Past Zoology Seminars

23 February

Rory Craig, University of Tübingen

Genome evolution and mobile DNA in green and brown algae

Sarah Flanagan, University of Canterbury

Why are some species sexually dimorphic when other closely-related species are monomorphic?

Pascale Lubbe, Department of Anatomy

Impacts of past and future climate change on Aotearoa New Zealand birds

Michael Knapp, Department of Anatomy

eDNA for biomonitoring and population genetics: the good, the bad, and the ugly

Amandine Sabadel, Department of Zoology

When chemistry meets zoology: reflecting on four years of awesome projects

Fay Morland, Department of Anatomy

Drivers of female reproductive failure in a threatened New Zealand bird

Jemma Geoghegan, Department of Microbiology and Immunology

Drivers of diversity in the virosphere

Daniel Zamorano, Department of Zoology

The long, the short, and the twist: three novel experiments assessing metacommunity processes in stream periphyton

Sian Halcrow, Department of Anatomy

The bioarchaeology of agricultural transitions: insights from infants and children

Roseanna Gamlen-Greene, Department of Biochemistry

Kermit, kawakawa, kaimoana and kin

Alana Alexander, Department of Anatomy

From cetaceans to possums and chickadees in between

Jerusha Bennett, Department of Zoology

Emerging aquatic diseases in Aotearoa

Philip Hill, Centre for International Health, University of Otago

The Otago Global Health Institute: a pan-University inter-disciplinary research centre that you can be part of

Ralf Heinrich, Department of Cellular Neurobiology, University of Göttingen

The farming of kingfish in New Zealand, or how my office car park became a fish farm

Nadine Strydom, Nelson Mandela University

Coastal fishes under the microscope: A South African biologist's journey

Graham McCulloch, Department of Zoology

The Spatial Ecology of Hamilton’s Frog, Leiopelma hamiltoni on Te Pākeka Maud Island.

Manaia Pearmain Fenton, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Silver Linings: Following the breeding behaviours and dispersal patterns of Ōtepoti's locally rare kakaruai/South Island Robin population

Robert Poulin, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Sex bias in taxonomy and experimental biology

James Deyo, Environmental Protection Authority NZ, Wellington

A basic introduction to pesticide approval at the NZ-EPA: An example of 3-NOP a new methane gas inhibitor in ruminants

Jenny Jandt, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Is it a Bee? How perception and recognition of backyard insects might affect conservation of native bee populations

Luna Thomas, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

The ecology and behaviour of the endemic New Zealand stag beetle Geodorcus helmsi

Gerry Closs, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Lakes, larvae and altered fish communities

Bart Geurten, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Hereditary spastic paraplegia: Insights from zebrafish models

Cilla Wehi, Centre for Sustainability, University of Otago

Trophic position of kiore on New Zealand offshore islands from isotope analysis

3.March

Kyle Shanebeck, University of Alberta

The energetic costs of sub-lethal helminth parasites in mammals

Hamish Spencer, Department of Zoology

What I did on my summer holiday: Birding in South America

Alvin Setiawan, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA)

The farming of kingfish in New Zealand, or how my office car park became a fish farm

Nadine Strydom, Nelson Mandela University

Coastal fishes under the microscope: A South African biologist's journey

Graham McCulloch, Department of Zoology

Anthropogenic evolution of New Zealand's endemic insects: rapid adaptation in a fast-changing world

Aaron Bertoia, Department of Zoology

Critters in the cold: Understanding how large-bodied invertebrates respond to introduced predators and climate change, and improving invertebrate monitoring methods in alpine regions of New Zealand

Catherine Collins, Department of Anatomy

Piecing together the settlement of the Pacific: Applying the commensal model and genomics

Kevin Lafferty, University of California Santa Barbara

Parasites and food webs

Travis Ingram, Department of Zoology

The spread of freshwater fish and Ecology students across Rēkohu/Chatham Island

Matt Larcombe, Department of Botany

We need to rethink ecosourcing to promote resilient ecological restoration in Aotearoa

Charlotte King, Department of Anatomy

Secrets of the skeleton: Using tissue chemistry to reconstruct the lives of people and their animals

Daniela De Angeli Dutra, Department of Zoology

How can host migration shape parasite transmission? Using avian haemosporidians to elucidate the role of host migration on parasite ecology and evolution

15.July

Robert Poulin, Department of Zoology

What's in a name? Gender bias and nepotism in the naming of species

Andrew Innes, Ecotago

Daniel Zamorano, Department of Zoology

Rivers as a potential dispersing agent of the invasive tree Acacia dealbata (silver wattle), an Australian species

Clement Lagrue, Department of Conservation, Dunedin

Aparima River Restoration Project: Can we use gravel extraction as a conservation tool?

