PhD Student  

 
Carolina Bonin

Undergraduate Degree: Biology
Undergraduate University:  Universidade Federal do Paraná, Brazil
Graduate Degree: Msc Zoology
Graduate University: Universidade Federal do Paraná, Brazil

Email:  cabonin@ucsd.edu

Advisor:  Ron Burton

Research interests:

• Molecular ecology of mammals
• Conservation genetics
• Population genetics
• Mating systems and reproductive strategies
• Behavioral ecology of mammals

Brief Biography
Although I was born in the United States, I grew up and lived most of my life in Brazil where my family still resides. I graduated with a Bachelors degree in Biology at the Universidade Federal do Paraná, Brazil. I continued on to obtain a Msc degree in Zoology, earned at the same institution in 2001. My Master’s research was on the behavioral ecology of the grey dolphins in southern Brazil. Shortly after earning my master’s degree, I moved to the United States and began working with the Marine Mammal Genetics Group at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration- Southwest Fisheries Science Center (NOAA-SWFSC). While there, I assisted in population genetics studies of Arctic marine mammals including Steller sea lions, harbor seals and beluga whales. In 2007 I was accepted in the Marine Biology PhD program at SIO. Since then, I have been working on a collaborative project with the Antarctic Ecosystem Research Division at the NOAA-SWFSC. My PhD research investigates the re-colonization process of Antarctic fur seals in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, using molecular tools. My research will aid the conservation/management of Antarctic fur seals, and of other seal and sea lion species. My findings will also contribute to understanding the effects of climate change in Polar species. Last austral summer I spent my first field season at the U.S. Cape Shirreff field camp in Antarctica. I had the time of my life observing the fantastic animals that make Antarctica such a unique place in our planet!

Bonin, C.A., Filla, G.F., Oliveira, L.V., Monteiro-Filho, E.L.A. Population Density: methods and implications. In: Biology, Ecology and Conservation of the Grey Dolphin. E.L.A. Monteiro-Filho & K.D.K.A. Monteiro ed. 2008. Paginas & Letras. Sao Paulo. 277 pg.

Bonin, C.A., Barlow, J. Kahru, M., Ferguson, M., Mitchell, B. G. Delphinoid biomass and satellite-estimated primary productivity. 2005. Southwest Fisheries Science Center ADM Report LJ-05-03. 18pg.

Monteiro-Filho, E. L. A., Bonin, C. A., Rautenberg, M. 1999. Interações interespecíficas entre mamíferos marinhos na região de Guaratuba, sul do estado do Paraná. Biotemas 12(1): 119-132.