Staff Profile
Dr Luciana Möller
| Room: | E8A 375 |
|---|---|
| Phone: | +61 2 9850 7998 |
| Fax: | +61 2 9850 7972 |
| Email: | Luciana.Moller@gse.mq.edu.au |
Profile
I received my BSc degree from Universidade do Rio Grande (Brazil) in 1993 in Oceanography. Following my BSc, I was a Research Scientist at the Rio Grande Oceanographic Museum, where I worked on several cetacean projects. In 1997 I joined Associate Prof Rob Harcourt at the Marine Mammal Research Group, GSE, where I studied bottlenose dolphin socio-genetic structure for my PhD. In 2001 I moved to the USA where I held an affiliate research position at the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Yale University. In 2003 I moved back to Australia and in 2005 I received a Macquarie University Research Fellowship. I am affiliated with the Marine Mammal Research Group (GSE) and the Molecular Ecology Group for Marine Research (Biological Sciences). I am also a member of the Macquarie University Animal Ethics Committee and an advisor to the Port Stephens-Great Lakes Marine Park representing Marine Science.
Research Interest
My research interests include behaviour, ecology and molecular ecology of marine mammals, particularly cetaceans, and marine conservation.
My current research focuses on social evolution in dolphins, marine mammal mate choice, population genetics of whales and dolphins, cetacean molecular taxonomy, dolphin behavioural ecology, and human impacts on dolphins.
Present research projects range from mate choice in bottlenose dolphins and Weddell seals to population genetics of blue whales and sperm whales.Teaching
I presently hold a research only position. However, I guest lecture in the units BIOL372 Marine Birds and Mammals and ENV200 Introduction to Environmental Sciences. I also supervise Biology and Marine Science Honours and postgraduate students (MPhil, PhD) on cetacean behaviour, molecular ecology and marine conservation projects.
Selected Publications
- Möller LM, Wiszniewski J, Allen SJ, Beheregaray LB (2007) Habitat type promotes rapid and localized genetic differentiation in dolphins. Marine and Freshwater Research. In press.
- Bilgmann K, Möller LM, Harcourt R, Beheregaray LB (2007) Genetic differentiation in bottlenose dolphins from South Australia: an association with local oceanography and coastal geography. Marine Ecology Progress Series. In press.
- Bilgmann K, Griffiths OJ, Allen SJ, Möller LM (2007) A biopsy pole system for bow-riding dolphins: sampling success, behavioral responses, and test for sampling bias. Marine Mammal Science 23, 218–225.
- Möller LM, Beheregaray LB, Allen SJ, Harcourt RG (2006) Association patterns and kinship in female Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) of southeastern Australia. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 61, 109-177.
- Möller LM, Beheregaray LB (2004) Genetic evidence of sex-biased dispersal in resident bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus). Molecular Ecology 13, 1607-1612.
- Beheregaray LB, Möller LM, Schwartz TS, Chao NL, Caccone G (2004) Microsatellite markers for the cardinal tetra Paracheirodon axelrodi, a commercially important fish from central Amazonia. Molecular Ecology Notes 4, 330-332.
- Möller LM, Allen SJ, Harcourt RG (2002) Group characteristics, site fidelity and abundance of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) in Jervis Bay and Port Stephens, southeastern Australia. Australian Mammalogy24, 11-21.
- Krützen M, Barre LM, Möller LM, Heithaus MR, Simms C, Sherwin WB (2002) A biopsy system for small cetaceans: darting success and wound healing in Tursiops spp. Marine Mammal Science 18, 863-878.
- Möller LM, Beheregaray LB, Harcourt R, Krützen M (2001) Kinship and alliance formation in wild male bottlenose dolphins. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 268, 1756-1762.
- Möller LM, Beheregaray LB (2001) Coastal bottlenose dolphins from southeastern Australia are Tursiops aduncus according to sequences of the mitochondrial DNA control region. Marine Mammal Science 17, 249-263.