Homepage Vhf
AG Trillmich
AG Krüger
AG Bischof
AG Steinfartz
AG von Engelhardt
AG Hoffman
/biologie/vhf/images/igunana_300_45.jpg){kind=small}
 |
Amy MacLeod, MSc. |
Working title: Population genetics, taxonomy, diet and enteric specialisation of marine iguanas on
San Cristóbal Island
For my PhD thesis I am studying the marine iguana, Amblyrhynchus cristatus, an endemic species of the Galápagos Islands and worlds only seagoing lizard. I am focussing on marine iguanas from the easternmost island of San Cristóbal, where recent work has revealed the existence of a particularly distinctive population (known as the Punta Pitt iguanas) which may in fact be a cryptic species. This population appears to be very small and may be in urgent need of conservation management due to a small population size and risk of predation from invasive feral cats. During my thesis I will undertake molecular work to assess the taxonomic status of this population, and attempt to find out why this population are genetically so different to other marine iguanas. Additionally, to improve conservation management practices, I will study the interaction between feral cats and marine iguanas.
Research project 1: Status, Ecology and Distribution of the Natterjack Toad, Bufo calamita, in the Port of Amsterdam. Examiner: Dr Gerard Oostermeijer. 
Research project 2: The effects of 4 kHz octave-band noise and pile-driving playback sound on the hearing and behaviour of the harbour seal (Phoca vitulina). Examiner: Dr. Ronald Vonk.
Literature - based study: A Review of Information Regarding Chytridiomycosis in European Amphibians. Examiner: Dr Steph Menken.
Mini-research project in Tropical Marine Biology: Feeding Ecology of the Red Lionfish, Pterois volitans, in Curaçao. Examiner: Dr Mark Vermeij.
Mini-research project in during Tropical Biology Association field course in Uganda (2011): General ecology of a solitary hypogeous anthophorid in Kibale National Park, Uganda. Supervisor: Dr Clive Nuttman.
The Complete Mitochondrial Cytochrome-B Sequence of the Herald Petrel, Pterodroma heraldica. Supervisor: Dr Graham Rowe.
MacLeod, A., Koch, V., García-Parra, C., Trillmich, F. and S. Steinfartz. 2012. New highly polymorphic microsatellite loci for the Galápagos marine iguana, Amblyrhynchus cristatus. Amphibia-Reptilia 33: 533–536
Kastelein, R. A., Gransier, R., Hoek, L. MacLeod, A., and Terhune., J. N. 2012. Hearing threshold shifts and recovery in harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) after octave-band noise exposure at 4 kHz. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. 132: 2745–2761
Education
2009-2011 Master's degree in Biological Science by Research (specialisation in Ecology and Evolution), University of Amsterdam. Cum Laude.
2007-2008 Post Graduate Certificate in Education in Secondary Science with Biology, University of Cambridge.
2002-2005 Bachelor's degree in Zoology with Animal Ecology, University of Wales, Bangor. First Class honours.
Experience
2012- PhD student, University of Bielefeld
2011-2012 Research assistant, University of Bielefeld
09/11-11/11 Observer, Behavioural Responses of Australian Humpback whales to Seismic Surveys, University of Queensland, Australia
06/11-07/11 Tropical Biology Association Field course, Kibale National park, Uganda
12/10-06/11 Research Intern, Sea Mammal Research Company (SEAMARCO), Netherlands
04/10 Tropical Marine Biology field course, Curaçao
09/08-06/09 Teacher of Biology, The Derby High School, Bury, UK
09/05-06/06 Laboratory Technician, Bespak, Kings Lynn , UK
06/05-08/05 Research Volunteer, Colobus Trust, Kenya
07/04-08/04 Volunteer at Inti Wari Yassi wildlife refuge Chapare, Bolivia
09/03-07/04 University exchange scheme, Oregon, USA.
01/02-08/02 Group Activity Leader, Entabeni Education Centre, South Africa
Grant from the British Ecological Society to attend a Tropical Biology Association field course.
STUNT grant from the University of Amsterdam to fund international fieldwork
Prize for outstanding BSc dissertation presentation – Bangor University
Extensive travel in Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, North and South America, Australia and Europe.
PADI qualified (advanced) SCUBA diver with 40+ logged dives.
Volunteer for the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam in 2009–2012.
Hobbies include photography, music, literature and film.
