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Virginia Andrews-Goff
BSc (Hons)
School of Zoology
University of Tasmania
PO Box 252-05
Hobart
TAS, 7001
Australia
| Telephone: |
+61 (0)3 6226 2594 |
| Fax: |
+61 (0)3 6226 2745 |
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I completed my honours project in 2003 looking at little penguin and short-tailed shearwater reproductive success on Wedge Island, a small island off south-east Tasmania. I examined colony characteristics to determine if aspects such as vegetation type, nest density and position in the colony had any influence on the reproductive success of burrow nesting seabirds.
I began my PhD in 2006 looking at the winter foraging range of Weddell seals in the sea ice zone of eastern Antarctica. Weddell seals at both Dumont d'Urville (the French base) and Davis have been equipped with satellite-relay-data loggers and Fast-GPS tags to determine foraging behaviour (including location, dive depth and dive duration) throughout the winter months. Stable isotope analysis on whiskers, fatty acid analysis on blubber samples and hard part analysis from scats will help determine the key prey consumed during the same time period. Until recently, study of these animals during the winter months was logistically too hard. However, with the development and miniaturisation of oceanographic tags such as those used in this study, a better understanding can be gained of how the Weddell seal behaves during the winter and in particular, how it interacts with and is influenced by the winter sea ice. |
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Ruth Casper
BVSc (Uni of Sydney); BSc Hons (Uni of Wollongong)
Australian Antarctic Division
Channel Highway
Kingston Tasmania 7050
AUSTRALIA
| Telephone: |
+61 (0)3 6323 3536 |
| Fax: |
+61 (0)3 6232 3288 |
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| For my honours study, I investigated the influence of thermoregulatory demand on creching behaviour in Adelie Penguin chicks. The objective of my PhD research is to assess the utility of DNA based diet analysis in foraging ecology. This is done in the context of southern hemisphere fur seals ( Arctocephalus spp.), which are top marine generalist predators. |
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Glenn Dunshea
BSc Hons (JCU)
School of Zoology
University of Tasmania
PO Box 252-05
Hobart
TAS, 7001
Australia
| Telephone: |
+61 (0)3 6226
1826 |
| Fax: |
+61 (0)3
6226 2745 |
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| I completed honours at JCU in 2003 studying telomere biology of dugongs (Dugong dugon) and the possibility of using telomeres as a biomarker for organism age. After some R.A. work I came back to university to continue this theme of study further. The general theme of my PhD project is non-invasive means to diagnose ecologically important processes in marine mammals. Within this theme I will be studying two broad areas; dietary analysis of cetaceans through DNA based prey identification in scats and telomere biology across a wide range of marine mammals. The dietary analysis component will involve investigation of the applicability of molecular methods to correctly identify dolphin diet using experimentally derived samples from captive animals. This knowledge will then be applied to samples gathered from wild animals. The telomere biology of marine mammals component will be examining telomere characteristics and dynamics in a wide variety of marine mammals and assessing their value for investigating demographic processes in individuals and populations. |
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Judy Horsburgh
Bachelor of Antarctic Studies (Hons), University of Tasmania
School of Zoology
University of Tasmania
PO Box 252-05
Hobart 7001
Australia
| Telephone: |
+61 (0)3 6226 2594 |
| Fax: |
+61 (0)3
6226 2745 |
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| A medical doctor in a previous life, I returned to undergraduate studies at the Institute of Southern Ocean and Antarctic Studies (IASOS), UTas, in 2004. I did my honours project on southern elephant seal foraging ecology, with Mark Hindell as my supervisor. Using stomach temperature and velocity data we developed an index to identify prey encounters from standard TDR dive data. Having discovered what amazing animals elephant seals are I have now started a PhD on the same species. My project forms part of Australia's contribution to MEOP (Marine Mammal Exploration of the Oceans – Pole to Pole) and specifically I will be looking at how winter foraging success varies with changes in sea-ice extent and winter water formation in the Southern Ocean. |
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Michael Sumner
BSc (Tas); BAntStud Hons (Tas)
School of Zoology
University of Tasmania
PO Box 252-05
Hobart
TAS, 7001
Australia
| Telephone: |
+61 (0)3 6226 2594 |
| Fax: |
+61 (0)3 6226 2745 |
