Profile
Assistant Professor
Divya Panicker
dr.divyapanicker@tdu.edu.in
Dr. Divya Panicker is an oceanographer and marine mammal researcher specialising in cetacean ecology, bioacoustics, and soundscape ecology in the northern Indian Ocean. Her work examines how whales and dolphins use their environments within the monsoonal and oceanographic context of the Arabian Sea, with a particular focus on blue whales around the Lakshadweep archipelago.
Dr. Divya Panicker is an oceanographer and marine mammal researcher working at the intersection of science, conservation, and community engagement. She specialises in marine mammal ecology, bioacoustics, and soundscape ecology in the northern Indian Ocean. Her research examines cetacean distribution and ecology within the monsoonal and oceanographic context of the Arabian Sea, with a particular focus on blue whales around the Lakshadweep archipelago.
Dr. Panicker is an Honorary Fellow at the Department of Environmental Studies, Ashoka University, and serves as Program Lead of the Islands and Reefs Program at the Foundation for Ecological Research, Advocacy and Learning (FERAL). She is also a Guest Investigator at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the founder of Wavelet, an initiative dedicated to ocean science, training, and community engagement. She holds a Ph.D. in Oceanography from the University of Washington, Seattle.
Her research has identified Lakshadweep as important habitat for blue whales, and her broader work on cetacean diversity contributed to the archipelago's designation as an Important Marine Mammal Area (IMMA). She works closely with Lakshadweep's fishing and diver communities, integrating local knowledge and relationships into her research and conservation work. She has led workshops and training programs in passive acoustic monitoring and marine mammal research techniques across India. She is also the author of two children's books on marine life, Razia Learns to Swim and Have You Ever Heard a Whale Sing?
