Cecilia Thompson, Staff Researcher

Cecilia Thompson

Staff Researcher

Cecilia Thompson is a Staff Researcher with the Brookfield Zoo Chicago’s Sarasota Dolphin Research Program. Cecilia began studying marine mammals while completing her BSc degree in Marine Science at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida. She gained valuable research experience while working with the Eckerd College Dolphin Project, the Galveston Bay Dolphin Research Program, and as a NOAA Hollings Scholar with the Marine Mammal Ecology team at NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center. Cecilia first joined the SDRP as an intern in 2021. She completed a MSc degree in Marine Mammal Science at the University of St Andrews in Scotland in 2024 where she continued her work with the SDRP as a graduate student. Her MSc thesis explored the use of bottlenose dolphin signature whistles captured by the Sarasota Bay Listening Network to track individuals in the Sarasota Bay dolphin community. In her role with SDRP, Cecilia mainly focuses on acoustics, assisting with the operations of the Sarasota Bay Listening Network. She also leads photo-ID surveys and assists with additional field projects.