Sridevi Bhamidipati, Plant and Food Research, Auckland

What can mayflies tell us about the origin of smell

Adria Eda, Department of Zoology

Metagenomics analysis of cutaneous microbiome of New Zealand's endemic frogs (genus Leiopelma) associated with Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis

Marc Schallenberg, Department of Zoology

Trophic cascades: Food web manipulation to improve lake water quality

Priscila Madi Salloum, Department of Zoology

From shell shape to whole genome: shedding light on adaptive variation of a New Zealand chiton

Motia Ara, Department of Zoology

Evolutionary history and effects of landlocking on New Zealand smelts

Lucila Babio, Department of Zoology

Vitellogenesis in the shortfinned eel, Anguilla australis. Physiology of vitellogenin uptake and its receptor system

Xuhong Chai, Department of Zoology

Parasite community ecology and evolution of deep-sea fish

Alexander Tupps, Department of Physiology

What can we learn from seasonal animals, mice, zebrafish for the treatment of obesity and diabetes?

Jerusha Bennett, Department of Zoology

Otago's coastal marine ecosystem from a parasites perspective; biodiversity, life cycles and food webs

4.March

Saif Khan, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Monitoring braided river birds and their habitat through remote sensing

Antoine Filion, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Nicole Kearney, Biodiversity Heritage Library Australia, Museums Victoria

The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL): Unlocking the foundation of the world's biodiversity knowledge

Dr Nic Rawlence, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

The contribution of kurī (Polynesian Dog) to the ecological impacts of the human settlement of Aotearoa New Zealand

Prof Peter Dearden, Department of Biochemistry, University of Otago

Gene clusters, plasticity and starvation: How to control your workers

Rachel Hickcox, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Mapping and modelling the marine distribution of hoiho/yellow-eyed penguins

Assoc. Prof. Phil Battley, Wildlife and Ecology Group, Massey University

Understanding godwit migration timing

Ray O'Brien, Sustainability Otago, University of Otago

Future of Sustainability at Otago: Tī Koūka

Assoc. Prof. Mike Paulin, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Looking backward moving forward: Computational modelling of Ediacaran ecology and the evolution of cognition

Joseph Altobelli II, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

The habitat use and home range of New Zealand's Hamilton's Frog (Leiopelma hamiltoni) on Te Pākeka

Dr Kieren Mitchell, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Dire wolf DNA: revealing hidden patterns in the fossil record using palaeo-genomics

16.July

Jemma Geoghegan, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of Otago

Virus evolution and the COVID-19 pandemic

Felix Vaux, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Graham Wallis, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Putting the History back into Natural History: 44 years as a reformed population geneticist

Tara Murray, Department of Conservation – Te Papa Atawhai

The kākāpō of the insect world: bringing bugs to the forefront of conservation science

Ursula Ellenberg, La Trobe University, Australia

Seabird conservation research between midnight sun and shadow lands

Marin Milotic, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Woylie parasite coextinction and conservation

Taylor Hamlin, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Do better hunters make better parents? Linking together the breeding and foraging ecology of Adélie penguins

Jean-François Doherty, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Elucidating the hidden infection dynamics between hairworms and their aquatic and terrestrial hosts

Jenny Jandt, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Is It a Bee? A citizen science approach to mapping the distribution of native bees in New Zealand

Dan Burgin, Wildlife Management International Limited, Blenheim

The NZ Bird Atlas & the power of citizen science (via Zoom)

Catriona MacLeod, Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research

An evidence-based tool for biodiversity assessments for New Zealand farms

Scott Forrest, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

The Orokonui Kākā: Investigating the space use, resource selection and behaviours of a reintroduced population

Alexander Tups, Department of Physiology, University of Otago

From seasonal rodents to mice, zebrafish and humans: What can we learn about obesity and diabetes?

