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Franca Eichenberger is a researcher affiliated with the Sea Mammal Research Unit at the University of St Andrews. She completed her PhD at the University of St Andrews in 2024, with a thesis examining paternity, age, testosterone, and song in humpback whales through an integrative analysis. Prior to this, she earned a Master of Science in Biology from the University of Zurich. Her research focuses on song and reproduction in male humpback whales, encompassing molecular ecology, animal behaviour, population genetics, and reproductive tactics in baleen whales. Eichenberger has contributed to publications including a 2023 chapter on reproductive tactics in baleen whales and papers on patterns of paternity and changes in age-related sexual selection in humpback whale populations. She has received recognition such as the 2022 Louis M. Herman Research Scholarship. Her work addresses the evolutionary consequences of commercial whaling on demography, reproduction, and sexual selection in recovering populations.
As a Senior Research Associate and former postgraduate student at the Scottish Oceans Institute within the School of Biology, Eichenberger collaborates on studies involving cetacean behavioural ecology and bioacoustics. Her contributions include insights into mating competition, gene flow, and epigenetic aging in humpback whales, supporting broader understanding of marine mammal population dynamics post-exploitation.
University of St Andrews research in Current Biology shows how age influences humpback whale reproduction during post-whaling recovery, highlighting flexible mating aiding population rebound.
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