Executive Committee
The Consortium’s first and current Executive Committee is made up of the Steering Committee. The next Executive Committee will be created in 2017. It is responsible for tending to memberships, reviewing and coordinating Consortium activities, facilitating external relations, and writing and distributing an annual activity report.
Violaine Dulau, Ph.D.
First chair
My PhD was dedicated to sperm whale ecology in the Mediterranean Sea and addressed a wide range of topics related to the species’ distribution, social structure, diving and acoustic behavior, and population genetics.
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Since I’ve settled in Reunion, my main objective, as scientific manager for Globice, has been to provide a scientific baseline for the conservation of local cetacean populations. My research interests mainly focus on habitat use, residency, abundance and connectivity of island-associated populations using a variety of techniques including photo-identification, genetics, passive acoustics and satellite tracking. I work mainly on Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins, spinner dolphins, sperm whales and humpback whales.
Salvatore Cerchio, Ph.D.
Second chair
I have been studying cetaceans for 36 years around the world. I have been working in Madagascar since 2004, studying cetaceans from humpback whales to coastal dolphins to Omura’s whales. Currently I am a visiting Scientist …
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… with the New England Aquarium and Guest Investigator at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Prof. Ken Findlay
Treasurer
I am currently the Research Chair: Oceans Economy at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in Cape Town, South Africa and previously directed the MRI Whale Unit of The University of Pretoria.
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I have been integrally involved in marine mammal research in the Southern African region, in the Arabian Sea region, the Western Indian Ocean and in the Southern Ocean. I am a member of the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and a member of both the IUCN Cetacean Specialist Group and Sirenian Specialist Group. I was integrally involved in the IWC’s IDCR and SOWER Antarctic survey programmes between 1991 and 2005 and in the IWC’s Comprehensive Assessment of Humpback Whales since 2000.
Sabrina Fossette, Ph.D.
Secretary
I have been Megaptera’s scientific advisor since 2009. I have a PhD in behavioral and movement ecology. For the past 15 years, I have been working on a range of marine species such as humpback whales, sperm whales, …
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… marine turtles and jellyfish, and have studied their migratory behavior and physiology and how it is influenced by oceanographic conditions and human impacts. Since 2011, I have been running several projects on humpback whales and sperm whales in the Southwest Indian Ocean (Comoros, Mayotte, Mauritius) looking at their diving behavior and migratory pathways.
Claire Garrigue, Ph.D.
Outside regional member representative
The goal of my work is to determine the population status of humpback whales that over-winter in the lagoons of New Caledonia. The field methodology for this long-term study (now running for over 18 years) is based on photo-identification, …
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… biopsies, sampling, acoustic recordings and more recently, satellite tagging. My research has focused on population dynamics, reproductive behavior, habitat use and conservation biology. I am interested in understanding how environmental features and habitat variables influence the movement and behavior of humpback whale population around the archipelago during the reproductive period. In addition to this work, I have been involved in Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin and dugong research projects. I have initiated aerial surveys for dugongs around the main island of New Caledonia, aimed at determining the species’ distribution and patterns of seasonal occurrence, and identifying critical habitats.
Anjara Saloma
Student representative
Mad. Fr.
I have been working for marine mammal research and conservation programs in Madagascar since 2011. I am involved in scientific research programs (tagging, acoustic studies, photo-identification) and in all programs related to community-based development.
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My PhD project is about humpback whale mother and calf communication processes. Acoustic signals ensure biological functions essential to the survival of individuals. If acoustic communication in humpback whales is widely studied for male songs, there is a huge gap regarding the social sounds, especially the vocalizations between mothers and calves. My study investigates the vocal repertoire of the mother and her calf in relationship with the social context in order to get more knowledge on social interactions of large marine mammals.
Alexandre Zerbini, Ph.D.
Founding member representative
I have been studying marine mammals since 1992. I studied taxonomy of southern minke whale species while a masters student in Brazil. I pursued a Ph.D. at the University of Washington and graduated in 2006. My research has focused on …
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… population abundance and assessment of killer, fin and humpback whales in the North Pacific and of humpback whales the west South Atlantic Ocean and, more recently, in satellite telemetry of large whales. I have been a member of the scientific committee of the International Whaling Commission since 2000 and have chaired two of the IWC’s subcommittees. I am also a member of the IUCN Cetacean Specialist Group.
