News : Research : Conservation : Education : Get involved : Adopt a fish! : About us : Sponsors
You are here: Home : About us
The Manta Ray & Whale Shark Research Centre is based at Tofo Beach, Mozambique, at Casa Barry Lodge. You can see some more details about Centre facilities here and our sponsors here. We're firm believers that scientific results are most effective when people actually know about them. In keeping with that philosophy, you can find more details on our education and media work on this site too.
ANDREA MARSHALL
Andrea has been based in Mozambique since 2003. Her PhD research on the population ecology of manta rays, conducted through The University of Queensland in Australia (submitted in May 2008), is the first ever doctoral thesis to be completed on this enigmatic species. Andrea's ground-breaking field research on the ecology and biology of Mozambican manta rays has led to several major new discoveries. She was also the senior author on the first worldwide conservation assessment on manta rays for the IUCN. Her current manta ray research includes systematics, phylogeography, individual movements and conservation ecology. See here for more information.
SIMON PIERCE
Simon has been researching whale sharks in Mozambique since 2005 while concurrently working on his PhD research on stingray conservation biology at UQ in Australia. Simon's whale shark research examines the ecology, biology and conservation of these enormous fish. His current work involves the study of whale shark movement patterns, demography and feeding ecology. Simon's interests also encompass marine protected area design for large and highly-mobile fishes (i.e. whale sharks and manta rays), the assessment of Mozambican fisheries and optimal decision-making in marine conservation science. See here for more information.
GULAMO MAMUDO ISMAEL
Gulamo is our multi-talented skipper, whale shark spotter, research assistant and all-round superman. Born locally in the Inhambane Province, Gulamo has been working with our scientific staff since 2006.