BIO

Associate Professor Dr. Mohd Uzair Rusli’s research group studies the energetics of sea turtle hatchlings during their nest escape process and how this energy consumption may affect their ability to swim in the open sea and survive until they reach adulthood. His group is particularly interested in how hatchlings respond to environmental variation, such as sand types, humidity, gas exchange, temperature and even environmental sounds that presumably influence the energetic cost of nest escape. This study has now entered a new niche area by incorporating animal energetics data into simulation modeling software to predict the oceanic dispersal of sea turtle hatchlings in the South China Sea. 

In addition, they are also working in understanding how prey-predator relationship at their sea turtle research station, enabling better conservation practices. They combine lab-based experimental studies with fieldwork, and take an integrative approach that utilises ecological, behavioural, and physiological methodologies. In the field, they utilise remote sensing technology (acoustic and satellite telemetry, archival tags) to investigate the movement patterns and behaviours of predatory animals such monitor lizards and black tip reef shark in relation to environmental conditions.

As the team leader of Sea Turtle Research Unit (SEATRU), Dr. Mohd Uzair is not only accountable for conducting scientific research but also actively participating in conservation efforts. One of the most iconic conservation programs in UMT since 1998 is the SEATRU volunteer program at Chagar Hutang, Redang Island. This program has received volunteers from around the world. Also, Dr. Mohd Uzair has been appointed as a technical advisor for many conservation projects related to sea turtles globally. Working closely in conservation science, he hopes that more people will work together to protect their own precious natural heritage, such as sea turtles, and other important marine ecosystems, to ensure the survival of endangered species and contribute to the development of sustainable society. For a deeper insight into his outreach work, please visit https://direct.me/uzairrusli.
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ACADEMIC POSITIONS

• Lecturer/Researcher

          Institute of Oceanography and Environment (INOS), UMT (2017 – present)
          Faculty of Science and Marine Environment, UMT ( 2016 – 2017)
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• Fellow

          School of Marine Science and Environment, UMT (2008 – 2016)
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NON-ACADEMICS POSITIONS

• Head of Field Research Laboratory (SEATRU) (2017 – present)
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DEGREES

• Doctor of Philosophy

          * Ph.D., Animal Physiology
             The University of Queensland, Australia (2012 – 2016)

• Master’s Degree

          * MSc. Marine Science
             Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) (2009 – 2012)

• Bachelor’s Degree

          * BSc. Marine Biology
             Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) (2005 – 2008)

Journal article

Wenceslau, J. F. C., Rusli, M. U., Akhir, M. F., Santini, G., & Joseph, J. (2021). Recruitment and El Niño-Southern Oscillation long-term effects on green turtle (Chelonia mydas) nest abundance. Marine Biology, 168(12), 1-12.

Yu, X., Zanudin, A. B. M., Rusli, M. U., Booth, D. T., & Lei, J. (2021). Diet reflects opportunistic feeding habit of the Asian water monitor (Varanus salvator). Animal Biology, 1(aop), 1-11.

Tolen, N., Rusli, M. U., & Booth, D. T. (2021). Relocating Green Turtle (Chelonia Mydas) Eggs to Open Beach Areas Produces Highly Female-Biased Hatchlings. Herpetological Conservation and Biology, 16(3), 639-651.

Poti, M., Long, S. L., Rusli, M. U., Mohd Jani, J., Hugé, J., & Dahdouh-Guebas, F. (2021). Changing trends and perceptions of sea turtle egg consumption in Redang Island, Malaysia. Ecology and Society, 26(4).

Mazlan, N. A., Booth, D. T., & Rusli, M. U. (2021). Testing the validity of using raceway and swimway performance in sea turtle hatchlings as an index of real-life crawling and swimming performance. Wildlife Research.

Nishizawa, H., Hashimoto, Y., Rusli, M. U., Ichikawa, K., & Joseph, J. (2021). Sensing underground activity: diel digging activity pattern during nest escape by sea turtle hatchlings. Animal Behaviour, 177, 1-8.

Oñate-Casado, J., Booth, D. T., Vandercamere, K., Sakhalkar, S. P., & Rusli, M. U. (2021). Offshore Dispersal and Predation of Sea Turtle Hatchlings I: A Study of Hawksbill Turtles at Chagar Hutang Turtle Sanctuary, Malaysia. Ichthyology & Herpetology (originally as Copeia), 109(1), 180-187.

