Ashley Blawas, Ph.D.
Researcher at the intersection of Physiology, Engineering, & Marine Science
Molecular and cellular adaptations to diving in bottlenose dolphins.
Publications:
An integrated comparative physiology and molecular approach pinpoints mediators of breath-hold capacity in dolphins. A.M. Blawas, K.E. Ware, E. Schmaltz, L.Zheng, J. Spruance, A.S. Allen, N. West, N. Devos, D.L. Corcoran, D.P. Nowacek, W.C. Eward, A. Fahlman, J.A. Somarelli Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health. 2021. doi:10.1093/emph/eoab036
Cardiorespiratory physiology of bottlenose dolphins.
Examining the relationship between respiratory function and cardiovascular parameters. Photo courtesy of Dolphin Quest Oahu.
Publications:
Cardiorespiratory coupling in cetaceans; a physiological strategy to improve gas exchange? A. Fahlman, S. Miedler, L. Marti-Bonmati, D. Ferrero Fernandez, P. Muñoz Caballero, J. Arenarez, J. Rocho-Levine, T. Robeck, A. Blawas. Journal of Experimental Biology 2020. doi: 10.1242/jeb.226365
Conditioned Variation in Heart Rate During Static Breath-Holds in the Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). A, Fahlman, B, Cozzi, M. Manley, S. Jabas, M. Malik, A. Blawas and V.M. Janik. Frontiers in Physiology 2020. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2020.604018
Respiratory sinus arrhythmia and submersion bradycardia in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). A.M. Blawas, D.P. Nowacek, A.S. Allen, J. Rocho-Levine, A. Fahlman. Journal of Experimental Biology 2020. doi: 10.1242/jeb.234096
Scaling of heart rate with breathing frequency and body mass in cetaceans. A.M. Blawas , D.P. Nowacek, J. Rocho-Levine, T.R. Robeck, and A. Fahlman. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 2021. doi:10.1098/rstb.2020.0223
Diving patterns of cryptic, deep diving cetaceans.
Using tagging, surveys, and towed hydrophones to understand the spatial ecology of whales off the coast of North Carolina. Learn more at the project webite.
Publications:
IN PREP. Acoustic surveys demonstrate high densities of sperm whales off the mid-Atlantic coast of the USA in winter and spring. O. Boisseau, D. Nowacek, A. Pabst, A. Blawas, A. Clabaugh, A.Moscrop, R. McLanaghan, and J.J. Levenson.