Education

B.S.      University of Southern Mississippi, Biological Sciences            1999
                       Emphasis: Marine Biology
                       Minor:  Chemistry

M.S.      University of Southern Mississippi, Biological Sciences            2001
              Emphasis: Marine Biology

Nocturnal and diurnal activity budgets of a group of captive bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

Ph.D.    University of Southern Mississippi, Experimental Psychology   2005

Investigation into the potential effects of anthropogenic noise on sperm whale sound production (Physeter macrocephalus) in the Gulf of Mexico.
                                                                         
 

Publications

Kuczaj, S. &  Walker, R. T. (2006). How do dolphins solve problems? In: Comparative Cognition: Experimental Explorations of Animal Intelligence. Eds. E. A. Wasserman and T. R. Zentall. Oxford University Press. 


Wright, A.J., Goold, J.C., Kuczaj, S.A., Thames, R., Newcomb, J.J., Mellinger, D.K. and Snyder, M. (2004). Bathymetry, Meteorology and Diurnal Patterns in Sperm Whale Behaviour. Proceedings of the annual meeting of the European Cetacean Society, Sweden.


Thames, R. & Kuczaj, S. (2003).  Investigation of potential seasonal differences in activity budgets for a group of captive bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus).  Journal of the Mississippi Academy of Sciences 48(1): p. 91.


Kuczaj, S.A. II, Paulos, R., Ramos, J., Thames, R., Rayborn, G., Walker, C., Ioup, G., Ioup, J., Snyder, M., Field, R., Newcomb, J., Fisher, R., Caruthers, J., Goodman, R., & Sidorovskaia, N. (2003). Anthropogenic noise and sperm whale sound production. Proceedings of the annual meeting of the European Cetacean Society, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, March.


Lee, A. T., Hairston, R.V., Thames R., Lawrence, T. & Herron S. S. (2002). Using a computer simulation to teach science process skills to college biology and elementary education majors.  Bioscene: Journal of College Biology Teaching. 28, 4, 35-42.


Lee, A. T., Thames R., Hairston, R.V., Lawrence, T.,  Herron, S.S., & Hairston, R.V. (2001).  Using the Bioquest computer simulation, Late Blight, in a general biology laboratory course and in science methods for elementary teachers.  Journal of the Mississippi Academy of Sciences 46 (1): p. 84.


Thames, R. & Kuczaj, S. (2001). Diurnal and nocturnal activity budgets of captive bottlenose dolphins.  Journal of the Mississippi Academy of Sciences 46 (1): p. 59.
                                                                         
 

Presentations

Newcomb, J.J., Wright, A., Kuczaj, S., Thames, R., Hillstrom, W.R. & Goodman, R. (2004).  Underwater ambient noise and sperm whale click detection during extreme wind speed conditions.  Presented at the High Frequency Ocean Acoustics Conference, LaJolla, CA, March.

Wright, A.J., Goold, J.C., Kuczaj, S.A., Thames, R., Newcomb, J.J., Mellinger, D.K. and Snyder, M. (2004). Bathymetry, Meteorology and Diurnal Patterns in Sperm Whale Behaviou". Poster presentation at the annual meeting of the European Cetacean Society, Sweden, March.

Kuczaj, S.A. II, Paulos, R., Ramos, J., Thames, R., Rayborn, G., Walker, C., Ioup, G., Ioup, J., Snyder, M., Field, R., Newcomb, J., Fisher, R., Caruthers, J., Goodman, R., & Sidorovskaia, N. (2003). Anthropogenic noise and sperm whale sound production. Presented at the annual meeting of the European Cetacean Society, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, March.

Thames, R. & Kuczaj, S. (2003). Continuity in the activity budgets of captive bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) across seasons.  Presented at the 15th Biennial Conference on the biology of Marine Mammals. Greensboro, NC, December.

Wright, A.J., Goold, J.C., Kuczaj, S.A. and Thames, R. (2003). Storm Conditions and Sperm Whales in the North Gulf of Mexico. Presented at the15th Biennial Conference on the biology of Marine Mammals. Greensboro, NC, December.

Thames, R. & Kuczaj, S. (2003).  Investigation of potential seasonal differences in activity budgets for a group of captive bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus).  Presented at the annual meeting of the Mississippi Academy of Sciences, Hattiesburg, MS. January.

Wright, A., Goold J., Kuczaj, S, II & Thames, R. (2003).  Effect of storm noise on the vocalizations of sperm whales. Presented at the 15th Biennial Conference on the biology of Marine Mammals. Greensboro, NC, December.

Lee, A. T., Thames R., Hairston, R.V., Lawrence, T.,  Herron, S.S., & Hairston, R.V. (2001).  Using the Bioquest computer simulation, Late Blight, in a general biology laboratory course and in science methods for elementary teachers.  Presented at the annual meeting of the Mississippi Academy of Sciences, Tupelo, MS, February.

Thames, R. & Kuczaj, S. (2001). Diurnal and nocturnal activity budgets of captive bottlenose dolphins.  Presented at the annual meeting of the Mississippi Academy of Sciences,  Tupelo, MS. February.

Thames, R. & Kuczaj, R. (2001). Diurnal and nocturnal activity budgets of captive bottlenose dolphins.  Presented at the annual Graduate Student Symposium, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS. March.

Thames, R. Woodford, J., Patterson, R., Moore, F., Kuczaj, S. & Solangi, M. (2001).  Effects of illness, associated medicines, age and time of day on diurnal and nocturnal behavior of captive bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). Presented at the International Association for Aquatic Animal Medicine Meeting, Tampa, Fl. May.

Thames, R. & Kuczaj, S. (2001). Effects of age and time of day on a group of captive bottlenose dolphins. Presented at the 14th Biennial Conference on the biology of Marine Mammals. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. November 28th-December 3rd.


                                                                         
 

Courses

General Psychology

Introduction to Behavioral Statistics (Lecture and Lab)

Principles of Learning

Cognitive Psychology

Animal Learning and Behavior

Sensation and Perception

Principles of Learning from a Develomental Perspective (Graduate) 

Research

I am mainly interested in animal behavior.  I should state that my interest is not limited to dolphins but many species of mammals.  I am fascinated with how species interact with their abiotic and biotic environments.  I am particulary interested in social groups because of their complex structures and relationships. Play in these social groups provides an insightful look into the flexibility and creativeness utilized by the animals. I believe the social environment plays a crucial role in the development of play behaviors and it is important to understand how play develops in various environmental and social settings.   I am also interested in using activity budgets to assess and monitor captive animal behavior. This type of knowledge provides useful management and enrichment information that may promote an animals well-being in a captive environment as well as learn more about species that may be difficult to study in their natural habitat.