THE STAFF
Principal Investigators
Daniela Maldini, Ph.D., is currently an Adjunct Professor in the Biology Department at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Daniela completed her B.S. degree in Biological Sciences at the University of Pavia, Italy, in 1988. During this time she managed the university’s marine biology laboratory and completed a thesis on the conservation biology of pleuronectiform fishes in the Ligurian Sea. She moved to the United States in 1988 and interned in the Oceanography Department at the University of Texas at Austin Marine Laboratory located in Corpus Christi, Texas. Later, she worked with marine mammals and birds at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories in Monterey Bay, California, where she completed her M.S. in Marine Sciences in 1996. The topic of her M.S. thesis was the ecology of bottlenose dolphins in Monterey Bay. During this time she was also involved in a variety of ecological studies focusing on whales, dolphins, sea otters, and pinnipeds; co-founded the Pacific Cetacean Group, a non-profit corporation focusing on research, education, and conservation; and led the Marine Mammal Center Monterey Bay Operations’ stranding network in 1994-1995. Daniela completed her Ph.D. in Zoology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 2003 with a study of odontocete abundance and distribution around the island of Oahu. She is also the co-founder and vice president of the Oceanwide Science Institute, a Hawaii non-profit organization. She has been contracting as a biologist with the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary since 1998. From 2001-2004 she worked as Research Associate at the Alaska SeaLife Center focusing on the ecology of killer whales and sea otters in Alaskan and Russian waters. Daniela is interested in behavioral ecology, population biology, and predator-prey relationships. Her work focuses on the ecology of odontocetes in various parts of the world.
Thomas A. Jefferson, Ph.D., is a visiting scientist at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center, La Jolla, California. He has been studying marine mammals since 1983, and has conducted research on a variety of different species in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Peru, Africa, the Caribbean, and throughout Southeast Asia. He has published over 95 scientific papers and books, 10 popular articles, and one CD-ROM. Since 1995, Dr. Jefferson has been conducting research mainly on dolphins and porpoises in Southeast Asia, and leads a long-term project on Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins and finless porpoises in Hong Kong waters. He completed his Ph.D. in 1995 at Texas A&M University, working on cetaceans in offshore waters of the Gulf of Mexico. He also holds a M.S. in Marine Sciences completed while working at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, in Monterey Bay, California. His primary interests are the systematics and conservation biology of small cetaceans.
Research Coordinator - Cynthia Browning
Cynthia is an independent cetacean biologist who has been working on various field projects for the past five years. Originally from Long Island, NY, Cynthia moved to New Hampshire in 1999 to pursue a BS in Zoology from the University of New Hampshire. Cynthia’s primary interest in conservation led her to develop a deep interest in the North Atlantic Right Whale. Since completing her BS in 2003, Cynthia has worked on four different field projects, covering four out of the five critical habitats for right whales. Cynthia spends her winters with the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies, flying aerial surveys as both an observer and the flight coordinator. For the past two years she has surveyed the offshore habitat of the Great South Channel with the New England Aquarium. During the late summer and fall, Cynthia moves up the coast to work in the Bay of Fundy (between northern Maine and Nova Scotia) and Roseway Basin (southeast of Nova Scotia). While she has worked with survey teams in these areas, Cynthia also was part of a groundbreaking project that collected whale scat in order to investigate the internal health of right whales. This will be Cynthia’s first year with the Marine Mammals of Monterey Project and she is excited to be part of the team.
Student Assistants – Stephanie Wallace, Andrew Walsh and Mark Cotter
Stephanie, Andrew and Mark are all undergraduate students at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst working with Dr. Maldini in various capacities. Stephanie is completing her senior thesis on sea otters under the supervision of Dr. Maldini. She will be coordinating sea otter observations and will welcome volunteer help in completing her data collection in the field. Andrew is also working with sea otters and Mark has been conducting photo-identification of dolphins for the past year.
Principal Investigators
Daniela Maldini, Ph.D., is currently an Adjunct Professor in the Biology Department at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Daniela completed her B.S. degree in Biological Sciences at the University of Pavia, Italy, in 1988. During this time she managed the university’s marine biology laboratory and completed a thesis on the conservation biology of pleuronectiform fishes in the Ligurian Sea. She moved to the United States in 1988 and interned in the Oceanography Department at the University of Texas at Austin Marine Laboratory located in Corpus Christi, Texas. Later, she worked with marine mammals and birds at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories in Monterey Bay, California, where she completed her M.S. in Marine Sciences in 1996. The topic of her M.S. thesis was the ecology of bottlenose dolphins in Monterey Bay. During this time she was also involved in a variety of ecological studies focusing on whales, dolphins, sea otters, and pinnipeds; co-founded the Pacific Cetacean Group, a non-profit corporation focusing on research, education, and conservation; and led the Marine Mammal Center Monterey Bay Operations’ stranding network in 1994-1995. Daniela completed her Ph.D. in Zoology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 2003 with a study of odontocete abundance and distribution around the island of Oahu. She is also the co-founder and vice president of the Oceanwide Science Institute, a Hawaii non-profit organization. She has been contracting as a biologist with the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary since 1998. From 2001-2004 she worked as Research Associate at the Alaska SeaLife Center focusing on the ecology of killer whales and sea otters in Alaskan and Russian waters. Daniela is interested in behavioral ecology, population biology, and predator-prey relationships. Her work focuses on the ecology of odontocetes in various parts of the world.
Thomas A. Jefferson, Ph.D., is a visiting scientist at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center, La Jolla, California. He has been studying marine mammals since 1983, and has conducted research on a variety of different species in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Peru, Africa, the Caribbean, and throughout Southeast Asia. He has published over 95 scientific papers and books, 10 popular articles, and one CD-ROM. Since 1995, Dr. Jefferson has been conducting research mainly on dolphins and porpoises in Southeast Asia, and leads a long-term project on Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins and finless porpoises in Hong Kong waters. He completed his Ph.D. in 1995 at Texas A&M University, working on cetaceans in offshore waters of the Gulf of Mexico. He also holds a M.S. in Marine Sciences completed while working at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, in Monterey Bay, California. His primary interests are the systematics and conservation biology of small cetaceans.
Research Coordinator - Cynthia BrowningCynthia is an independent cetacean biologist who has been working on various field projects for the past five years. Originally from Long Island, NY, Cynthia moved to New Hampshire in 1999 to pursue a BS in Zoology from the University of New Hampshire. Cynthia’s primary interest in conservation led her to develop a deep interest in the North Atlantic Right Whale. Since completing her BS in 2003, Cynthia has worked on four different field projects, covering four out of the five critical habitats for right whales. Cynthia spends her winters with the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies, flying aerial surveys as both an observer and the flight coordinator. For the past two years she has surveyed the offshore habitat of the Great South Channel with the New England Aquarium. During the late summer and fall, Cynthia moves up the coast to work in the Bay of Fundy (between northern Maine and Nova Scotia) and Roseway Basin (southeast of Nova Scotia). While she has worked with survey teams in these areas, Cynthia also was part of a groundbreaking project that collected whale scat in order to investigate the internal health of right whales. This will be Cynthia’s first year with the Marine Mammals of Monterey Project and she is excited to be part of the team.
Student Assistants – Stephanie Wallace, Andrew Walsh and Mark Cotter
Stephanie, Andrew and Mark are all undergraduate students at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst working with Dr. Maldini in various capacities. Stephanie is completing her senior thesis on sea otters under the supervision of Dr. Maldini. She will be coordinating sea otter observations and will welcome volunteer help in completing her data collection in the field. Andrew is also working with sea otters and Mark has been conducting photo-identification of dolphins for the past year.
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