Dr Guido Parra

Position/s:Lecturer
School of Biological Sciences
Phone: +61 8 82013565
Email:
Location: Biological Sciences (154)
Postal address: GPO Box 2100, Adelaide 5001, South Australia

Biography

Dr. Parra is a lecturer at the School of Biological Sciences where he leads (together with Dr. L. Moller) the Cetacean Ecology, Behaviour and Evolution Lab (CEBEL). He is also currently part of the Marine Innovations South Australia (MISA) programme through a joint position between Flinders University and the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI - Aquatic Sciences) where he acts as the primary cetacean ecologist.

Guido is originally from Colombia where he conducted his BSc in Biology at Universidad de los Andes. He migrated to Australia in 1999 to conduct his PhD at James Cook University studying the behavioural ecology of Australian Snubfin and Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins. After his PhD he worked as a postdoctoral fellow at James Cook University and The University of Queensland investigating different aspects of the ecology, behaviour and population genetics of coastal dolphins.

Qualifications

  • 2005 - PhD. Natural Resource Management. James Cook University
  • 2001 - MSc. Natural Resource Management (upgraded to a PhD in 2001). James Cook University
  • 1995 - BSc. Biology. Universidad de los Andes.

Honours, awards and grants

  • 2011. Flinders University Vice-Chancellor's Early Career Research Award.
  • 2006 - 2009. Postdoctoral Fellowship. University of Queensland.
  • 2007. University of Queensland Early Career Research Award.
  • 2007. Travel Award for International Collaborative Research. University of Queensland.
  • 2005 - 2006. Postdoctoral Fellowship. CRC Reef Research Centre, James Cook University.
  • 2003. Postgraduate Conference Travel Award. CRC Reef Research Centre.
  • 2001 -2004. International Postgraduate Research Award. James Cook University.
  • 2001. Postgraduate Conference Travel Research Award. James Cook University.
  • 1999 - 2001. Postgraduate Studies Award. Fundaci&ón Para el Futuro de Colombia (Foundation for the Future of Colombia).
  • 1998. Scholarship to attend the course: 'Marine Mammal Biology and Conservation'. Valencia, Spain. European Cetacean Society and Universidad Internacional Menendez Pelayo.

Key responsibilities

  • Research Leader: Cetacean Ecology, Behaviour and Evolution Lab (CEBEL)
  • Topic Coordinator and Lecturer: Biology of Marine Mammals, Birds and Reptiles
  • Lecturer: Introduction to Animal Behaviour
  • Lecturer: Research in Animal Behaviour
  • Lincoln Marine Science Centre Operational Committee, Vessel Operations Committee, and Space Committee

Teaching

Teaching interests

My teaching interests are in the areas of animal behavior, ecology,and conservation biology

Topic Coordinator:

  • BIOL3751 Marine Mammals, Birds and Reptiles

Topic Lecturer:

Research and supervision

Research expertise

  • Ecology
  • Environmental science and management

Research interests

I have broad research interest in population ecology, behavioural ecology and conservation biology. My research seeks to understand the evolution and the mechanism underlying marine mammal ecology, behaviour and evolution and uses concepts and methods from these fields to address pressing conservation issues. I use a variety of methods, including behavioural observations of known individuals, Geographic Information Systems, ecological modelling, social networks, and genetics and use mainly wild dolphin populations as models for my studies. This integrative approach is important and necessary to address the big questions (i.e. Why?), to explain data in the context of the bigger picture and to improve our capacity to effectively conserve and manage wild populations of marine mammals.

Supervisory interests

  • Animal behaviour
  • Conservation biology
  • Dolphins, behaviour, ecology and evolution
  • Whales, behaviour, ecology and evolution

RHD research supervision

Current

Principal supervisor: Spatial ecology of Burrunan’s dolphin (Tursiops australis): ecological and anthropogenic influences (1); Population size, habitat use and social structure of Australian humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis) around the North West Cape, Western Australia. (1);

Associate supervisor: Social dynamics and genetic structure of the Burrunan’s dolphin (Tursiops australis) (1); Ecology and social structure of the endemic southern Australian bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops australis) in Adelaide’s metropolitan waters (1); Ecology of Indo-Pacific Humpback Sousa chinensis and Australian snubfin Orcaella heinsohni dolphins in the Northern Territory, Australia (1); Evaluation of different management approaches to reduce bycatch of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis) and Australian snubfin dolphins (Orcaella heinsohni) in Queensland, Australia (1);

Completion

Associate supervisor: Foraging ecology and population structure of inshore bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops aduncus, in Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia (1);

