Social Strategies of Carnivorous Mammalian Predators: Hunting and Surviving as Families

Mridula Srinivasan has a doctoral degree (Ph.D., 2009) in wildlife and fisheries sciences from Texas A & M University, investigating predation risk effects from killer whales on the behavioral ecology of dusky dolphins off Kaikoura, New Zealand, using an individual-based model. Previously, she earned degrees in environmental management from Florida Tech (MS, 2001) and zoology & molecular biology (B.Sc. (Honors), 1997 and M.Sc., 1999), from the University of Delhi, India. Mridula has expertise and experience in ecological modeling, behavioral ecology, marine policy, assessing human and environmental change impacts on marine species, and community ecology — with a special interest in predator-prey interactions, predation risk, and risk effects. She is also actively involved in supporting international marine mammal science education, research, science capacity development, and providing technical advice to universities, government, and non-governmentalorganizations, especially in India. She is passionate about ocean literacy and mentoring the next generation of marine scientists. She has been with NOAA for nearly ​​12 years and is currently the Director, Marine Mammal and Turtle Division at NOAA Fisheries’ Southeast Fisheries Science Center, where she oversees the marine mammal and turtle research enterprise engaged in producing applied science with significant conservation and societal impact. She was a 2009 NOAA Sea Grant Knauss Fellow at NOAA Research International Activities Office, 2017 US Department of State Embassy Science Fellow, and 2019 Scientific Committee for Ocean Research (SCOR) Visiting Scholar. Besides science, her other passions in life are to become fluent in Italian and to visit at least 100 countries.