Dr Jorgelina Marino
Research Fellows
My expertise is on animal behaviour and ecology, biogeography, population biology, spatial ecology, and their applications to the conservation of endangered organisms, particularly carnivores specialized to highlands.
I’m member of the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit since 1998 (where I completed my DPhil in 2003), Science Director for the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme (EWCP), Tutor of the Postgraduate Diploma in International Wildlife Conservation Practice, and supervise PhD and Master students within the University and abroad.
I’m motivated by the application of research to solve conservation problems. Since completion of my DPhil on the spatial ecology of Ethiopian wolves, I remained responsible of the long-term monitoring of Ethiopian wolf populations and using these data to inform relevant conservation work. I also develop and coordinate EWCP’s research portfolio, with a focus on the distribution and dynamics of Ethiopian wolf populations, the consequences of disease epizootics and habitat loss, the status and distribution of the rodent prey species, wolf behavior, and conflicts between wildlife and people in Afroalpine areas. Further research and international collaborations included ecological research and conservation in the High Andes, with the endangered Andean cat as the flagship species.
For my current research, I investigate specialized carnivores and their prey, using them as model systems to forecast wildlife responses to ever-changing land uses and climates in our planet, particularly in mountain environments. The tools I apply include species distribution modelling and conservation prioritization algorithms. Increasingly I’m interested on the study of behavioural adaptations of wild species to increasing levels of disturbance by humans and domestic animals, including how carnivores adjust their foraging strategies and how interspecific competitions might vary with these changes. Looking into the future, I seek to explore the potential for grassland restoration to sustain ecosystem services and biodiversity in mountains.
My work at the interface between research and conservation involves project development and fund raising, coordination of monitoring programmes and long-term databases; building technical capacity of researchers and protected areas; and promoting sustainable uses of natural resource.
Selected Publications
Harrington LA, Marino J, King CM (2018) People and wild native musteloids. In: Macdonald D, Harrington LA, Newman C, editors. Musteloids Ecology and Conservation. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Eshete G, Sillero-Zubiri C, Cieraad E, Musters CJM, de Snoo GR, de Iongh HH, Marino J (2018). Does livestock predation reflect in negative local perceptions of Ethiopian wolves in South Wollo? Tropical Ecology 59(1):11-19
Kaszta Ż, Cusham SA, Sillero-Zubiri C, Wolff E, Marino J (2018) Where buffalo and cattle meet: Modelling interspecific contact risk using cumulative resistant kernels. Ecography doi:10.1111/ecog.03039
Marino J, Sillero-Zubiri C, Deressa A, Bedin E, Bitew A, Lema F, Rskay G, Banyard A, Fooks AR (2017) Rabies and distemper outbreaks in smallest Ethiopian wolf population. Emerging Infectious Diseases 23(12): 2102–2104.
Eshete G, Marino J, Sillero-Zubiri C. (2017) Ethiopian wolves conflict with pastoralists in small Afroalpine relicts. African Journal of Ecology 1-7. doi.org/10.1111/aje.12465
Bennett M, Marquet PA, Sillero-Zubiri C, Marino J (2017) Shifts in habitat suitability and the conservation status of the Endangered Andean cat Leopardus jacobita under climate change scenarios. Oryx doi:10.1017/S0030605317000503
Kaszta Ż, Marino J, Wolff E (2017). Fine-scale spatial and seasonal rangeland use by cattle in a foot-and-mouth disease control zones. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 239: 161-172
Sillero-Zubiri C, Marino J, Gordon CH, Bedin E, Hussein A, et al. (2016) Feasibility and efficacy of oral rabies vaccine SAG2 in endangered Ethiopian wolves. Vaccine 34: 4792-4798.
Kaszta Ż, Marino J, Ramoelo A, Wolff E (2016) Bulk feeder or selective grazer: African buffalo space use patterns based on fine-scale remotely sensed data on forage quality and quantity. Ecological Modelling 323: 115-122.
Chen Y, Marino J, Chen Y, Tao Q, Sullivan CD, et al. (2016) Predicting hotspots of human-elephant conflict to inform mitigation strategies in Xishuangbanna, Southwest China. PLoS ONE 11: e0162035.
Bennett M, New M, Marino J, Sillero-Zubiri C (2016) Climate complexity in the Central Andes: A study case on empirically-based local variations in the Dry Puna. Journal of Arid Environments 128: 40-49.
Gordon CH, Banyard AC, Hussein A, Laurenson MK, Malcolm JR, Marino J, Regassa F, Stewart A-ME, Fooks AR, Sillero-Zubiri C (2015) Canine distemper in endangered Ethiopian wolves. Emerging Infectious Diseases 21: 824-832
Eshete G, Tesfay G, Bauer H, Ashenafi Z, de Iongh H, Marino J (2015) Community resource uses and Ethiopian wolf conservation in Mount Abune Yosef. Environmental Management 56: 684-694.
Matyukhina DS, Miquelle DG, Murzin AA, Pikunov DG, Fomenko PV, Aramilev VV, …., Marino J (2014). Assessing the influence of environmental parameters on Amur Tiger distribution in the Russian Far East using a MaxEnt modeling approach. Achievements in the Life Sciences 8(2):95-100.
