Jenny Allen, PhD

What’s the work that you do?

I am a postdoctoral researcher focused on social learning and culture in cetaceans, specifically the foraging culture of humpback whales. My research looks at how Antarctic humpback whale foraging strategies are learned and spread, as well as what drives them and what they suggest about the changing Antarctic climate.

What keeps you going?

I love using science to expand what we know. When you analyse data, there’s always a brief moment where you know something almost no one else in the world knows. Then you write it up and share it, which means you have helped everyone know a little more about the world than they did before. Field work is also one of my big highlights – I love being on the water and getting to see things that few people have the opportunity to see.

What’s your message to the world?

I hope that as people learn more about the natural world, they will feel more connected to it and fight to protect it. Animal culture, the area that I study, is one of the best ways that I think I can help people to make connections with animal species. We need to foster that connection so that we can work together to push for systemic changes that will preserve unique and vulnerable places like Antarctica.