Students

Mia Langley

Msc (Otago). Anthropogenic effects on southern rock lobster (Jasus edwardsii) reproduction on the Otago coast. Mia’s master’s research focuses on how human actions may impact J. edwardsii reproduction and how we can alleviate these stressors. A field study aims to understand how observed declines in size at maturity might be influencing reproductive capacity by investigating the effects of maternal size on egg quality. A laboratory experiment will examine how marine heatwaves impact larval fitness and survival. She is also aiming to develop a method to artificially incubate J. edwardsii eggs with applications in reseeding, aquaculture and improving ethical standards for lobster research.

Toiroa Whaanga-Davies

MSc (Otago). Extracting value from the invasive seaweed species Undaria pinnatifida. The focus of Toiroa’s masters is to use an insect species to breakdown the invasive seaweed, Undaria pinnatifida. Toiroa aims to investigate whether the insect species can use the uneconomic parts of Undaria, and look in to the efficiency of trophic transfer.

Completed

Namrata Chand

PhD (Otago) 2024. Ecosystem of red algal communities in the Otago Harbour.

Finn Ryder

PhD (Otago) 2024. Drivers of population dynamics and fishery status of Blackfoot pāua (Halitosis iris).

Louise Bennett-Jones

PhD (Otago) 2024. Pāua in the East Otago Taiāpure: assessment, restoration and management.

Gaby Keeler-May

PhD (Otago) 2022. Optimal sampling methods and control strategies for Undaria pinnatifida in New Zealand harbours.

Duong Lê

PhD (Otago) 2022. Giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera, a case study in New Zealand: Its vulnerability and adaptation strategy.

Tim Howarth

MSc (Otago) 2021. Undaria pinnatifida‘s threat in the changing ocean.

Lisa van Halderen

MSc (Otago) 2020. Investigating rāhui as a fisheries management tool.

PhD (Otago) 2025. TOITŪ TE TIRITI O WAITANGI: Towards kāwatanga as praxis in tertiary science education – a discursive analysis.

Becky Kerr

Honours (Otago) 2019. Biofiltration by macroalgae as an ecosystem service in the Waikouaiti River Estuary.

Anna Kluibenschedl

PhD (Otago) 2019. Future Ocean and New Zealand Coralline Algae: Biological and Ecological Responses Under Elevated pCO2

Aless Smith

MSc (Otago) 2019. How robust is data gathered by citizen scientists for monitoring intertidal habitats?

Hang Thi Thuy Nguyen

PhD (Otago) 2019. The ecophysiology of coralline algae in Southern New Zealand.

Terina Raureti

MPhEd (Otago) 2019. Kia mārama ai te ihi, te wehi o Mukukai: The influence of swimming on whānau engagement with water

Chanel Phillips

PhD (Otago) 2019. A Journey to Belonging: Explorations of Māori Perspectives of Water Safety.

Justine Camp

PhD (Otago) 2019. Te Tautarinui o Matariki; A whānau health compass.

Simone Jarrett

MSc (Otago) 2018. Causes of coralline algae bleaching within the East Otago Taiāpure.

Lucy Coyle

MSc (Otago) 2018. Using Esri Story Map ArcGIS to Support Community-led Natural Resource Management.

PhD (Otago) 2026. A close-up look at a local fishery in a time of climate change; status of red rock lobster on the Otago coastline.

Jack Hall

MSc (Otago) 2018. Bacterial production rates on macro-algal surfaces

Brenton Twist

MSc 2015 (Otago). The ecology of the scallop (Pecten novaezealandiae) in Te Whaka ā Te Wera (Paterson Inlet) Rakiura (Stewart Island).
PhD (Auckland/Otago/NIWA) 2018. The Corallines of southern New Zealand

Isla Twigg

Hons (Otago) 2017. Oxidative stress in baterioplankton within kelp forest canopies.
PhD (Otago). The bacterial ecology of kelp forests in southern New Zealand.

Levi McPherson

BAppSc Hons (Otago) 2017. Key Habitat of the New Zealand Black Flounder and Sand Flounder within Estuaries.

Mason Court

PG DipSCi (Otago) 2017. Influence of potting on Blue cod behavior.

Eugene Leahy

MSc (Otago) 2017. Expansion and Harvestability of Undaria pinnatifida throughout North Otago CPAs.

Nicole Foote

MSc (Otago) 2017. Eutrophication Environmental and biological characteristics of East Otago estuaries along a gradient of marine connectivity.

