Research Interests
My primary research interests include marine mammal population health and toxicology. Since 2003 I have assisted in the development and implementation of a novel technique at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center to extract molecular biomarkers from marine mammal blubber in order to gather valuable life history and health information. The bulk of my experience has been diagnosing pregnancy in free-ranging cetaceans but more recently has included chronic stress and other indicators of health in marine mammals. My graduate research will combine the use of novel endocrine biomarkers with comprehensive contaminant analysis to investigate the effects of contaminants on marine mammals in the Southern California Bight.
E-mail: [email protected]
E-mail: [email protected]
Experience
B.S. Biology: Evolution, Behavior, and Ecology; UCSD, 2005
Molecular Ecology Technician & Researcher, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, 2003-present
IACUC Coordinator, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, 2010-2012
Laboratory Assistant, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, 2002-2003
Molecular Ecology Technician & Researcher, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, 2003-present
IACUC Coordinator, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, 2010-2012
Laboratory Assistant, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, 2002-2003
Publications
- Trego, M. L., Hoh, E., Kellar, N. M., Meszaros, S. J., Robbins, M. N., Dodder, N., Whitehead, A., Lewison, R. L. (2018) Comprehensive screening links halogenated organic compounds with testosterone disruption in male Delphinus delphis from the Southern California Bight. Environmental Science & Technology DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.7b04652
- Beaulieu, N. E., Sherman, K. K., Trego, M. L., Crocker, D. E., Kellar, N. M. (2017) Initial Validation of Blubber Cortisol and Progesterone as Indicators of Stress Response and Maturity in an Otariid; The California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus). General and Comparative Endocrinology 252: 1-11. DOI:10.1016/j.ygcen.2017.07.00
- Kellar, N. M., Speakman, T. R., Smith, C. R. , Lane, S. M., Balmer, B. C., Trego, M. L., Catelani, K. N., Robbins, M. N., Allen, C. D., Wells, R. S., Zolman, E. S., Rowles, T. K., Schwacke, L. H. (2017) Low reproductive success rates of common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the northern Gulf of Mexico following the Deepwater Horizon disaster (2010-2015). Endangered Species Research. 33:143-158. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00775
- Champagne, C. D., Kellar, N. M., Crocker, D. E., Wasser, S. K., Booth, R. K., Trego, M. L., Houser, D. S. (2016) Blubber Cortisol Qualitatively Reflects Circulating Cortisol Concentrations in Bottlenose Dolphins. Marine Mammal Science. doi:10.1111/mms.12352
- Kellar, N. M., Catelani, K. N., Robbins, M. N., Allen, C. D., Trego, M. L., Danil, K., Chivers, S. J. (2015) Blubber cortisol: A potential tool for assessing stress response in free-ranging dolphins without effects due to sampling. PLoS ONE. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0115257
- Kellar, N. M., Trego, M. L., Chivers, S. J., Danil, K., Archer, F. I., and Perryman, W. L. (2014) From progesterone in biopsies to estimates of pregnancy rates: Large scale reproductive patterns of two sympatric species of common dolphin, Delphinus spp. off California, USA and Baja, Mexico. Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences: 113(2).
- Kellar, N. M., Keliher, J., Trego, M. L., Catelani, K. N., Hanns, C., and George, C., Rosa, C. (2013) Progesterone concentrations relative to bowhead whale life-history state in three sampled matrices. Endangered Species Research 22: 61-72.
- Trego, M. L., Kellar, N. M., and Danil, K. (2013) Validation of blubber progesterone concentrations for pregnancy determination in three dolphin species and a porpoise. PloS one 8:e69709
- Kellar, N. M., Trego, M. L., Chivers, S. J., and Archer, F. I. (2013) Pregnancy patterns of pantropical spotted dolphins (Stenella attenuata) in the eastern tropical Pacific determined from hormonal analysis of blubber biopsies and correlations with the purse-seine tuna fishery. Marine Biology:1–12.
- Kellar, N. M., Trego, M. L., Chivers, S. J., Arhcer, F. I., Minich, J. J., and Perryman, W. L. (2013) Are there biases in biopsy sampling? Potential drivers of sex ratio in projectile biopsy samples from two small delphinids. Marine Mammal Science. doi: 10.1111/mms.12014
- Kellar, N. M., Trego, M. L., Marks, C. I., Chivers, S. J., Danil, K., and Archer, F. I. (2009) Blubber testosterone: a potential marker of male reproductive status in short-beaked common dolphins. Marine Mammal Science 25: 507-522.
- Kellar, N. M., Trego, M. L., Marks, C. I., and Dizon, A. E. (2006) Determining pregnancy from blubber in three species of delphinids. Marine Mammal Science 22:1-16.
