Dr. Cara Miller Dr. Cara Miller has been involved in cetacean research for the last decade including: documenting humpback whales on their calving grounds in Tonga, some of the first spinner and spotted dolphin surveys in Papua New Guinean waters, and observations of fin whales in the Bering Sea.  Her undergraduate studies focused on animal behaviour and marine biology, whereas her Master’s degree in Applied Statistics examined population models and field survey design for migratory species.  A 4-year project investigating habitat and abundance of a small resident population of bottlenose dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico served as her PhD research. Dr. Miller currently leads the Pacific Islands Program for the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society International (www.wdcs.org). Within this position she has had numerous opportunities to work with  researchers and staff across this region to build local capacity, conduct research surveys, and progress cetacean conservation under a Convention of Migratory Species agreement focused on cetacean conservation in the Pacific Islands Region (www.pacificcetaceans.org). In recent years she has run collaborative workshops and trainings in Papua New Guinea , Fiji and the Federated States of Micronesia and has also been engaged in other work and meetings in Samoa and Tonga.  Cara is also an associate lecturer at Flinders University in South Australia, has served on the Australian Government’s science delegation at the International Whaling Commission for several years and is a recently appointed member of the IUCN Cetacean Specialist group. Cara has been posted as a Research Fellow within IMR since July 2008 where she is becoming increasingly engaged in lectures, regional research projects, trainings and workshop delivery, and post-graduate student supervision. To read WDCS/ IMR expedition to Moon Reef: http://www2.wdcs.org/fieldblog/