5.March

Assoc. Prof. Caroline Williams, Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley

Cold truths: Evolutionary impacts of winter climate change on insects

Dr Amandine Sabadel, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Dr Dan Tompkins, Predator Free 2050

Predator Free 2050: New Zealand's mission to eradicate key threats to biodiversity

Lachie Scarsbrook, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Does size matter? Using osteology and ancient DNA to reconstruct extinct diversity in New Zealand's large geckos

Eunji Park, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Hidden diversity of two intracellular parasites, Microsporidia and Rickettsia, in New Zealand amphipod hosts: Patterns and causes

Dr Felicity Muth, Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas, Austin

New insights into the cognitive ecology of pollination [Zoom Seminar]

Mateus Detoni, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Why so angry? Ecological and ontogenetic factors influencing the aggression behaviour of social wasps

Alan Tennyson, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

New Zealand's latest fossil bird discoveries

Prof. Alison Cree, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Life with lizards and their relatives: Career reflections and highlights

James Hunter, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Developing ecological models to inform takahē reintroductions

Kerry Walton, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Marine field research in New Caledonia: what intensive biodiversity inventories have revealed about the structure and distribution of tropical marine invertebrates

10.July

Dr Stephanie Godfrey, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

What we learned over lockdown: web-use and web-sharing in Sombrero spiders

Assoc Prof David Orlovich, Department of Botany, University of Otago

Dr Jennifer Jandt, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

The impact of floral complexity on bumble bee foraging in a semi-field environment

Prof Gerry Closs, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Migration, plasticity and serendipity: what drives life history decisions in brown trout?

- Presented virtually: Youtube link to video -

Oli Aylen, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Borneo, Bats and Bioacoustics

Brandon Ruehle, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Impacts of an eye invading parasite on the behaviour and ecology of its freshwater fish host

Prof Phil Lester, School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University

Viral spillover, epidemics and effects in wasp and honey bee communities

Christian Chukwuka, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Microhabitat use of Woodworthia “Otago/Southland” geckos in the context of future climate change

Dr Lara Urban, Department of Anatomy, University of Otago

Leveraging statistical genomics for the conservation of the critically endangered kākāpō

Dr Pablo Tortosa, Université de La Réunion

Mammal diversity in Madagascar and neighbouring islands: impact of species introduction on the transmission of zoonotic pathogens to humans

Assoc Prof Caroline Beck, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Telling tales with tadpole tails

Dr Monica Tromp, South Pacific Archaeological Research, University of Otago

How to see a forest without the trees

12.July

Dr Bridie Allan, Department of Marine Science, University of Otago

Environmental influences on anti-predator behaviour in fishes

Professor Richard Barker, Pro Vice Chancellor, Sciences, University of Otago

Associate Professor Mark Lokman, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Adventures in Myanmar

Morgan Meyers, Department of Botany, University of Otago

Associate Professor Trent Smith, Department of Economics, University of Otago

The role of economic insecurity in the global epidemic of human obesity

Dr Michael Garratt, Department of Anatomy, University of Otago

Richard White, Manager Copyright and Open Access, University of Otago

Jennifer Cattermole, Department of Music, Theatre and Performing Arts

Taonga pūoro: Ngā reo o te whenua (voices of the land)

Dr Melanie Laird, Department of Anatomy, University of Otago

Possums and primordial germ cells: exploiting biological quirks for biocontrol

Dr Graham McCulloch, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Flightless flies? The evolution of New Zealand's wingless alpine stoneflies

Scott MacIndoe, Legasea, Fish for the People

Dr Andrew Anglemyer, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago

The Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases in Humans and the Role of Ecology: A Success Story?

22.February

Dr. Pierre Pistorius, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa

Marine predator research through the South African National Antarctic Programme

Dr. Klemens Putz, Antarctic Research Trust, Zurich

Dr. Marvin Rosenau, British Columbia Institute of Technology

Monitoring of white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) in lower Fraser River, British Columbia, Canada

Prof. Graham Wallis, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Sven Stadtmann, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Finding a home - an ecological and economic framework for selecting species translocation sites

*Note: Special seminar on Wednesday, 12:00 midday, Benham Seminar Room

Jose Ricardo Paula, University of Lisbon

Cooperative behaviour and loss of cognitive sophistication in the oceans of tomorrow: the case of the cleaner fish

*Note: Special seminar on Friday, 10;00am, Benham Seminar Room

Prof. Michael Lynch, Department of Biology, Indiana University

Dr. Peter Gaube, Applied Physics Lab, University of Washington

The use of mesoscale eddies by large pelagic fishes in the open ocean

Prof. Rune Knudsen, Institute for Arctic and Marine Biology, University of Tromso

Fish (hosts), parasites and climate change

Assoc. Prof. Crid Fraser, Department of Marine Science, University of Otago

From Antarctic volcanoes to New Zealand quakes: understanding physical drivers of Southern Hemisphere biodiversity patterns

Javiera Cisternas, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Giverny Forbes, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Prof. Stephen Robertson, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago

An evolutionary lens on brain developmental disorders – an evolutionary achilles' heel?

