Martisha Soliz Liefer

Education

B.S. in Marine Biology, 1996, from Texas A&M University, Galveston, TX.

Cetacean Research Experience

Throughout my undergraduate years at Texas A&M I spent many hours working for the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network. I assisted in the rehabilitation of stranded dolphins. I assisted with basic husbandry chores as well as veterinary techniques. I also participated in the release of several rehabilitated dolphins. I also took part in many marine mammal necropsies and learned quite a bit about marine animal anatomy and physiology. Also in Galveston, I served as an intern at the Marine Mammal Research Program under the supervision of Bernd Würsig and Dave Weller. I spent much of this internship time cataloging bottlenose dolphin dorsal fins from the Galveston and Corpus Christi study areas. After graduation I came to CBL as an intern and trained under the supervision of Sam Ward who was doing theodolite studies of dolphin behavior. I learned quite a bit about field work and became very interested in the land-based behavior work which is the focus of my thesis research efforts.

Current Research

I am presently studying the behavior of Pacific coast bottlenose dolphins in the coastal waters of San Diego. My thesis research is designed to provide a detailed analysis of sequential and contextual features of behavioral events in free-ranging dolphins. My ultimate goal is to refine the description and criteria used to identify behavioral states in field studies of cetacean behavior. In the field I utilize an all-occurrence sampling method to record the occurrence of 30 different behavioral events in a two-minute time interval. At the end of the two-minutes, I also record behavior state and group size. This protocol will allow me to calculate rates for behavioral events associated with behavioral states. A practical application of this information is that it will allow us to distinguish different types of feeding and foraging strategies, possibly associated with securing different types of prey items. Once more fine-grain discriminations can be made in judging behavior in the field we will be able to more accurately understand the interplay between behavior and its environmental determinants.

Research Interests

I plan to finish my master's thesis within the next two years and I would eventually like to go on to earn my Ph.D. I would like to focus my efforts in marine mammal science, but I am also very interested in Primatology and would enjoy doing some work in that field, as well.

Personal

I was born and grew up in Corpus Christi, Texas and was married on July 19, 1997. I mention these two very important details because my family and my husband Tony have both have helped me "get where I am today" and I owe them a big "Thank you!"

Living in a coastal town fostered my interest in marine mammals. Growing up I often heard about dolphins stranding on our local beaches and wondered how human impacts may have contributed to these strandings and what could be done to minimize their deadly effects on these mammals. Working for the Stranding Network in Galveston helped me to learn more about how and why strandings occurred and I decided that I could contribute the most to their welfare by learning more about their ecology and behavior. The desire to learn more about these animals and how they live their lives brought me to CBL.

In my spare time away from cetacean research I enjoy spending time with my husband, Tony, exercising and dancing. We also enjoy hiking and walking at the beach with our beagle Miko, and as anyone who has or has had a dog knows, they take up a huge amount of time and attention.

In the last several months I have volunteered for the Center for Reproduction of Endangered Species at the San Diego Zoo as a Giant Panda Observer/Researcher under the supervision of Erin Tepper a former CBL graduate student. I am presently working at the San Diego Wild Animal Park as a naturalist where I narrate a tour for the public about endangered African and Asian animals living at the park.

Last updated on August 30 1998.