Najwa-Sawawi, S., Azman, N. M., Rusli, M. U., Ahmad, A., Fahmi-Ahmad, M., & Fadzly, N. (2021). How deep is deep enough? Analysis of sea turtle eggs nest relocation procedure at Chagar Hutang Turtle Sanctuary. Saudi Journal of Biological

Tanabe, L. K., Steenacker, M., Rusli, M. U., & Berumen, M. L. (2021). Implications of nest relocation for morphology and locomotor performance of green turtle (Chelonia mydas) hatchlings. Ocean & Coastal Management, 207, 105591.Sciences. 10.1016/j.sjbs.2021.05.021

Reboul, I., Booth, D., & Rusli, U. (2021). Artificial and natural shade: Implications for green turtle (Chelonia mydas) rookery management. Ocean & Coastal Management, 204, 105521.

Lei, J., Booth, D. T., Rusli, M. U., & Zhang, Z. (2020). Spatial Ecology of Asian Water Monitors Adjacent to a Sea Turtle Nesting Beach. Zoological Science, 38 (1).

Rusli, M.U., Chen, G., Booth, D.T., & Lei, J. (2020) Diet Preference and Activity of Asian Water monitor at Chagar Hutang Turtle Sanctuary. Journal of Sustainability Science and Management 15 (6), 61-67

Suhaimi, N.S., Daud, N.R., Akhir, M.F., & Rusli, M.U. (2020). Oceanic dispersal model of green turtle hatchlings in the South China Sea. Malaysian Applied Biology, 49 (4), 41-55

Samsol, S., Wahid, M.E.A., Li, T.H., Rusli, M.U. (2020). Hematology, blood gases and biochemistry profiles of wild-nesting sea turtles in Terengganu, Malaysia. Malaysian Applied Biology, 49 (4), 25-31

Bashir, Z., Abdullah, M. M., & Rusli, M. U. (2020). Comparisons between tissues, preservation, and desiccation methods on stable isotopes δ 13 C and δ 15 N of spot-tail sharks (Carcharhinus sorrah) from the South China Sea. Turkish Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 20(9), 711-716.

Bashir, Z., Abdullah, M. M., Ghaffar, M. A., & Rusli, M. U. (2020). Exclusive predation of sea turtle hatchlings by juvenile blacktip reef sharks Carcharhinus melanopterus at a turtle nesting site in Malaysia. Journal of Fish Biology, 97(6), 1876-1879.

Rusli, M.U., Samsol, S., & Chen, P.N. (2020). Sea Turtle Egg Online Shopping During Covid-19 Movement Control Order (MCO) in Malaysia. Indian Ocean Turtle Newsletter No. 32.

Ibrahim, Y.S., Hamza, A., Mohd Khir, M.A., & Rusli, M.U. (2020). Microplastic Occurrence in Seaturtle Nesting Beach Sediments from Terengganu, Malaysia. Journal of Green Engineering, 10 (9), 5712-5729

Stewart, T. A., Booth, D. T., & Rusli, M. U. (2019). Influence of sand grain size and nest microenvironment on incubation success, hatchling morphology and locomotion performance of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) at the Chagar Hutang Turtle Sanctuary, Redang Island, Malaysia. Australian Journal of Zoology, 66(6), 356-368.

Booth, D. T., Oñate-Casado, J., Rusli, M. U., & Stewart, T. (2019). Towing a Float Decreases Swim Speed but Does Not Affect Swimming Behavior During Offshore Swimming in Sea Turtle Hatchlings. Chelonian Conservation and Biology, 18(1), 112–115

Mohd Roslan, U.A., Jailani, M.S.O., & Rusli, M.U. (2019). Stability Analysis for the Dynamics of New Sea Turtle-Human Interaction Model. Journal of Advance Research in Dynamical and Control Systems, 11 (12), 171-177

Rahman, M. A. A., Rusli, M. U., Aziz, N., Rusli, M. H. M., & Talaat, W. I. A. W. (2018). An appraisal of the Malaysian legal framework in conserving the marine endangered species. Journal of Sustainability Science and Management. 5 (217-224).

Rusli, M. U., & Booth, D. T. (2018). Sand type influences the energetics of nest escape in Brisbane river turtle hatchlings. Australian Journal of Zoology, 66(1), 27-33.

Rusli, M. U., Wu, N. C., & Booth, D. T. (2016). Tonic immobility in newly emerged sea turtle hatchlings. Chelonian Conservation and Biology, 15(1), 143-147.