Kerry Walton, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

13.July

Professor Malcolm MacIver, Mechanical Engineering and Neurobiology, Northwestern University, USA

Can ecology induce cognition?

Anh Tuan Nguyen, Department of Zoology

Professor Robert Poulin, Department of Zoology

Division of labour and the secret social lives of parasites

Professor Gerry Closs, Department of Zoology

Luke Easton, Department of Zoology

Taxonomy and genetic management of New Zealand native frogs

Professor Malcolm Forster, Philosophy of Science, Fudan University, Shanghai

Statistics and the challenge of complexity: An illustration from ecology

Dr Travis Ingram, Department of Zoology

Professor Alison Mercer, Department of Zoology

Marine Richarson, Department of Zoology

Dr Priscilla Wehi, Landcare Research, Dunedin

Professor Robin Kundis Craig, University of Utah

Interaction between climate change, water management and law

Ann-Kathrin Schlesselmann, Department of Zoology

Dr Kalinka Rexer-Huber, Department of Zoology

Dr. Luke Eberhart-Phillips, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany

Avian breeding systems: Diversity, origins, and implications for conservation

2.March

Dr. Ludovic Dutoit, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

The genomic landscape of diversity, perspectives from the collared flycatcher

Prof. Graham Wallis, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Christina Service, Applied Conservation Science Laboratory, University of Victoria, Canada

Intrapopulation niche diversity over large spatial scales: spatial patterns inform conservation of bear-salmon systems in coastal British Columbia, Canada.

Dr. Simone Langhans, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Sven Stadtmann, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Assoc. Prof. Christoph Matthaei, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

ExStream research: multiple-stressor impacts of agriculture on stream ecosystems

Olwyn Friesen, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Dr. Philip Greenspoon, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Prof. Phil Bishop, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Prof. Gerry Closs, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Dr. Ralf Ohlemuller, Department of Geography, University of Otago

Dr. Jamie Wood, Long Term Ecology Laboratory, Landcare Research

Dr Amy Taylor, Department of Pathology, University of Otago

Modelling Rare Disease in Xenopus laevis using CRISPR/Cas9

Dr Lyn Wise, Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, University of Otago

From Orf virus to proud flesh – development of a wound healing biologic

Matthew Wylie, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Reproductive physiology of wreckfish (hāpuku) Polyprion oxygeneios in captivity

Dr Rachel Page, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panama

Learning, flexibility and memory: cognitive ecology of an eavesdropping bat

Dr Emma Sherratt, Genetics & Evolution Department, University of Adelaide

Macroevolution in morphospace

Dr Belinda Cridge, Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, University of Otago

Toxicology, agriculture, health and the environment: herbicide tolerant swedes as an example of applied toxicology

Gert Jan Jeunen, Department of Anatomy, University of Otago

Environmental DNA (eDNA) as an alternative to traditional monitoring

Prof Liz Slooten, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Implementing science at the international level: Discussions about New Zealand dolphins at the International Whaling Commission and the IUCN

Bruce McKinlay, Department of Conservation, Dunedin

Implementing science at the international level: Progress report on godwits and the east asian-australasian flyway

Leida dos Santos, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Environmental education to help prevent the decline of amphibians, including New Zealand's native frogs

Dr Stephen Sowerby (Otago Innovation), David Powell (Enterprise), Prof Alison Heather (Department of Physiology), Hon Pete Hodgson (Otago Innovation), Dr Gavin Clark (Research and Enterprise)

Industry Engagement: Increasing research impact

Prof Kerry Shephard (Higher Education Development Centre), Kim Brown (College of Education), Prof Liz Slooten (Department of Zoology)

Environmental literacy, global perspective and social responsibility: Some departmental perspectives

Assoc. Prof. Melody Bernot, Ball State University, Indiana

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products in freshwater ecosystems: Abundance, fate and effects

