Dr Amandine Sabadel, Our People, Department of Zoology

Office: Zoology Department, Marples 117

Academic qualifications

MSc (University of Montpellier II, France)
PhD (University of Otago)

Research interests

Food web ecology
Stable isotopes
Parasitology
Nutrient cycling
Biogeochemistry

My research focuses on trophic ecology, with a particular interest in biochemical reactions and biomass transfer occurring in the world of tiny things. From the investigation of the cycling of organic matter in open oceans to the tracking of energy transfers through various food webs, via the reconstruction of ancient and modern diets.

I use a broad range of analytical techniques, but particularly compound-specific stable isotope analysis of amino acids and fatty acids.

Ongoing research projects

How to fit parasites in food webs? A compound-specific stable isotope approach (Marden fund 19-UOO-212). In collaboration with Dr Colin MacLeod, UBC, Canada.
Bioaccumulation of mercury in New Zealand cockles. In collaboration with Dr Arne Bratkič, VUB, Belgium.
Understanding the trophic shift of the endemic Kea from 1880s-2000s using amino acids stable isotopes. In collaboration with Dr Priscilla Wehi, Landcare.

Completed research projects

Sustainable Seas Program: Understanding the impact of human activities and environmental change on marine ecosystems by investigating the evolution of the trophic status of key species based on amino acids and fatty acids isotope techniques. PI: Prof. Steve Wing, Department of Marine Science, Otago University.
CARIM program: Establishment of the influence of future ocean acidification warming on organic matter cycling and food quality in coastal plankton communities, using amino acids stable isotopes. PI: Prof. Cliff Law, NIWA Wellington/Department of Marine Science, Otago University.

Current postgraduate students

Erica Donlon (intern – Zoology): Using stable isotopes to investigate parasite-host interactions in mud snails.
Paulo Lagos (PhD – Marine Science/Botany): Investigating the response of the krill Nyctiphanes australis (Euphausiacea) to stress caused by environmental change: a dynamic energy budget approach
Leo Durante (PhD – Marine Science): Trophic structure through the history of exploitation in New Zealand fish communities.
Tara Lee (MSc – Chemistry): Tracing cocoa beans' origin using fatty acid stable isotopes

Publications

Sabadel, A., Gay, M., Lane, H. S., Bourgau, O., Bury, S. J., Delgado, J., & Duflot, M. (2024). Just hitching a ride: Stable isotopes reveal non-feeding behaviour of Anisakis simplex within its host fish. Journal of Fish Diseases, e14043. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1111/jfd.14043 Journal - Research Article

Bury, S. J., Peters, K. J., Sabadel, A. J. M., St John Glew, K., Trueman, C., Wunder, M. B., … Pinkerton, M. H. (2024). Southern Ocean humpback whale trophic ecology. I: Combining multiple stable isotope methods elucidates diet, trophic position and foraging areas. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 734, 123-155. doi: 10.3354/meps14532 Journal - Research Article

Stewart, C., Harper, B., Couper, J., Bury, S. J., & Sabadel, A. (2024). Can non-native perch (Perca fluviatilis) support native eel populations in a wetland complex? Ecology of Freshwater Fish, 33(2), e12749. doi: 10.1111/eff.12749 Journal - Research Article

Sabadel, A. J. M., Behrens, E., Décima, M., Miller, M., & Pochon, X. (2023). An invitation to join our research voyage to the western South Pacific. Proceedings of the New Zealand Marine Sciences Society (NZMSS) Annual Meeting. (pp. 144). [Abstract] Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Foreman, S., Savage, C., Sabadel, A., & Allen, B. (2023). Interactive effects of nutrients and microplastics on functionally important bivalves. Proceedings of the New Zealand Marine Sciences Society (NZMSS) Annual Meeting. (pp. 74). [Abstract] Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

2024

Journal - Research Article

2023

Journal - Research Article

Guerra, M., Sabadel, A., Rayment, W., Dawson, S., & Wing, L. (2023). Seasonal variation in the use of food resources by sperm whales in a submarine canyon. Deep Sea Research Part I, 200, 104149. doi: 10.1016/j.dsr.2023.104149

Elvines, D. M., MacLeod, C. K., Ross, D. J., Sabadel, A. J. M., Bury, S. J., Brown, J. C. S., & White, C. A. (2023). Composition of Chinook salmon faecal wastes with implications for environmental management. Aquaculture, 569, 739358. doi: 10.1016/j.aquaculture.2023.739358

