Rate My Professor Raoul Mulder

Professor Raoul Mulder holds dual appointments at the University of Melbourne as Professor of Evolutionary Ecology in the School of BioSciences within the Faculty of Science (0.5 FTE) and Professor of Higher Education in the Centre for the Study of Higher Education. He completed his PhD at the Australian National University in 1992 on the evolutionary ecology of the mating system of superb fairy-wrens, supervised by Professor Andrew Cockburn. After his doctorate, Mulder conducted research in Madagascar on the Madagascar paradise flycatcher (Terpsiphone mutata) and held an Australian Research Council postdoctoral fellowship at the Australian National University from 1996 to 1998. He joined the Department of Zoology at the University of Melbourne as a lecturer, progressing to Senior Lecturer in 2004, Associate Professor and Reader in 2007, and Professor in 2015. That year, he assumed the role of Head of the School of BioSciences, formed by amalgamating the former departments of Botany, Genetics, and Zoology. Mulder previously served as Head of the School of BioSciences and currently holds the position of Associate Dean of Academic Innovation for the Faculty of Science.

Mulder's primary research focus lies in the evolutionary ecology of birds, examining the causes and consequences of variability in mating systems, the functions of visual and acoustic signals, and the effects of kinship on sociality. His work integrates behavioural field studies with molecular genetic techniques to determine parentage and assess fitness consequences of individual tactics, spanning species including superb fairy-wrens (Malurus cyaneus), black swans (Cygnus atratus), lovely fairy-wrens (Malurus amabilis), Australian magpies (Cracticus tibicen), and others. With over 6,800 citations on Google Scholar, notable publications include 'Helpers Liberate Female Fairy-Wrens from Constraints on Extra-Pair Mate Choice' (1994, Proceedings of the Royal Society B) and 'Extra-pair paternity does not result in differential sexual selection in the mutually ornamented black swan (Cygnus atratus)' (2004, Molecular Ecology). In higher education, he researches peer-assisted learning and led an Office for Learning and Teaching grant to promote student peer review. Mulder has received the 2011 Victorian eLearning Excellence Award and a 2023 University of Melbourne award, and co-developed a Coursera MOOC on Animal Behaviour. His leadership has advanced both research and teaching in evolutionary ecology and science education.