Peter Dutton, Ph.D.

Peter H. Dutton is the leader of the Marine Turtle Genetics Program at NOAA- Southwest Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla, California. His research interests include the evolution, phylogeography, ecology and conservation biology of marine turtles. He uses genetics and satellite telemetry as tools to study the life history, migration and habitat use of sea turtles. He has been involved in research and conservation of sea turtles around the world since 1980, when he received a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Stirling University in Scotland. He earned a Master’s degree in Ecology in 1988 from San Diego State University, and a PhD in Zoology from Texas A&M University in 1995. Peter was awarded a National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellowship at the SWFSC from 1995-1997 to develop and apply genetic approaches to define sea turtle stock structure and conduct stock ID of sea turtle fisheries bycatch.  He is a member of the IUCN Marine Turtle Specialist Group and currently the Chief Editor of the Marine Megafauna Section of Frontiers in Marine Science. Peter is actively engaged with a network of collaborators across the world on projects related to conservation genetics, population assessment and marine policy.