Marino J, Sillero-Zubiri C, Gottelli D, Johnson PJ, Macdonald DW (2013) The fall and rise of Ethiopian wolves: lessons for conservation of long-lived, social predators. Animal Conservation 16: 621-632.
Gottelli D, Sillero-Zubiri C, Marino J, Funk SM, Wang J (2013) Genetic structure and patterns of gene flow among populations of the Endangered Ethiopian wolf. Animal Conservation 16: 234–247.
Marino J, Sillero-Zubiri C, Johnson P, Macdonald D (2012) Ecological bases of philopatry and cooperation in Ethiopian wolves. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 66: 1005-1015.
Vidal EML, Sillero‐Zubiri C, Marino J, Casanave EB, Lucherini M, Kitchener A. (2012). Spatial organization of the Pampas fox in a grassland relict of central Argentina: a flexible system. Journal of Zoology 287:133-141.
Mbizah MM, Marino J, Groom RJ (2012) Diet of four sympatric carnivores in Savé Valley Conservancy, Zimbabwe: Implications for conservation of the African wild dog (Lycaon pictus). South African Journal of Wildlife Research 42(2):94-103.
Marino J, Bennett M, Cossios D, Iriarte A, Lucherini M, Pliscoff P, Sillero-Zubiri C, Villalba L, Walker S (2011) Bioclimatic constraints to Andean cat distribution: a modelling application for rare species. Diversity and Distributions 17(2):311-22. doi: 10.1111/j.1472-4642.2011.00744.x.
Sillero-Zubiri C, Gottelli D, Marino J, Randall D, Tallents L, Macdonald DW (2011) Ecology and reproductive strategy of an Afroalpine specialist: Ethiopian wolves in the Bale Mountains Walia Special Edition on the Bale Mountains: 61-79.
Marino J, Sillero-Zubiri C. Canis simensis. (2011) IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Version 20112. Available from: www.iucnredlist.org.
Marino J, Stewart AE, Gordon CH, Gottelli D, Tefera Z, Laurenson MK, Sillero-Zubiri C (2011) Ethiopian wolf status review. Strategic Plan for Ethiopian Wolf Conservation. Oxford, United Kingdom: IUCN/SSC Canid Specialist Group.
Marino J, Mitchel R, Johnson PJ (2010) Dietary specialization and climatic-linked variations in extant populations of Ethiopian wolves. African Journal of Ecology 48 517-525.
Marino J, Lucherini M, Villalba L, Bennett M, Cossíos D, et al. (2010) Highland cats: ecology and conservation of the rare and elusive Andean cat. In: Macdonald DW, Loveridge A, editors. The Biology and Conservation of Wild Felids. Oxford Oxford University Press. pp. 581-596.
Vial F, Sillero-Zubiri C, Marino J, Haydon DT, Macdonald DW (2010) An analysis of long-term trends in the abundance of domestic livestock and free-roaming dogs in the Bale Mountains National Park, Ethiopia. African Journal of Ecology 49: 91-102.
Cossíos D, Beltrán Saavedra F, Bennet M, Bernal N, Fajardo U, Lucherini M, Merino MJ., Marino J, Napolitano C, Palacios R, Perovic P, Ramirez Y, Villalba L, Walker S. and Sillero-Zubiri C. (2007.) Manual de metodologías para relevamientos de carnívoros alto andinos. Alianza Gato Andino. Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Marino J, Sillero-Zubiri C, Macdonald DW (2006) Trends, dynamics and resilience of an Ethiopian wolf population. Animal Conservation 9: 49-58.
Randall DA, Marino J, Haydon DT, Sillero-Zubiri C, Knobel DL, et al. (2006) An integrated disease management strategy for the control of rabies in Ethiopian wolves. Biological Conservation 131: 151-162.
Haydon DT, Randall DA, Matthews L, Knobel DL, Tallents LA, Marino J et al. (2006) Low-coverage vaccination strategies for the conservation of endangered species. Nature 443: 692-695.
Sillero-Zubiri C, Marino J, Gottelli D, Macdonald DW (2004) Afroalpine ecology, solitary foraging and intense sociality amongst Ethiopian wolves. In: Macdonald DW, Sillero-Zubiri C, editors. Biology and Conservation of Wild Canids. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. pp. 311-323
Gottelli D, Marino J, Sillero-Zubiri C, Funk SM (2004) The effect of the last glacial age on speciation and population genetic structure of the endangered Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis). Molecular Ecology 13: 2275-2286.
Sillero-Zubiri C, Marino J Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis) (2004). In: Sillero-Zubiri C, Hoffmann M, Macdonald DW, editors. Canids: foxes, wolves, jackals and dogs. Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. Gland, Switzerland, and Cambridge, UK: IUCN/SSC Canid Specialist Group. pp. 167-174.
Marino J (2003) Threatened Ethiopian wolves persist in small isolated Afroalpine enclaves. Oryx 37: 62 71.
Sillero-Zubiri C, Albrechtsen L, Ferretti V, Marino J, Packer MJ, Palmada FM, Rodríguez Achung M and Soave GE. (2002) Monitoreo de la biodiversidad de Camisea. Environmental Resources Management Argentina. Buenos Aires, Argentina.