Faculty and Staff

Draško Holcer, PhD

Draško Holcer, PhD



Title
Lecturer in Rescue and Rehabilitation
Location
Croatia
Pronouns
He/Him/His
Education
Master of Science in Biology and Ecology
University of Zagreb
Ph.D. Biology and Ecology
University of Zagreb
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about

Faculty Profile

Dr. Holcer is a senior curator of mammalogy, ichthyology and marine invertebrates collections of Croatian Natural History Museum (1996-present). He was a founder and president of Blue World Institute (2000-2019). He is also a director of Marine Institute (2019-present) and remains a close collaborator. In his early days, he studied small mammals and bats, but his main professional work is focused on cetaceans and other large marine vertebrates (sea turtles and cartilaginous fish), their biology and ecology, social organization, population genetics, abundance estimates, spatial modelling of habitat use and distribution, satellite telemetry, evaluating threats and population management and conservation. Dr Holcer is active in education and training of Cetacean researchers and engaged in conservation awareness raising. He teaches a course on Conservation Ecology of Marine Mammals for graduate students and course on Conservation Biology of Large Marine Vertebrates for postgraduate students on University of Primorska, Koper (Slovenia).


Academics & Research

Research Interests

Draško’s current research activities are carried out through boat-based surveys focused on the resident populations of bottlenose dolphins (Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Italy) and through aerial surveys of the Adriatic Sea and Mediterranean Sea. In collaboration with Norwegian University of Science and Technology he carries out research on Cetacean acoustics in deep Southern and Central Adriatic. The aim of the research is the protection of large marine vertebrates through translating knowledge into effective marine conservation.

outputs

Publications

Published over 200 publications, including over 70 peer reviewed articles and book chapters.