Laura Dias

Laura Dias is a Senior Research Associate for the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies working with the NOAA Fisheries' Southeast Fisheries Science Center in Miami.

Laura has been studying marine mammals since 2005, starting in Brazil. She moved to the U.S. and completed her Masters of Science degree in 2007. It was 2008 that she joined us here at the Southeast Fisheries Science Center. She began as a volunteer, then in 2010 became a Research Associate for the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS) at the University of Miami. Since then, Laura has worked on different research projects on marine mammals in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean. In the field she serves as a marine mammal observer and data manager during line-transect large vessel and aerial surveys. Back at the lab she manages the data collected and assists with analysis and publishing. 

In 2020 she earned the NOAA Fisheries’ 2019 Team Member of the Year Award!

Laura is featured in the center's Faces of the Southeast Fisheries Science Center Series. Read more about Laura

Laura’s most recent poster presentations are below. A list of her publications can be accessed using this link.  

Distribution Patterns of Sperm Whales and Oceanic Dolphins from Vessel Surveys Conducted Before and After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill presented at the 2020 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill & Ecosystem Science conference, February 3-6, 2020, Tampa, Florida. 

Can you see me now? Evaluating the detectability of cetaceans during line-transect surveys in the SE U.S. presented at the 2019 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill & Ecosystem Science conference, February 4-7, 2019 New Orleans, Louisiana.