Matt Desmond

BSc Honours (Otago) 2011. Impacts of sewage outfalls on local fishery health in the East Otago Taiāpure.
PhD (Otago) 2017. Kelp forest response to light limitation.

Lana Young

PGDipSci (Otago) 2016. Characteristics of Blackfoot Pāua (Haliotis iris) juvenile habitat.

Blair Thomson

Hons (Otago) 2016. Temperature and UV light affect the activity of marine cell-free extracellular enzymes.

Tiffany Stephens

PhD (Otago) 2016. Nitrogen physiology of giant kelp in Otago and Stewart Island.

Ngahuia Mita

MSc (Otago) 2016. Hauteruruku ki Puketeraki-Connecting to Te Ao Takaroa.

Emma Kearney

MSc (Otago) 2016. Environmental and biological factors associated with the recruitment and abundance of the scallop (Pecten novaezelandiae) in Te Whaka ā Te Wera (Paterson Inlet) Rakiura (Stewart Island).

Bridget Hardy

PGDipSci (Otago) 2016. Urea in coastal seas, estuaries and rivers.

Pamela Fernandez

PhD (Waikato) 2016. Impacts of elevated CO2 on the physiology of the giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera.

Georgia Bell

MSc (Otago) 2016.  Dynamics of fecal indicators in estuarine environments after a rainfall event.

Cohen Stewart

MSc (Otago) 2015. Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) trials in Big Glory Bay, Rakiura (Stewart Island).

Rocio Suarez Jimenez

PhD (Otago) 2015. Ecology of Undaria pinnatifida

Jordan Housiaux

MSc (Otago) 2015.  Exploring the murky world of the sevengill shark (Notorynchus cepedianus) in Southern New Zealand

Tom Gillespie

Hons (Otago) 2014.  Shell lesions of Haliotis iris.

Tasman Gillies

MSc (Otago) 2014. Pāua reseeding at East Otago taiāpure. A comparison of traditional vs. aquaculture approaches.

Peri Subritzky

MSc (Otago) 2013. Identifying critical nursery habitat for pāua juveniles in locations around New Zealand.

Tom McCowan

PGDipSci (Otago) 2011. Feeding rates by greenlipped mussels Perna canaliculus.
PhD, (Otago) 2013. Genetic tools to improve reseeding success of wild pāua fisheries.

Gaya Gnanalingam

MSc (Otago) 2013. Reproductive output of pāua (Haliotis iris).
PhD (Old Dominion University, USA) 2018. The Importance of Keeping the Big Ones: Harvest Slot Limits and Marine Protected Areas for the Management of the Caribbean Marine Protected Areas for the Management of the Caribbean Spiny Lobster

Rory Kyle

MSc (Otago) 2013. Roles of predatory starfish (Astrostole scabra) in structuring marine communities exposed to different degrees of water motion.

Gayle Somerville

MSc (Otago) 2013. Exploring harvest regulations of New Zealand abalone (Haliotis iris) via population modelling.

Sorrel O’Connel-Milne

BAppSci Hons (Otago) 2013. Sustainability of a traditional harvest method for Karengo.

Chris Cornwall

PhD (Otago) 2013. Susceptibility of near-shore temperate rocky reefs to ocean acidification.

Rory Kyle

MSc (Otago) 2012. Roles of predatory starfish (Astrostole scabra) in structuring marine communities exposed to different degrees of water motion.

Rebecca James

MSc (Otago) 2012. Effects of ocean acidification on macroalgal communities.

Sam Temperton

PGDipSci (Otago) 2011. Competition between juvenile pāua and other invertebrates.

Daniel Pritchard

PhD (Otago) 2011. The ecophysiology of the deep-water macroalga Anotrichium crinitum (Kützing) Baldock.

Caitlin Chew

BAppSci Honours (Otago) 2011. The effects of sedimentation on the growth and survival of juvenile Haliotis iris and their living habitat (crustose coralline algae).

Ani Kainamu

MSc (Otago) 2010. The fishery trend of the Littleneck Clam, Austrovenus stutchburyi, the filtering capacity, and phytoplankton flux within an East Otago Inlet.

Derek Richards

MSc (Otago) 2009. Subtidal rocky reef communities of the East Otago Taiāpure.

Robert Win

MSc (Otago) 2009. Kelp forests: Crucial habitat for fish and invertebrates on the East Otago Coast.

Contact

Chris Hepburn, Marine Sciences Department, University of Otago
Office: 310 Castle Street, Room 144  |  Tel: 64 3 479 7462  |  Email: chris.hepburn@otago.ac.nz