Amanda Franklin

I've always loved the ocean, and learning about marine science during my undergraduate degree only strengthened this attraction. Since then, I have sought out any opportunity to work in marine science. This has included working in marine departments at Parks Victoria, Museum Victoria and 3CR (community radio) as well as completing a Masters in marine science and animal behavior. I began my Masters degree in 2010 at the University of Melbourne. Here I designed a research project to investigate costs of mating in the Southern dumpling squid. I discovered that mating is energetically costly and a single mating can reduce female lifespan. This project prepared me for my PhD as it was a behavioral study that involved fieldwork and lab work. Currently, I am a Fulbright Science and Technology fellow completing my PhD at Tufts University. For my dissertation, I will be researching communication and reproductive behaviors in mantis shrimp. I intend to research this in multiple species of mantis shrimp and investigate different facets of visual communication (e.g. visible light, UV light, polarized light). For more information, please look at my LinkedIn Profile.

March 2013