Animal Management Advisors
Dr. Paola Unda, DVM
Paola is the founder of MarineLife Animal Management Advisors.
She is a passionate veterinarian and a true believer in zoological institutions as part of the efforts for conservation and education. Has worked in the marine mammal and aquatic industry for more than fourteen years, beginning her experience at Dolphin Discovery, she has held positions as marine mammal trainer and veterinarian. She also worked on the start-up and grand opening team for Atlantis The Palm Dubai as the laboratory manager and aquatic veterinarian.
For the past seven years Paola has worked as a consultant for various companies around the world in Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Indonesia, Dubai and Vietnam. Her work has consisted from facility design and operation, animal care and husbandry programs, setup clinical laboratories, veterinary staff development, implementation of reproduction programs and appropriate medical care.
Paola has been involved with the management and medical care of bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus and Tursiops aduncus), Pink dolphin (Sousa chinensis), Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris), Pacific white-sided dolphin (Lagenorynchus obliquidens), Beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas), Asian small-clawed otter (Aonyx cinereus), California
Sea lion (Zalophus californianus), South American fur seal (Arctocephalus australis), Dugong (Dugong dugon), and Manatee (Trichechus manatus).
Paola has also worked with rescue and rehabilitation of marine mammals.
Henrico Haley
Henrico is a professional animal trainer / behaviorist who utilizes operant and classical conditioning to shape and modify behaviour.
He began his career shortly after high school at Dolphin Encounters Bahamas, home of Flipper. Here he completed a course on animal training and was the first to achieve a perfect score. He then ventured over to Atlantis Paradise Island as well as Atlantis The Palm Dubai where he assisted in the start-up of both facilities. Here he helped the animals to acclimate and successfully trained several husbandry and interactive behaviors, while building a sound reputation. It was this reputation that made him sought after for the start-up of Dolphin Island Resorts World Sentosa, where he eventually became a part of the management team. Here he furthered his skills as a behaviorist, assisted in the successful transportation of Indo-Pacific Bottlenose dolphins and also branched into the development of animal training courses for all new hires. While in Singapore, he also furthered his education in Psychology.
Henrico has been in the field for over 12 years and has worked at several facilities. During this time he specialized in new habitat acclimation, creating and modifying daily dolphin interactions, the shaping of new behaviors such as aerials or complex husbandry behaviors, working with visually impaired animals, the behavioral modification of stereotypical/aberrant behaviors, and creating and conducting animal training courses/seminars, based on operant and classical conditioning.
Victor Aderholt
Victor began his career as a volunteer working with a marine mammal program in south Florida whilst still in high school during 1974. As time passed, he began to learn the trade, as a ‘paid employee’ preparing marine mammal diets, scrubbing buckets, and cleaning exhibits. Aderholt learned the marine mammal training process as an apprentice, then relocated to Europe for many years, continuing to work in the business in assorted European countries.
Upon his return to the states, Aderholt began to diversify, learning the aquarium profession, ranging from the collection and transport of fishes and sharks, to the skill of aquarium keeping. This direction in turn laid the groundwork for a firm ‘hands on’ understanding of both small, and large-scale animal LSS.
Equipped with this knowledge, marine mammal expertise, and staff management skill…Aderholt began assisting in consultation and staff capacities as a member of associated ‘start up teams’, which he continues to this day. His most recent involvement, The Frost Museum of Science in Miami, which contains a significant aquarium component
Ramon Barbosa
Ramon is a highly experienced aquarium management specialist and is currently Head Curator of the Cairns Aquarium in Queensland, Australia.
After graduating with a Bachelor of Marine Sciences and a Diploma of Aquaculture in his native Spain, he acquired his passion for aquariums whilst working at L´Oceanografic Aquarium in Valencia. His high standards of husbandry led to opportunities to open four world-class aquarium projects internationally, including the iconic Lost Chambers at Atlantis The Palm in Dubai and SEA Aquarium in Singapore where he held the Assistant Director position.
Ramon has been involved in fish transports with some of the world´s largest fish transport companies, moving various species including scalloped hammerhead sharks, oceanic sunfish, and estuarine sawfish. Amongst his most notable achievements is leading a team in the successful transports of eight reef manta rays from Indonesia to Singapore and China.
Over his fourteen-year career in the aquarium industry, Ramon has developed expertise in keeping a diverse range of animals including terrestrial, marine and freshwater invertebrates, herps, and of course fish. Some of the highlights of his collections are whale sharks, manta rays, oceanic sunfish and hammerhead sharks.
Armed with a sound knowledge of life support systems, water quality and animal health and behaviour, he is able to take a holistic approach to exhibit development, problem-solving and the establishment of effective husbandry strategies.