Emeritus Prof. Wolfgang Schneider, Medical University of Vienna

Evolution of yolk sac transport mechanisms

Prof. Ewan Fordyce, Department of Geology, University of Otago

Zealandia – the cradle of penguin evolution

Dr. John Richardson, University of British Columbia

Controls on rates of ecosystem functions by food web structure and cross –ecosystem fluxes

Dr. Davide Santoro, Victoria University of Wellington

I, Yellowjacket. Individuality in the common wasp, Vespula vulgaris

Prof. Graham Wallis, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Split NZ: phylogeographic breaks in the South Island fauna and their causes

Jason Augspurger, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Early life-history of a landlocked amphidromous fish: Migration, critical traits and ontogeny

Prof. Daphne Lee, Department of Geology, University of Otago

Southern Zealandia during the Oligocene/Miocene “nondrowning”: Diverse terrestrial ecosystems and biogeographic implications

Dr. Michael Knapp, Department of Anatomy, University of Otago

Megafaunal extinctions from mammoths to Auks – the controversy continues

Prof. Jon Waters, Department of Zoology, University of Otago

Use it or lose it? Evolution of New Zealand's flightless alpine insects

Assoc. Prof. Adrian Paterson, Lincoln University

The Habit: Unexpected journeys are probably common in New Zealand species biogeography

Prof. Mike Bunce, Curtin University, Perth

'Sequencing the world' – how DNA metabarcoding can assist in reconstructing ecosystem composition both past and present
(joint seminar with Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, and Department of Anatomy)

Professor Hamish Spencer, Department of Zoology

Sexually antagonistic selection and the evolution of genetic dominance

Dr Miles Lamare, Department of Marine Science

The role of tropical echinoderms in future, warmer coral reef ecosystems

Sophie Fern, Department of Zoology

Conservation tales: the assumption of happily ever after

Dr Andrew Veale, Department of Zoology

Using parallel convergent evolution to identify genes linked to reproductive ecotypes in sockeye salmon

Charles Ellen, Department of Zoology

Dopamine signalling in the brain of the honeybee

Sven Stadtmann, Department of Zoology

Ecological and socio-economic aspects of selecting translocation sites for endangered species: Finding a new home for New Zealand's South Island Takahē Porphyrio hochstetteri

Anthony Davidson, University of Canberra

From whales to mice: Applying population modelling tools from marine to terrestrial ecosystems

Dr Glenn Simmons, University of Auckland

Closer to reality: Sixty four years of unreported and dumped marine catch, New Zealand 1950-2013

Matthew Wylie, Department of Zoology

Reproductive physiology and aquaculture of Hapuku (wreckfish) Polyprion oxygeneios

Dr Tim Connallon, Monash University

The population genetics of sexually antagonistic variation

Tom Bishop, Department of Zoology

Mechanisms of Regeneration

Anthony Stumbo, Department of Zoology

Behaviour and effects on the host of a free-moving parasite in the eyes of fish

Scott Jarvie, Department of Zoology

Reintroduction biology of tuatara: what mainland sites appear climatically suitable for translocation?

Dr Will Cornwell, University of New South Wale

A geographic mosaic of climate change impacts on terrestrial vegetation: Which areas are most at risk?

Keith King, Department of Zoology

Phylogeography, physiology and the evolution of melanism in the alpine tree wētā, Hemideina maori

Chris Niebuhr, Department of Zoology

Avian malaria transmission dynamics in New Zealand: investigating host and vector relationships along an elevational gradient

Maddalena Fumagalli, Department of Zoology

Conservation of the spinner dolphin in the Egyptian Red Sea

Emeritus Prof Colin Townsend, Department of Zoology

From Pooh Corner to Middle Earth - the ecological journey of a lifetime

Dr. Clement Lagrue, Department of Zoology

Connect the dots: network analysis of parasitism within food webs…and other bits and pieces you can do with a large dataset

Dr. Jennifer Jandt, Department of Zoology

Effects of maternal care on the long-term developmental fate of offspring: A case study with social wasps

Dr. Nicolas Rawlence, Department of Zoology

How ancient DNA can help us understand the biological heritage of New Zealand's unique fauna

Benedikt Holtmann, Department of Zoology

Animal personality in dunnocks (Prunella modularis)