Rusli, M. U., Booth, D. T., & Joseph, J. (2016). Synchronous activity lowers the energetic cost of nest escape for sea turtle hatchlings. Journal of Experimental Biology, 219(10), 1505-1513.

Rusli, M. U., & Booth, D. T. (2016). Bigger clutch sizes save offspring energy during nest escapes. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 70(4), 607-616.

Rusli, M. U., Joseph, J., Liew, H. C., & Bachok, Z. (2015). Effects of egg incubation methods on locomotor performances of green turtle (Chelonia mydas) hatchlings. Sains Malaysiana, 44(1), 49-55.

Chapter in Books

Rusli, M.U. (2017). Tonic Immobility. Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. J. Vonk, T.K. Shackelford (eds.) Springer International Publishing. 688-1

Rusli, M.U. (2018). Nesting of Sea Turtles. Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. J. Vonk, T.K. Shackelford (eds.) Springer International Publishing. 628-1

Research Interests

Sea Turtle Conservation and Biology

Grants

• Modelling oceanic Dispersal of sea turtle hatchlings through locomotors energetic cost and ocean current

          Principal Investigator * FRGS * Aug 2018 – Feb 2020

• Pembinaan Modul Latihan Pengurusan Pemeliharaan Penyu

          Principal Investigator * Yayasan Bank Rakyat * Sept 2018 – July 2019

• Collaboration Research Grant (CRG): Social Return on Investment (SROI)

          Team Member * KTAG UMT* Dec 2019 – Dec 2020

• Ecological Resilience: Sea Turtle Biology and Ecology

          Team Member * HICoE, MOHE* Nov 2016 –  October 2019

• Turtle Tourism: Pembangunan Modul Latihan Pelancongan Komuniti MEKAR

          Team Member * KTAG UMT* April 2018 –  March 2019

• Program Saintis Islam Terengganu KOHORT IV 2019

          Team Member * Kerajaan Negeri Terengganu * Jan 2019 –  Aug 2019

• Unravelling the predator-prey relationship between blacktip reef sharks and sea turtle hatchlings: a stable isotope approach

          Team Member * FRGS-RACER * Sept 2019 –  Aug 2021

• Identifying Biological Markers of The Health Status from The Captivated and Wild Nesting Sea Turtles

          Principal Investigator * FRGS * Sept 2021 – Sept 2024

• Geo tagging of sea turtle

          Principal Investigator *RHB Islamic Bank Berhad * Aug 2020 – July 2022

• Pembangunan kapasiti penyelidikan dan komuniti berasaskan penyu negeri Terengganu

          Principal Investigator *Translasional UMT * April 2020 – April 2022

• Stability Index for the characterization of Basin of Attraction of New Sea Turtle-Human Prey-Predator Dynamics Model

          Team Member * FRGS * Sept 2019 –  May 2022

• Health and genetics connectivity of marine turtles in the Coral Triangle Area (Malaysia)

          Team Member * FRGS * Sept 2019 –  May 2022

Consultancy

• Malaysia Marine Ecological Gap Assessment Project

          Member of Marine Endangered Species Focus Group
          * Bahagian Taman Laut dan Pengurusan Sumber, Jabatan Perikanan Malaysia.          

• Upgrading of Sea turtle Conservation and Information Centre (TCIC) Cherating, Kuantan

          Turtle Expert
          * ECER Development Council 

Collaborators

• Jabatan Perikanan Malaysia
• Jabatan Kimia Petaling Jaya
• Jabatan Pelancongan Negeri Terengganu
• Berjaya Hotels & Resorts
• Yayasan Bank Rakyat
• Laguna Redang Island Resort
• RHB Islamic Bank
• MISC Maritime Services

Professional Activities

• Team Leader

          * Sea Turtle Research Unit (SEATRU)
             Nov 2017 – Present

• Committee

          * INOS Graduate Studies
            Jan 2020 – Dec 2021          

• Chairman

          * INOS Graduates Coordinator
            Aug 2019 – July 2022

Award/Distinction

• Best Oral Presenter (Theme: Environment), The Diet of Asian Water Monitor Lizard (Varanus salvator) in Urban Coastal Area

         * The 3rd Seminar on Biological Security and Sustainability (BIOSES 2021), held on
           25th-26th January 2021, Terengganu

• Special Jury Award for the Best Social Innovation Category, ‘Turtle lab-The First Public Viewing Lab in Malaysia’ 

          * The 2019 Research and Innovation Week, held on 12-13 March 2019, Terengganu

• Gold Medal, Turtle lab-The First Public Viewing Lab in Malaysia 

          * The 2019 Research and Innovation Week, held on 12-13 March 2019, Terengganu

• Gold Medal, ‘BatiKita: Enriching Special Needs Community Through Cultural and Natural Heritage Conservation’

           * The 2020 Research and Innovation Week.