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| I began my PhD studies at the University of Tasmania in August 2002, with my project shared between IASOS and AWRU. My topic is modelling the relationships between the biota and physical structure of the Southern Ocean, with a beginning focus on elephant seals. I aim to develop systems to model relationships between the foraging behaviour of marine predators and remotely sensed oceanographic data. I have worked as a general and GIS programmer in both the academic and private sectors, my main skills lie with Manifold, IDL, R and Perl. |
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Michele Thums
BSc Hons (Sydney)
School of Zoology
University of Tasmania
PO Box 252-05
Hobart
TAS, 7001
Australia
| Telephone: |
+61 (0)3 6226 2594 |
| Fax: |
+61 (0)3 6226 2745 |
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| I completed a BSc with honours as a mature age student in 2000 at the University of Sydney. My honours project was on diet and energetics of long-nosed bandicoots. Prior to this I worked for 5 years as zookeeper at Sydney's Taronga Zoo. Since completing my honours I have worked on various projects always on the lookout for that perfect PhD. I started my PhD in 2004, which involved spending a year living and working on Macquarie Island. My PhD will examine trends in the foraging behaviour of the southern elephant seal by quantifying the diving behaviour of individual seals with the view to provide meaningful indices of foraging performance and success. |
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Megan Tierney
BSc (James Cook); BSc Hons (Tas)
School of Zoology
University of Tasmania
PO Box 252-05
Hobart
TAS, 7001
Australia
| Telephone: |
+61 (0)3 6232 3568 |
| Fax: |
+61 (0)3 6232 3449 |
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| For my honours work at IASOS and AWRU, I compared the relative reliability and practicality of methods used to determine body condition of southern elephant seals from Macquarie Island. Following my honours, I spent a field season on Macquarie working with royal penguins. Building on previous research by Dr. Cindy Hull, I am now starting my PhD looking at developing alternative dietary indicators for Adélie penguins as part of the Béchervaise Island Penguin Monitoring Programme near Mawson Station, Antarctica. |
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Caitlin Vertigan
BSc (Tas); BAntStud Hons (Tas)
School of Zoology
University of Tasmania
PO Box 252-05
Hobart
TAS, 7001
Australia
| Telephone: |
+61 (0)3 6226 2594 |
| Fax: |
+61 (0)3 6226 2745 |
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| I completed my honours in 2000 at IASOS where I looked at behavioural mechanisms for oxygen conservation in Southern Elephant seals. My PhD, which I started in 2004, is looking at all aspects of the life cycles of little penguins and short-tailed shearwaters during their breeding seasons over a five year period. I will then relate these to oceanographic information like sea surface temperature, ocean currents and primary productivity with a view to creating models to predict population changes in the future. |
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Stephen Wall
BSc (UNE); BSc Hons (Tas)
School of Zoology
University of Tasmania
PO Box 252-05
Hobart
TAS, 7001
Australia
| Telephone: |
+61 (0)3 6226 2594 |
| Fax: |
+61 (0)3 6226 2745 |
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| I return to university in 2003 to undertake an honours project which looked at the habitat use, distribution, and dive behaviour of crabeater seals (Lobodon carcinophagus). I now continue to research seals on Macquarie Island in the sub-Antarctic. I'm looking at the lipids stored in the blubber layer to determine the dietary composition of the southern elephant seal. An understanding of the foraging success of these seals, and how their feast or famine life cycles influence survival is my key research interest. |
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Andrea Walters
BSc (UTas); BAntStud Hons (UTas)
School of Zoology
University of Tasmania
PO Box 252-05
Hobart
TAS, 7001
Australia
| Telephone: |
+61 (0)3 6226 2594 |
| Fax: |
+61 (0)3 6226 2745 |
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I completed my Bachelor of Antarctic Studies (Hons) at IASOS, Utas, in 2005. My honours project investigated components of the feeding ecology of the long-finned pilot whale in Tasmanian waters. I commenced my PhD in December 2007 through the AWRU and IASOS. My PhD is looking at quantifying the relative trophic position of several main Antarctic marine predators (elephant seals, Weddell seals, Antarctic fur seals and Emperor penguins) via the integration of dietary information into a broader food web structure. Information on the winter foraging areas of animals will be combined with information on temporal and spatial variability in diet to gain a greater understanding of trophic interactions, foraging ecology and life-history patterns of Antarctic predators. This knowledge will then be used to investigate population variability and long-term diet structure, and to assess the possible effects of long-term climate change on the life-history of individual species and the wider Antarctic marine ecosystem. |
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