Associate Prof Alison Cree, Department of Zoology

The secret thermal life of the 'common gecko': not so common after all

Dr. Graeme Oatley, Department of Zoology

Exploring the role of habitat in shaping avian diversity in southern Africa

Kiri Pullar, Department of Zoology

Functional design of the electrosensory system in sharks: how accessory structures, peripheral receptors and the central nervous system shape information transmission

Professor Hamish Spencer, Department of Zoology

Eugenic sterilization in New Zealand: The story of the Mental Defectives Amendment Act of 1928

Fabiola Rodriguez Estrada, Centre of Scientific and Technological Research, Guerrero, Mexico

The use of the visual design for engaging non-experts into science

Professor Andre Everett, International Business

Tea - Plants That Changed the World

Dr Sarah Baird, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology

Mesenchymal stem cells in cancer: part of the solution or part of the problem?

Gabriela Parra Olea, Instituto de Biologia, UNAM

Diversity and Conservation of Mexican Salamanders

Georgina Pickerell, Department of Zoology

Going with the flow: braided river islands as refugia from introduced mammalian predators

Professor Mike Colombo, Department of Psychology

Wither the primate pedestal

Robert Odolinski, School of Surveying

On the Multi-GNSS Precise Positioning Performance in New Zealand

Karen Greig, Department of Anthropology and Archaeology & Department of Anatomy

It's a dog's life: Archaeology, ancient DNA & dogs in Aotearoa New Zealand

Alexander Arkhipkin, Falkland Islands Fisheries Department (William Evans Fellow)

Short-living versus long-living: different growth strategies in cephalopods and fishes

Dr Don Jellyman, NIWA

Freshwater eels – the advantages of being flexible in body and behaviour

Stefan Meyer, Department of Zoology

Evaluating threats to New Zealand sea lions with respect to life history strategy

Professor Alison Heather, Department of Physiology

The Doping Arms Race: Androgen Abuse in Sports

Dr Thomas Mattern, Department of Zoology

The pros and cons of being a benthic forager: how anthropogenic alterations of the seafloor affect Yellow-eyed penguins

6.March

Dr Helen Taylor, Department of Anatomy

Inbreeding depression in our only recovering ratite: the little spotted kiwi

Professor Cassandra Extavour, Harvard University, USA

Evolution of reproductive capacity: lessons from African and Hawaiian Drosophila
(Jointly sponsored by Genetics Otago)

Professor Paul James, Central Washington University, USA

Applied Road Ecology: Using highway construction projects to enhance ecological connectivity

Dr Patrice Rosengrave, Department of Anatomy

Postcopulatory sexual selection: fussy females and sneaky males

Colin MacLeod, Department of Zoology

The effects of ocean acidification on host-parasite associations

Judy Rodda, Department of Surveying and Department of Zoology

Analysis and geovisualisation of Hector's dolphin abundance and distribution patterns in space and time

Associate Professor Jesse Bering, Centre for Science Communication

Suicide from an evolutionary perspective: Is it a human cognitive specialisation?

Dr Robert Hofstede, International Consultant - Tropical Nature Conservation and Environmental Policy

Large-scale nature conservation in tropical South America: what are the main challenges and what is the role of science?

Amanda Valois, Department of Zoology

Parasite dynamics in freshwater plankton communities: ecology and phylogeny of a copepod brood parasite

Stefanie Grosser, Department of Zoology

Long term resident or recent invader? The Australian little penguin in southern New Zealand

Dr Michael Knapp, Department of Anatomy

Evolution and conservation of the New Zealand bird fauna - a genomic approach

Junichi Sugishita, Department of Zoology

Provisioning and foraging strategies of Northern royal albatross at Taiaroa Head/Pukekura, New Zealand and their relation to fisheries

11.July

Dr Brian Paavo, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, USA

Where science meets policy: Experiences from RMA and EEZ

Dr Jolene Sutton, Department of Biology, University of Hawai'i, USA

Applying evolution to conservation: mosquito-borne avian disease control in Hawai'i

Dr Jane Kitson, Te Ao Marama Incorporated, Invercargill

Waimaori: a Southern Maori perspective on freshwater management. From flaxroots to the National Objectives Framework.

Kerry Weston, Department of Zoology

The conservation genetics of rock wren (Xenicus gilviventris): adventures with very small birds in very big mountains

Dr Adrian Paterson, Agriculture and Life Sciences, Lincoln University

There and back again: Drowning, dispersal, vicariance and shaping of the New Zealand biota

Professor Kerry Shephard, Higher Education Development Centre

Education for sustainability, and for citizenship: Could we, should we, would we?