• Gold Medal, ‘Bio-Physics Integration of Sea Current Model in Solving the Complex Spatial Population Structure of Sea Turtles’

           * The 2020 Research and Innovation Week.

• Bronze Medal, ‘Modelling Tender System of Sea Turtle Eggs in Terengganu’

          * The 2019 Research and Innovation Week, held on 12-13 March 2019, Terengganu

• Bronze Medal, ‘PhotoID Turtle: Individual Turtle Photo Identification Using Bagor Wavelets’

         *  The 2019 Research and Innovation Week, held on 12-13 March 2019, Terengganu

• Bronze Medal, ‘To conserve or exploit: Assessing sea turtles’ sustainability via mathematical modelling’

         * The 2021 Research and Innovation Week, held on 10th Mar 2021, Terengganu

Other Recognition

• 2022 – Excellent Service Certificate (UMT)
• 2021 – Excellent Service Certificate (UMT)
• 2020 – Excellent Service Award (UMT)
• 2020 – Excellent Service Certificate (UMT)
• 2019 – Excellent Service Certificate (UMT)
• 2018 – Excellent Service Certificate (UMT)
• 2017 – Excellent Service Certificate (UMT)

Teaching Interests

• Conservation of Marine Endangered Species
• Marine Vertebrate Biology
• Marine Biodiversity and Conservation
• Environment – Issue and Global Perspective

Postgraduate Students

2017 – Present

• Master’s student: 6 Graduated, 8 current
• PhD student: 1 current

Supervision Activities

Completed Masters Supervision

• Investigating the effect incubation temperature has on the sex ratio and overall fitness of green turtle hatchlings (Nicholas John Tolen)

          2019 – 2021
          Main Supervisor

• Summarised Health Index from Nesting Sea Turtles (Syamsyahidah Samsol)

          2018 – 2020
          Main Supervisor

• Modelling Oceanic Dispersal of Sea Turtle Hatchlings (Nur Nadhirah Syafiqah Suhaimi)

          2018 – 2020
          Main Supervisor

• Effect of tidal and wind-induced surface currents on the offshore hatchlings dispersion. A comparative study among green and hawksbill turtles on Redang Island, Malaysia. (Oñate Casado Javier)

          2018 – 2019
          Main Supervisor

• Long term monitoring of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) nesting at Chagar Hutang, Redang Island, Malaysia (Sauvaire Maxime)

          2019 – 2020
          Main Supervisor

• Human perceptions on sea turtle conservation in Redang Island, Malaysia (Shankar Poti Meenakshi)

         * Best Master’s thesis award by Flanders Marine Institute, Belgium
            2017 – 2018
            Associate Supervisor

Current Masters Supervision

• Energetic Cost of Nest Escaping on the sea turtle hatchlings (Chong Kai Syin)

          2018
          Main Supervisor

• Trade-off on the Total Ban of Sea Turtle Eggs Commercialization (Anis Syafinas Muhammad Dahri)

          2018
          Main Supervisor

• Effects of humidity on digging activity in green turtle hatchlings (Mona Mastura Baharudin)

          2018
          Main Supervisor

• On land locomotors performance of sea turtle hatchlings (Nurul Ainni Mazlan)

          2019
          Main Supervisor

• Metabolic Heating of the Chelonia mydas Hatchlings During Nest Escaping Activity (Tuan Emilia Tuan Mohd Noor)

          2020
          Main Supervisor

• Nesting ecology: site preferences of sea turtles in Chagar Hutang and its association with the environmental factors in Terengganu, Malaysia (Lim Pey Chen)

          2022
          Main Supervisor

• Temporal Variations in Blood Parameters Of Internesting Green Turtle With Relation To Reproductive Outputs (Ahmad Afif Aiman Bin Azmi)

          2018
          Main Supervisor

• Dynamical modelling towards sustainable sea turtle population in Terengganu, Malaysia. (Muhammad Afiq Ahmad Khairuddin)

          2018
          Associate Supervisor

Current Doctoral Supervision

• Developing A Summarized Health Index (HI) Of Sea Turtles in South China Sea. (Syamsyahidah Binti Samsol)

          2022
          Main Supervisor