Knowledge Partners

Arie is a Research Fellow at the Leigh Marine Laboratory where he focuses on leveraging new and emerging technologies for improving ecosystem monitoring and scientific visualisation. Arie’s PhD research focused on trophic interactions within rocky reef systems and at present he is working on monitoring and understanding ecosystem threats associated with warming water temperatures across north-eastern New Zealand.

Caitlin studied marine biology in Canada before moving to New Zealand in 2018 to complete her PhD at the University of Auckland’s Leigh Marine Laboratory. Following her PhD, Caitlin was a Research Fellow through the University of Auckland’s George Mason Centre of the Natural Environment. Her current work, based at the Leigh Marine Laboratory, focuses on ecosystem functioning on temperate rocky reefs and the role of kelp forests in coastal carbon cycles.

Emma Carroll weaves together different tools and technologies with statistical and bioinformatic models to understand and monitor natural populations, with over 15 years experience working with marine mammals. Emma is a Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi Rutherford Discovery Fellow at the School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland and is co-lead on the International Whaling Commission (IWC) Southern Ocean Research Partnership theme on southern right whales.

Dr Kath Walker and Dr Graeme Elliott have been employed with the Department of Conservation (DOC) and predecessor organisations since the 1980s and volunteered much of their own time to furthering ecological research and conservation initiatives. Their research has significantly expanded New Zealand’s knowledge of its endangered birds and the threats to them.  Kath and Graeme have monitored the health of albatross populations in the subantarctic annually since 1991, much of it in their own time.  Through this, they discovered both Gibson’s and Antipodean albatross populations were in a critical condition and have worked to alert others and to find solutions. Both Kath and Graeme have been appointed as Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit for their services to wildlife conservation.

Dr. Nick Shears is a specialist in rocky reef ecology and marine conservation. He completed his PhD investigating the ecological effects of fishing on kelp forest ecosystems at the University of Auckland’s Leigh Marine Laboratory. After a three year postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California Santa Barbara where he studied the effects of the Channel Islands Marine Reserve Network on kelp forest ecosystems, Nick returned to Leigh and is now Associate Professor in the Institute of Marine Science at the University of Auckland. His research focuses on the impact of humans on rocky reef ecosystems, including the effects of fishing, sedimentation and climate change, and the role of marine protected areas and restoration in maintaining healthy marine ecosystems.

Sally is a Canadian marine biologist and the director of the New Zealand Marine Studies Centre at the University of Otago. In 2013, Sally designed Marine Metre², a national citizen science project to involve members of the public in the long term monitoring of the New Zealand seashore. She has written a range of educational resources for primary and intermediate school students, as well as a series of identification guides to the plants and animals which inhabit New Zealand’s seashores.

Xavier leads the Molecular Surveillance team within the Biosecurity group at Cawthron and holds a joint position as Associate Professor at the Institute of Marine Science of the University of Auckland. His research expertise focuses on developing multi-trophic molecular detection tools to analyse environmental DNA (eDNA) and measure biodiversity changes associated with natural and human-induced stressors in aquatic ecosystems.

As Senior Ecologist and Director at Wildlife Management International Limited (WMIL), Elizabeth (Biz) Bell is a leading force in ecological restoration and predator eradication. With decades of experience delivering significant biodiversity gains in Aotearoa New Zealand and globally, Biz is an expert at island restoration. Her mahi has driven the success of 30 island eradications, and 20 feasibility studies across regions like the Pacific, Caribbean, and Europe. A seabird specialist, Biz has undertaken one of Aotearoa’s longest running seabird research projects – monitoring tākoketai/black petrels on Aotea/Great Barrier Island since 1995.

Former Ocean Race sailor, turned professional marine photographer Gareth Cooke launched Project Kahurangi, the nation’s first marine conservation digital library.

Hoturoa Barclay-Kerr (Tainui) is the captain of the oceangoing waka Haunui. He is the son of Wharetoroa and Ngarungatapu Kerr, is married to Kim and has five children: Namaka, Turanga, Rangiiria, Noenoe and Hinemanu. Hoturoa has been sailing around the Pacific for more than thirty-five years. He paddles waka, sails waka, teaches waka. Hoturoa is a native Māori speaker and spent the first six years of his life with the Tuhoe people in Rūātoki. After moving to Auckland with his mother aged six, Hoturoa went on to be a lecturer at Waikato University for over nineteen years, and his Master’s thesis investigated how the waka is a symbol of mana in the twenty-first century. More recently he has specialised in education and leadership programmes that use the waka as a platform for learning and development. Hoturoa is an orator on his marae at Kāwhia, the home of Haunui, and the ancient landing and settlement place of his ancestral waka, Tainui and his ancestor Hoturoa.

Lydia is an experienced marine ecologist and has worked with manta rays since 2013, researching manta ray populations in Fiji, Mexico, the Maldives and New Zealand. Lydia founded Manta Watch New Zealand Charitable Trust and has been Project Manager since 2017. She has extensive knowledge of oceanic manta rays in NZ waters and manages the project’s national sightings and photo identification databases. Lydia is an experienced marine educator and is MWANZ’s primary contact for community engagement

Mark is an electronics engineer who develops instruments and data processing techniques for studying animals in the wild. These include miniature data-logging tags, such as the DTAG, that record sound and movement of animals from whales to bats, as well as sound recorders to detect the presence of vocal animals. To support these devices, Mark has developed widely-used computational methods for processing on-animal acceleration, magnetometry and sound data with a focus on sensory ecology and foraging. Formerly at Aarhus University, Denmark, he is now an honorary professor at the University of Auckland – Waipapa Taumata Rau.

Rochelle Constantine is a Professor in Marine Ecology and Conservation Biology at the University of Auckland – Waipapa Taumata Rau. Her research focuses on conservation threats and community interactions facing large marine animals. She works with a wide range of clever people using multi-disciplinary approaches to answer questions about the ocean. Rochelle leads international and New Zealand based programmes bringing countries and communities together to protect some of the most vulnerable animals. She was awarded an ONZM for her work and is a BLAKE Environmental Leader.