M.Sc. 2006 with Izeni Farias and Vera M. F. da Silva; Ph.D. with Tomas Hrbek and Maria N. F. da Silva
Waleska is interested in the ecology and evolution of the pink dolphins Inia geoffrensis and Inia boliviensis. During her Masters, Waleska studied a pink dolphin congregations in the rio Negro, with the goal of inferring relationships between the individuals, and to test whether these congregations are feeding congregations of unrelated individuals only, or whether they are composed of related individuals. For her Ph.D. she studied Inia dolphins of the Madeira river where one finds both species, and an extensive hybrid zone. Waleska obtained a M.Sc. and Ph.D. from the joint INPA/UFAM Genetics, Conservation and Evolutionary Biology program. She currently has a posdoctoral fellowship to continue studies of aquatic mammals of Amazônia at the Laboratory of Aquatic Mammals at INPA and LEGAL. Waleska is also actively involved in the NGO AMPA.