RHD Student Achievements

  • Ina Ansmann
    Best student presentation award at European Cetacean Society Conference, Cadiz Spain. - March 2011
  • Nikki Zanardo
    AMSA-SA best presentation award at the AMSA-SA 7th Annual Symposium, Adelaide - October 2012

Publications

Book chapters
Lawler, I., Parra, G.J. and Noad, M. (2007). Vulnerability of marine mammals in the Great Barrier Reef to climate change. In Johnsohn JE and Marshall PA, ed. Climate Change and the Great Barrier Reef: a vulnerability assesment. Townsville: Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, pp. 497-513. [online]. Available from: http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/resources-and-publications/publications/climate-change-and-the-great-barrier-reef-a-vulnerability-assesment.
Refereed journal articles
Brown, A., Bejder, L., Cagnazzi, D., Parra, G.J. and Allen, S. (2013). The North West Cape, Western Australia: A Hotspot for Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphins Sousa chinensis. Pacific Conservation Biology.
Cagnazzi, D., Parra, G.J., Westley, S. and Harrison, P. (2013). At the heart of the industrial boom: Australian snubfin dolphins in the Capricorn coast, Queensland, need urgent conservation action. PLoS One, 8(2), p.e56729. [online]. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0056729.
Berg Soto, A., Everingham, Y., Parra, G.J., Noad, M. and Marsh, H. (2013). Acoustic alarms elicit only subtle responses in the behavior of coastal dolphins in Queensland, Australia. Endangered Species Research.
Peters, K.J., Parra, G.J., Skuza, P.P. and Moller, L.M. (2012). First insights into the effects of swim-with-dolphin tourism on the behavior, response, and group sctruture of southern Australian bottlenose dolphins. Marine Mammal Science. [online]. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/mms.12003.
Ansmann, I., Parra, G.J., Chilvers, B. and Lanyon, J. (2012). Dolphins restructure social system after reduction of commercial fisheries. Animal Behaviour, 84(3), pp.575-581. [online]. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.06.009.
Ansmann, I., Parra, G.J., Lanyon, J. and Seddon, J. (2012). Fine-scale genetic population structure in a mobile marine mammal: inshore bottlenose dolphins in Moreton Bay, Australia. Molecular Ecology, 21(18), pp.4472-4485. [online]. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2012.05722.x.
Palmer, C., Murphy, S., Thiele, D., Parra, G.J., Robertson, K., Beasley, I., et al. (2011). Analysis of mitochondrial DNA clarifies the taxonomy and distribution of the Australian snubfin dolphin (Orcaella heinsohni) in northern Australian waters. Marine and Freshwater Research, 62(11), pp.1303-1307. [online]. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/MF11063.
Vilstrup, J., Ho, S., Foote, A., Morin, P., Kreb, D., Krutzen, M., et al. (2011). Mitogenomic phylogenetic analyses of the Delphinidae with an emphasis on the Globicephalinae. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 11(1), p.65. [online]. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-11-65.
Frere, C., Seddon, J., Palmer, C., Porter, L. and Parra, G.J. (2011). Multiple lines of evidence for an Australasian geographic boundary in the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis): population or species divergence? Conservation Genetics, 12(6), pp.1633-1638. [online]. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10592-011-0242-9.

