Nationality: South African

Institution: University of Cape Town

Department: Biological Sciences

PAST programme support: Degree support / Conference – PSSA

Research title: Age Estimation, Life History Traits and Feeding Ecology of Modern and Fossil Mysticetes from Southern Africa.

Megan Wolley is  a Ph.D. student at UCT. She’s always been fascinated by marine predators, driving my passion for marine biology.

Prof. Chinsamy-Turan ignited her interest in palaeontology during her undergraduate studies. As a postgrad, she merged these passions, studying hard tissue histology in diverse extant and extinct marine vertebrates. Her honors focused on bone pathologies in phocid seals, while her Masters explored SA mosasaurs. Now, in her Ph.D., she utilises histological and isotope analyses to study modern and fossil whales, it is her ultimate research subjects! This study aims to uncover age, migration patterns, and feeding ecology, contributing to cetacean research and filling knowledge gaps.