Wehi, P. M., Rogers, K. M., Jowett, T., & Sabadel, A. J. M. (2023). Interpreting past trophic ecology of a threatened alpine parrot, kea Nestor notabilis, from museum specimens. Journal of Animal Ecology, 92, 273-284. doi: 10.1111/1365-2656.13742

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Davis, A. N., Sinclair, D. J., Tracey, D. M., Behrens, E., Fallon, S. J., Hellstrom, J., … Sabadel, A. J. M., & Hitt, N. T. (2023). Reconstructing last millennium marine biogeochemistry using New Zealand deep-sea black corals. Proceedings of the New Zealand Marine Sciences Society (NZMSS) Annual Meeting. (pp. 57). [Abstract]

Che, A., Pochon, X., Hampton, H., Thomson-Laing, G., & Sabadel, A. J. M. (2023). Assessing the release and decay of nucleic acids from Aotearoa New Zealand eels. Proceedings of the New Zealand Marine Sciences Society (NZMSS) Annual Meeting. (pp. 43). [Abstract]

Brown, J. C. S., Sabadel, A. J. M., Delgado, J., Gibbs, M., Olsen, G., Swales, A., & Bury, S. J. (2023). Improving analytical methods to trace sediment sources and transport pathways. Proceedings of the New Zealand Marine Sciences Society (NZMSS) Annual Meeting. (pp. 35). [Abstract]

2022

Journal - Research Article

Sabadel, A. J. M., Cresson, P., Finucci, B., & Bennett, J. (2022). Unravelling the trophic interaction between a parasitic barnacle (Anelasma squalicola) and its host Southern lanternshark (Etmopterus granulosus) using stable isotopes. Parasitology. doi: 10.1017/s0031182022001299

Sabadel, A. J. M., Décima, M., McComb, K., Meyers, M., Barr, N., Gall, M., … Law, C. S. (2022). Amino acid nitrogen stable isotopes as biomarkers of coastal phytoplankton assemblages and food web interactions. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 690, 1-13. doi: 10.3354/meps14046

McMullin, R. M., Wing, S. R., Sabadel, A. J. M., & Hageman, K. J. (2022). Experimentally derived biochemical modelling parameters to improve understanding of aquaculture's effect on marine food webs. Marine Environmental Research, 178, 105645. doi: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2022.105645

Meyers, M., Décima, M., Law, C. S., Gall, M., Barr, N., Miller, M. R., … Sabadel, A., Wing, S., & Hoffmann, L. (2022). No evidence of altered relationship between diet and consumer fatty acid composition in a natural plankton community under combined climate drivers. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology & Ecology, 551, 151734. doi: 10.1016/j.jembe.2022.151734

Durante, L., Wing, S., Ingram, T., Sabadel, A., & Shima, J. (2022). Changes in trophic structure of an exploited fish community at the centennial scale are linked to fisheries and climate forces. Scientific Reports, 12, 4309. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-08391-x

Lagos, P. F., Curtsdotter, A., Agüera, A., Sabadel, A. J. M., Burritt, D. J., & Lamare, M. D. (2022). Modelling the effects of food limitation and temperature on the growth and reproduction of the krill Nyctiphanes australis. Estuarine, Coastal & Shelf Science, 268, 107785. doi: 10.1016/j.ecss.2022.107785

Lagos, P. F., Curtsdotter, A., Agüera, A., Sabadel, A. J. M., Burritt, D. J., & Lamare, M. D. (2022). Fast changes in the bioenergetic balance of krill in response to environmental stress. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8, 782524. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2021.782524

Wing, S. R., Durante, L. M., Connolly, A. J., Sabadel, A. J. M., & Wing, L. C. (2022). Overexploitation and decline in kelp forests inflate the bioenergetic costs of fisheries. Global Ecology & Biogeography, 31, 621-635. doi: 10.1111/geb.13448

Sabadel, A. J. M., & MacLeod, C. D. (2022). Stable isotopes unravel the feeding mode-trophic position relationship in trematode parasites. Journal of Animal Ecology, 91, 484-495. doi: 10.1111/1365-2656.13644

Tomotani, B. M., Salvador, R. B., Sabadel, A. J. M., Miskelly, C. M., Brown, J. C. S., Delgado, J., … Bury, S. J. (2022). Extreme bill dimorphism leads to different but overlapping isotopic niches and similar trophic positions in sexes of the charismatic extinct huia. Oecologia, 198, 67-77. doi: 10.1007/s00442-021-05082-8

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Sabadel, A., Filion, A., & Bennet, J. (2022). Stable isotope parasitology: A global IsoEcol collaborative project [Plenary]. Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on the Applications of Stable Isotope Techniques to Ecological Studies (IsoEcol). (pp. 31). Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/view/isoecol2020/

Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

Sabadel, A. (2022, November). Unravelling the trophic interaction between a parasitic barnacle (Anelasma squalicola) and its host Southern lanternshark (Etmopterus granulosus) using stable isotopes. Verbal presentation at the New Zealand Marine Sciences (NZMSS) & New Zealand Freshwater Sciences Societies (NZFSS) Joint Conference: Waitī Waitā, Auckland, New Zealand.

