PhD

    Co-Director and Postdoc
    (University of Cape Town)
    Killer Whale Acoustics (and humpback dolphins)

    researchgate
  • A woman with curly blonde hair and earrings, wearing a white shirt, sits in front of a colorful mural of a dragon, holding a camera.

    Clare Homewood

    Independent Graphic Artist. African Bioacoustics - Listening For Life Project

    website
  • Man with sunglasses leaning on boat railing on the ocean

    Paul Tixier PhD

    Researcher at Institute of Research for Development, France

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  • A woman with long hair holding a small bird close to her face outdoors with mountains and cloudy sky in the background.

    Cat Nadin MSc

    Funding Officer and Research Associate
    African Bioacoustics Community

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  • A smiling young woman with blonde hair, blue eyes, and piercings on her lips and nose, on a boat in the ocean on a partly cloudy day.

    Rachel Probert PhD

    Postdoctoral Researcher (University of Cape Town)
    Seal Health (and humpback whales)

    researchgate
  • Two men on a boat, one with sunglasses and a hat, the other with a camera, sailing on the open ocean on a sunny day.

    Aaron Barnes MSc

    PhD student
    (Stellenbosch University)
    Regional population structure of Killer Whales

    researchgate
  • Smiling woman wearing a black and blue jacket and a black cap, taking a selfie in front of ancient stone ruins on cloudy day with grass and a black metal bench nearby.

    Erin Ross-Marsh MSc

    PhD Student
    (Stellenbosch University)
    Humpback whale song around southern Africa

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  • Close-up of a smiling woman with dark skin, wearing a pink sleeveless top, indoors with kitchen cabinets in the background.

    Lindiwe Makapela BSc Hons

    MSc Student
    (Stellenbosch University)
    Understanding Killer Whale depredation on longline fisheries in South Africa

  • A young woman with long brown hair smiling at the camera, sitting in a library with shelves of books in the background.

    Anthea Karamitsos

    BSc Honours student (UNISA)

    Research Assistant
    African Bioacoustics Community

  • A woman smiling, wearing sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat, sitting on a boat with a body of water, a ferris wheel, buildings, cranes, and mountains in the background on a sunny day.

    Daniella Faile

    BSc Honours student
    (Stellenbosch University)

    Estimating the prevalence and spatio–temporal patterns of health and human impacts within Heaviside's dolphin populations

  • Smiling woman with long red hair, wearing a gray tank top, sitting at a table with a yellow wall behind her.

    Alana Theron

    BSc Honours Student
    (Stellenbosch University)

    Estimating population residency and abundance of the Heaviside's dolphin at the southern extent of their range.

  • A man with red hair and beard outdoors near a body of water, holding a long pole, and smiling at the camera.

    Connor Reid MSc

    Research Associate and former MSc Student
    (Jean Monnet University, MOBI acoustics course)

Sea Search Collaborators

  • The emblem of Stellenbosch University featuring the university's name in multiple languages, with a central stylized logo in gold.
  • A black silhouette of an alpaca next to a line graph with multiple peaks, and a large tree with numerous branches and leaves.
  • Logo for Marbec, a marine biodiversity, exploitation, and conservation organization, featuring a stylized blue globe with marine animals like fish, a shark, and a starfish, alongside the text 'marbec'.
  • Ford Wildlife Foundation logo with stylized images of a zebra, snake, lion, bear, and owl.
  • Logo of the Organization for Tropical Studies, featuring a green tropical leaf and black text.
  • Logo for Wildlife Acoustics featuring sound wave symbols and the text 'Wildlife Acoustics' in black and red.
  • A stylized blue whale with a splash of water, above the text 'Oceans Research'.
  • Logo for SOUSa with a stylized sun, dolphins, and text that reads "Protecting South Africa's Humpback Dolphin".
  • A logo for HuDoNET featuring a dolphin above stylized waves with text indicating Indian Ocean Humpback Dolphin Conservation Network.
  • Ocean Conservation Namibia
  • City of Cape Town
  • Two Oceans Aquarium
  • A circular logo with a cartoon dog wearing sunglasses, with the text 'FALSE BAY VET' underneath.
  • Wildlife Forensic Academy logo featuring a fingerprinted animal paw within a circle and the organization's name.
  • Logo for Boat Company in Simon's Town, South Africa, featuring a whale tail silhouette.
  • Dyer Island Conservation Trust
  • Logo of Dive Team Cape Town featuring two scuba divers swimming with bubbles.
  • Logo of Raggy Charters featuring a jumping fish and text indicating tour services from Algoa Bay to Port Elizabeth.
  • Logo for MIMMP, Marion Island Marine Mammal Programme, featuring a cartoon seal.