Christine Alfano- Tinker/Estes Lab


		Christine Alfano University of California Santa Cruz Center for Ocean Health, Long Marine Lab 100 Shaffer Road Santa Cruz, CA 95060 phone: (831) 459-2357 fax: (831) 459-2249 calfano@ucsc.edu

Research Interests I began studying the behavior of California sea otters at the New York Aquarium in 1998. In 1999 I began a PhD program in Fisheries and Wildlife at the University of Minnesota under the supervision of Dr. Donald B. Siniff. I have been collaborating with the Estes lab and participating in all aspects of field data collection since 2000 and am presently a visiting researcher at the BRD Santa Cruz Field Station and the UCSC Dept. of Applied Math. My dissertation research focuses on the causes and consequences of individual variation in the movement patterns of California sea otters. I am particularly interested in the mechanisms of long-distance movements. What are the environmental cues that trigger these movements? And, once an animal is moving, what factors cause it to stop? I am working with Dr. Marc Mangel to build individual-based simulation models that will be used to test hypotheses about the relationship between environmental factors and both large- and small-scale individual movement patterns. At the same time, I am analyzing long-term radiotelemetry data sets to inform and validate these models. Education Ph.D. Candidate, Wildlife Conservation, University of Minnesota , St. Paul , MN B.A., Biology, Rutgers University , Piscataway , NJ , 1998 Experience Collaborating graduate student University of California , Santa Cruz , CA Behavioral ecology and population dynamics of the California sea otter 2000 - present Editorial assistant Center for Ocean Health, Santa Cruz , CA Marine Mammal Science 2004 - present Field assistant Big Razorback Field Camp, Antarctica Dynamics of the Erebus Bay Weddell seal population 2002 Consultant Western Pacific Fisheries Council, Honolulu , HI Applications of value-based models to community based fisheries conservation 2002 Research associate New York Aquarium, Brooklyn , NY Behavior and management of captive California sea otters 1998-1999 Editorial assistant Rutgers University , New Brunswick , NJ Journal of Sedimentary Research 1996-1998 Teaching Teaching Assistant Modeling and decision analysis for wildlife conservation Professor: Dr. Tony Starfield 2001-2003 Teaching Assistant Wildlife habitats Professor: Dr. Peter Jordan 2000 Awards NSF Graduate Research Fellowship 2000 – 20003 University of Minnesota Graduate School Fellowship 1999


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