ACADEMIC AREAS
Marine Mammal Acoustics, Biological Oceanography, Marine Ecology, Soundscape Ecology
TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
Dr. Munger teaches engaging, interdisciplinary classes that revolve around marine science and related fields, while exploring the human side of urgent issues that science cannot resolve on its own. Dr. Munger’s ultimate goal for students is become empowered as citizens and decision makers by developing content knowledge, evidence-based reasoning, and data literacy skills. Students in Dr. Munger’s courses will actively participate in their learning, and as a result they will become better naturalists, develop quantitative and technical abilities, and hone their communication skills.
PAST COURSES
- HC241h: Unusual Oceanographic Events (link: https://honors.uoregon.edu/hc-241h-formerly-207h209h-unusual-oceanographic-events )
- HC 441h: The Mystique of Marine Mammals in History, Science and Culture (link: https://honors.uoregon.edu/hc-441h-mystique-marine-mammals-history-science-and-culture-1 )
ACADEMIC BACKGROUND
Ph.D., Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, 2007
B.A., University of Colorado – Boulder, 1999
Dr. Munger has been teaching undergraduate marine science courses since 2005, including Marine Bioacoustics, Ocean Life Foundations, Marine Ecology, Marine Biology with Laboratory, Marine Mammal Biology, and Introduction to Oceanography. Dr. Munger has also been conducting biological research and field studies since 1995, working in disciplines such as marine mammal acoustics and behavioral ecology in ecosystems from the tropics to the poles.
RECENT AND CURRENT PROJECTS
McMurdo Oceanographic Observatory: Project leader = Dr. Paul Cziko, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Oregon. Research on Weddell seal vocalizations and underwater soundscapes in Antarctica using an underwater cabled observatory.
Oceanwide Science Institute: Hawaii-based nonprofit conducting acoustic monitoring of marine mammals around the world. Recent projects include monitoring Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins in Hong Kong as part of airport expansion environmental monitoring, and marine mammal monitoring in and adjacent to U.S. Navy operational ranges.