Show all publications

Book chapters
Parra, G.J. and Ross, G.J. (2009). Humpback dolphins. In William F. Perrin, Bernd Wursig, J.G.M. Thewissen, ed. Encyclopaedia of Marine Mammals. Burlington, Mass., U.S.A.: Elsevier, pp. 576-582.
Parra, G.J. and Arnold, P.W. (2008). Orcaella heinsohni. In Steve Van Dyck and Ronald Strahan, ed. The Mammals of Australia. Sydney: Reed / New Holland Publishers, pp. 865-866.
Lawler, I., Parra, G.J. and Noad, M. (2007). Vulnerability of marine mammals in the Great Barrier Reef to climate change. In Johnsohn JE and Marshall PA, ed. Climate Change and the Great Barrier Reef: a vulnerability assesment. Townsville: Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, pp. 497-513. [online]. Available from: http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/resources-and-publications/publications/climate-change-and-the-great-barrier-reef-a-vulnerability-assesment.
Refereed journal articles
Cagnazzi, D., Parra, G.J., Westley, S. and Harrison, P. (2013). At the heart of the industrial boom: Australian snubfin dolphins in the Capricorn coast, Queensland, need urgent conservation action. PLoS One, 8(2), p.e56729. [online]. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0056729.
Berg Soto, A., Everingham, Y., Parra, G.J., Noad, M. and Marsh, H. (2013). Acoustic alarms elicit only subtle responses in the behavior of coastal dolphins in Queensland, Australia. Endangered Species Research.
Brown, A., Bejder, L., Cagnazzi, D., Parra, G.J. and Allen, S. (2013). The North West Cape, Western Australia: A Hotspot for Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphins Sousa chinensis. Pacific Conservation Biology.
Ansmann, I., Parra, G.J., Lanyon, J. and Seddon, J. (2012). Fine-scale genetic population structure in a mobile marine mammal: inshore bottlenose dolphins in Moreton Bay, Australia. Molecular Ecology, 21(18), pp.4472-4485. [online]. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2012.05722.x.
Ansmann, I., Parra, G.J., Chilvers, B. and Lanyon, J. (2012). Dolphins restructure social system after reduction of commercial fisheries. Animal Behaviour, 84(3), pp.575-581. [online]. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.06.009.
Peters, K.J., Parra, G.J., Skuza, P.P. and Moller, L.M. (2012). First insights into the effects of swim-with-dolphin tourism on the behavior, response, and group sctruture of southern Australian bottlenose dolphins. Marine Mammal Science. [online]. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/mms.12003.
Vilstrup, J., Ho, S., Foote, A., Morin, P., Kreb, D., Krutzen, M., et al. (2011). Mitogenomic phylogenetic analyses of the Delphinidae with an emphasis on the Globicephalinae. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 11(1), p.65. [online]. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-11-65.
Parra, G.J., Corkeron, P. and Arnold, P. (2011). Grouping and fission-fusion dynamics in Australian snubfin and Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins. Animal Behaviour, 82(6), pp.1423-1433. [online]. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2011.09.027.
Frere, C., Seddon, J., Palmer, C., Porter, L. and Parra, G.J. (2011). Multiple lines of evidence for an Australasian geographic boundary in the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis): population or species divergence? Conservation Genetics, 12(6), pp.1633-1638. [online]. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10592-011-0242-9.
Palmer, C., Murphy, S., Thiele, D., Parra, G.J., Robertson, K., Beasley, I., et al. (2011). Analysis of mitochondrial DNA clarifies the taxonomy and distribution of the Australian snubfin dolphin (Orcaella heinsohni) in northern Australian waters. Marine and Freshwater Research, 62(11), pp.1303-1307. [online]. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/MF11063.
Parra, G.J. (2007). Observation of an Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin carrying a sponge: object play or tool use? Mammalia, 71(3), pp.147-149. [online]. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1515/MAMM.2007.019.
Parra, G.J., Schick, R. and Corkeron, P. (2006). Spatial distribution and environmental correlates of Australian snubfin and Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins. Ecography, 29(3), pp.396-406. [online]. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1111/j.2006.0906-7590.04411.x.
Parra, G.J. (2006). Resource partitioning in sympatric delphinids: Space use and habitat preferences of Australian snubfin and Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins. Journal of Animal Ecology, 75(4), pp.862-874. [online]. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1111/j.1365-2656.2006.01104.x.
Parra, G.J., Corkeron, P. and Marsh, H. (2006). Population sizes, site fidelity and residence patterns of Australian snubfin and Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins: Implications for conservation. Biological Conservation, 129(2), pp.167-180. [online]. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2005.10.031.
Parra, G.J., Corkeron, P. and Marsh, H. (2004). The Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin, Sousa chinensis (Osbeck, 1765), in Australian waters: a summary of current knowledge. Aquatic Mammals, 30, pp.197-206.
Parra, G.J., Corkeron, P., Marsh, H., Azuma, C. and Preen, A. (2002). Distribution of Irrawaddy dolphins, Orcaella brevirostris, in Australian waters. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 10, pp.141-154.
Parra, G.J. and Corkeron, P. (2001). Feasibility of using photo-identification techniques to study the Irrawaddy dolphin, Orcaella brevirostris (Owen in Gray 1866). Aquatic Mammals, pp.45-49.
Van Parijs, S.M., Parra, G.J. and Corkeron, P. (2000). Sounds produced by Australian Irrawaddy dolphins, Orcaella brevirostris. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 108, pp.1938-1940.

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Professional and community engagement

  • 2013 - current. Associate Editor for the Journal Marine Mammal Science.
  • 2011 - current. Guest Handling Editor for the Journal Conservation Biology.
  • 2009 - 2012. Guest Associate Editor for the Journal Marine Mammal Science.
  • 2004 - present: Reviewer for: PLOs One, Biological Conservation, Conservation Biology, Endangered Species Research, Aquatic Mammals, Marine Mammal Science, Marine and Freshwater Research, Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals, Mammalia, Wildlife Research.

Expertise for media contact

  • Dolphins and whales: ecology, behaviour and conservation

Subject/s

  • Behaviour
  • Conservation
  • Ecology
  • Wildlife


inspiring achievement