Sophie Fern, Department of Zoology

Non-human charisma and its role in science communication

Aurelien Vivancos, Department of Zoology

Investigating movement and spatial structure of free-ranging shoaling fish using fine-scale three-dimensional analysis

Rachel Buxton, Department of Zoology

Ecological drivers of seabird recovery after predator eradication

Dr Ceridwen Fraser, School of Environment and Society, Australian National University

From buoyant bull-kelp to beetle incest, penguin parasites and polar volcanoes: using diverse systems to test evolutionary hypotheses

Peter Jones, Department of Zoology

Life history variation in the Galaxias vulgaris complex: implications for species

Dr Andreas Bruder, Department of Zoology

Lamb or beef? Consequences of agricultural intensification on stream ecosystems

Katie O'Dwyer, Department of Zoology

New Zealand rocky shore snails and their trematodes: a new system, new parasites and new insights

Grant Humphries, Department of Zoology & Centre for Sustainability

Long term trends in sooty shearwaters (Tītī; Puffinus griseus): Using a culturally important seabird to predict shifts in the Southern Oscillation

Dr Zofia Prokop, Jagiellonian University, Poland

Good genes hypothesis of sexual selection - should it stay or should it go?

Dr Aldina Franco, University of East Anglia, UK

Conservation Ecology in a changing world: from science to practice

Dr Tim Parker, Whitman Collage, US

What do we really know about the signalling role of plumage colour in blue tits? A case study of impediments to progress in evolutionary biology

Emily Weiser, Department of Zoology

How much is enough? Informing genetic management of small or reintroduced populations.

Catherine Collins, Department of Zoology

Phylogeography and population structure in past and present New Zealand sea lions

Bastian Egeter, Department of Zoology

Estimating the impact of introduced mammals on the world's most endangered amphibians using DNA-based diet analysis

Dr Elodie Urlacher, Department of Zoology

Learning under stress: the development of stress responsiveness in honey bees

Dr Fanny Maure, Department of Zoology

Ecology and evolution of the bodyguard manipulation: study of the system Dinocampus coccinellae - Coleomegilla maculata

Nicolas Dussex, Department of Zoology

Conservation genetics of the kea (Nestor notabilis)

Dr Anne Besson, Department of Zoology

Forewarned and forearmed against an unfavourable environment: maternal effects on offspring phenotype in mammals

Professor Michael Jennions, Australian National University

From strength to length: predicting sexual selection and human penis size

David Wharton, Department of Zoology

Noses, ions and nematodes: my most difficult project

David Christensen and Garth Hendry

Commercialisation and the two letter word – IP – Dispelling some myths

Nic Rawlence, Department of Zoology

Using ancient DNA to investigate the lives and behaviour of the extinct New Zealand moa

Grant Gillett, Bioethics Centre

The moral brain

Janet Stephenson, CSAFE

Sustainable for whom? Challenges and possibilities in coastal fisheries management

Ali Falahatimarvast, Department of Zoology

Oocyte-somatic cell communication in New Zealand shortfinned eel, Anguilla australis: involvement of growth differentiation factor-9 system

Sheri Johnson, Department of Zoology

Male age and mating system dynamics: application to fisheries and fertility

Felix Marx, Department of Geology

Leviathans sporting on the foaming wave - baleen whale evolution through deep time

Khalid Alqaisi, Department of Zoology

Reproductive cycle of New Zealand Cushion Sea Star Patiriella regularis

Jamie McQuillan, Department of Zoology

What makes a dumb bee smart? Factors modulating learning and behaviour in the honeybee

Sourav Paul, Department of Zoology

Life-history and distribution of estuarine mysids: an approach through physiological-ecology

Knudsen Rune, University of Tromsø

Incipient speciation

Erin Forbes, Department of Zoology

A spoon full of androgens makes the lipids go round

17.October

(Thursday, 12pm)

Andrea Byrom, Landcare Research

Predator-Free New Zealand: how should ecologists respond to such a grandiose opportunity?

