STEPHANIE VLACHOS
LAB FACILITATOR
As the lab services facilitator for MMRP, it is my privilege to support the current marine mammal researchers “behind the scenes”. Navigating the University of Hawaii’s administrative system is just one of the many facets necessary for successful fieldwork, data collection and analysis.
​
​
​
email: svlachos@hawaii.edu
​
​
​
​
with Boris, circa 2014
​
​
​
​
Biography
Stephanie was able to start her animal training and husbandry career as she finished high school. While completing a B.S. in Psychology, she honed her marine mammal training skills. She also took an eager interest in the husbandry and rehabilitation of marine mammals and seabirds.
​
Over the years she has been fortunate to work with a variety of cetacean and pinniped species. Her experience also includes field work in the NW Hawaiian Islands with the Hawaiian monk seal program.
From 2004-2015 she was on the animal care and training team here at MMRP. While working with graduate students, post docs and visiting researchers, data was collected on the hearing and echolocation capabilities of our three dolphins and a false killer whale. The cetaceans were superbly trained for their tasks and greatly contributed to the body of publications in marine mammal science over the years. Once it was time for the animals to move away, her time at MMRP came to an end.
Fast forward six years to 2021 and she is back again as the lab services facilitator and admin support.
​
​
Publications
​
. Lemonds, D.W., Au, W.W.L., Vlachos, S.A. Nachtigall, P.E. 2012. High frequency auditory filter shape for the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin. The Journal of the Acoustic Society of America. 132(2):1222-8
​
. Ibsen, S.D., Nachtigall, P.E., Krause-Nehring, J., Kloepper, L., Breese, M., Li, S., Vlachos, S.A. 2012. Spatial orientation of different frequencies within the echolocation beam of a Tursiops truncatus and Pseudorca crassidens. The Journal of the Acoustic Society of America 08/2012. 132(2):1213-21
​
. Kloepper, L.N., Nachtigall, P.E., Quintos, C., Vlachos, S.A. 2012. Single-lobed frequency-dependent beam shape in an echolocating false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens). The Journal of the Acoustic Society of America. 131(1):577-81
​
. Lemonds, D.W., Kloepper, L.N., Nachtigall, P.E., Au, W.W.L., Vlachos, S.A., Branstetter, B. K. A re-evaluation of auditory filter shape in delphinium odontocetes: evidence of constant- bandwidth filters. 2011. The Journal of the Acoustic Society of America. 130(5):3107-14.
​
. Mooney, T.A., Nachtigall, P.E., Vlachos, S.A. 2009. Sonar-induced temporary hearing loss in dolphins. Biology letters. 5(4):565-7.
​
. Mooney, T.A., Nachtigall, P.E., Breese, M., Vlachos, S.A., Au, W.W.L. 2009. Predicting temporary threshold shifts in a bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus): the effects of noise level and duration. The Journal of the Acoustic Society of America. 125(3):1816-26
​
. Mooney, T.A., P. E. Nachtigall, P.E., Vlachos, S. Intense sonar pings induce temporary threshold shift in a bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). The Journal of the Acoustic Society of America. 06/2008 123(5):3618.
. Yuen, M.M.L., Nachtigall, P.E., Breese, M., Vlachos, S.A., The perception of complex tones by a false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens). The Journal of the Acoustic Society of America 04/2007 121(3):1768-74.
. Au, W.W.L., Lemonds, D.L., Vlachos, S., Nachtigall, P.E., Roitblat, H. L., Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) hearing threshold for brief broadband signals. Journal of Comparative Psychology 07/2002 116(2):151-7.
. Au, W.W.L., Lemonds, D., Vlachos, S., Nachtigall, P.E., Detection threshold of echolocation signals in a noise free environment by the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin. The Journal of the Acoustic Society of America 01/2000 107:2784-2785.
. Lemonds, D.W., Au, W.W.L., Nachtigall, P.E., Vlachos,S., Roitblat, H.L., Auditory frequency selectivity and masked hearing capabilities in an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin. The Journal of the Acoustic Society of America 11/1997 102(5):3102.