17.October

(Thursday, 4pm)

Phil Weinstein, University of South Australia

Environmental change, disease, and biodiversity

Marcus Byrne, University of the Witwatersrand

Hot Feet & Cool Heads – Curiosity and Scepticism as Drivers of Discovery

Dr Heleen Verlinden, KU Leuven, Belgium

Molecular basis underlying behavioural changes during phase transition in the desert locust

Distinguished Professor Curt Lively (Hon, FRSNZ) Indiana University

Through the looking glass: host-parasite coevolution and sex

Professor Emerita Diane Paul, University of Massachusetts Boston and Harvard University

The PKU paradox: How a rare disorder changed medicine and public health

Lee Traynor, Leibniz University, Germany

Thinking through evolution

Dr Matthias Galipaud, Laboratoire Biogéosciences, Université de Bourgogne

Crustacean foreplays and the link between mating preferences and mating patterns

Yair Kohn, Department of Zoology

Egg quality in hapuku (Polyprion oxygeneios)

Judy Rodda, Departments of Zoology & Surveying

Te Waewae Bay Hector's Dolphins...what do we know now that we didn't know before?

Dr Liegh Torres, NIWA

Tagged marine megafauna as oceanographers

Alistair Senior, Department of Zoology

Dude looks like a lady: environmental sex reversal in fish and fish populations

Melanie Lloyd, Department of Zoology

Sociality in parasite colonies: A division of labour in the trematode Philophthalmus sp.

Elaine Leung, Department of Zoology

Size and experience matter: foraging behaviour of juvenile New Zealand sealions

Professor Steve Adolph, Harvey Mudd College, California

Physiological, population and evolutionary ecology in California lizards

Amy Taylor, Department of Zoology

The role of epigenetics in regeneration

Harold Bernhardt, Department of Biochemistry

The origin and early evolution of life: From the Moon-forming impact to the RNA world

Chris Hepburn, Department of Marine Science

The benefits of science and community partnerships at the East Otago Taiāpure

Sam Mann, Otago Polytechnic

Sustainable lens: Challenges and opportunities for every discipline

Sourav Paul, Department of Zoology

Conserving Indian Sundarban: An alternative approach through economic incentive model for conservation

Rajesh Katare, Department of Physiology

The influence of diabetes on ageing of the heart

Generation Zero

Planning for sustainability at Otago University

Abby Smith, Department of Marine Science

Extinction by dissolution? Argonauts at risk in a changing sea

Viktoria Kahui, Department of Economics

Search and destroy: A bioeconomic analysis of orange roughy fisheries on seamounts in New Zealand

Brent Sinclair, University of Western Ontario

Burning while frozen: Ectotherm energy use in changing winters

Eduardo Santos, Department of Zoology

Dunnocks in the garden: What a stroll in the park can tell us about mating systems and parental care

Catherine Grueber, Department of Zoology

Natural selection and genetic drift in threatened New Zealand species

Elizabeth Duncan, Department of Biochemi;

The evolution of reproductive constraint: How does the Queen honeybee stop her workers from reproducing?

Sheena Townsend, Department of Zoology

Heterozygosity fitness correlations and inbreeding in a reintroduced population of Stewart Island robins

David Winter, Department of Zoology

Could the Rarotongan Lamprocystis radiation have arisen by sympatric speciation?

Prof Daniel Potter, University of Kentucky, USA

Host-finding by native and invasive scarab pests: biological insights suggest new management options

Dr Murray Efford, Department of Zoology

Counting song birds: new approaches using sound recording

Dr Jason Julian, Department of Geography & Environmental Sustainability, University of Oklahoma

Land use change effects on river ecosystems

Dr Sheri Johnson, Department of Anatomy

Are old males still good males and can females tell the difference?

Prof Richard Holdaway, School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury

Two sites good, one site bad: moa biology, environment and extinction in North Canterbury

Dr Martin Krokosek, Department of Zoology

Noisy clockwork of salmon population cycles, infections, and slowing down

Dr Lee Hsiang Liow, Department of Biology, University of Oslo

Extinctions in the past-do you think you can infer anything without the fossil record?

Dr Torbjørn Ergon, Department of Biology, University of Oslo

Life-history patterns in a cyclic small rodent population

Assoc Prof Ian Jamieson, Department of Zoology

How the rat re-invasion of Ulva Island affected the wildlife, the community and our research

Jeff Vanderpham, Department of Zoology

The common bully, not just a childhood foe: phenotypic variation in most widespread but poorly understood fish

Dr Clement Lagrue, Department of Zoology

Cryptic diversity in a widely distributed amphipod: testing for reproductive isolation, effects on size homogamy and differential parasitism