2021

Journal - Research Article

Te Morenga, L., Kruimer, D., McLean, R., Sabadel, A. J. M., Van Hale, R., Tatin, X., … Mann, J., & Merriman, T. (2021). Associations between sugars intakes and urinary sugars excretion and carbon stable isotope ratios in red blood cells as biomarkers of sugars intake in a predominantly Māori population. Frontiers in Nutrition, 8, 637267. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2021.637267

Doherty, J.-F., Filion, A., Bennett, J., Bhattarai, U. R., Chai, X., de Angeli Dutra, D., … Jorge, F., Milotic, M., Park, E., Sabadel, A. J. M., Thomas, L. J., & Poulin, R. (2021). The people versus science: Can passively crowdsourced internet data shed light on host-parasite interactions? Parasitology, 148, 1313-1319. doi: 10.1017/s0031182021000962

McMullin, R. M., Sabadel, A. J. M., Hageman, K. J., & Wing, S. R. (2021). A quantitative analysis of organic matter inputs to soft sediment communities surrounding salmon farms in the Marlborough Sounds region of New Zealand. Science of the Total Environment, 773, 145146. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145146

Kolodzey, S., Durante, L. M., Sabadel, A. J. M., & Wing, S. R. (2021). Larval quality and fecundity trade-offs are linked to the maternal environment in sea perch (Helicolenus percoides, Sebastidae). Journal of Experimental Marine Biology & Ecology, 537, 151525. doi: 10.1016/j.jembe.2021.151525

Poulin, R., Bennett, J., Filion, A., Bhattarai, U. R., Chai, X., de Angeli Dutra, D., Donlon, E., Doherty, J.-F., Jorge, F., Milotic, M., Park, E., Sabadel, A., & Thomas, L. J. (2021). iParasitology: Mining the internet to test parasitological hypotheses. Trends in Parasitology, 37(4), 267-272. doi: 10.1016/j.pt.2021.01.003

Journal - Research Other

Lagos, P. F., Gómez-Gutiérrez, J., Sabadel, A. J. M., Burritt, D. J., & Lamare, M. D. (2021). Review of the biology of the krill genus Nyctiphanes G.O. Sars, 1883 (Euphausiacea: Euphausiidae): Challenges for future research on environmental change. Journal of Crustacean Biology, 41(1), 1-17. doi: 10.1093/jcbiol/ruaa088

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Nodder, S. D., Howarth, J., Orpin, A., Maier, K. L., Gibbs, M., Turnbull, J., … Sabadel, A., … Leduc, D. (2021). Organic carbon transfer in submarine canyon and deep-sea dispersal systems around Aotearoa New Zealand. Proceedings of the 5th International Symposium of the International Network for Submarine Canyon Investigation & Scientific Exchange (INCISE). (pp. 76). Retrieved from https://www.incisenet.org/

Bury, S., St. John Glew, K., Espinasse, B., Trueman, C., Sabadel, A., Escobar-Flores, P., … Pinkerton, M. (2021). Southern Ocean isoscapes inform spatio-temporal biogeochemical processes, trophic ecology and animal movements. Proceedings of the New Zealand Antarctic Science Conference: Connecting through change. (pp. 109). Retrieved from https://www.antarcticanz.govt.nz/nzasc21

Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

Sabadel, A. (2021, July). Stable isotopes unravel the feeding mode-trophic position relationship in trematode parasites. Verbal presentation at the New Zealand Marine Sciences Society (NZMSS) Conference: Titiro whakamuri, kōkiri whakamua/Looking back, to move forward, Tauranga, New Zealand.

2020

Journal - Research Article

Sabadel, A. J. M., Durante, L. M., & Wing, S. R. (2020). Stable isotopes of amino acids from reef fishes uncover Suess and nitrogen enrichment effects on local ecosystems. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 647, 149-160. doi: 10.3354/meps13414

Durante, L. M., Sabadel, A. J. M., Frew, R. D., Ingram, T., & Wing, S. R. (2020). Effects of fixatives on stable isotopes of fish muscle tissue: Implications for trophic studies on preserved specimens. Ecological Applications, 30(4), e02080. doi: 10.1002/eap.2080

Guerra, M., Dawson, S., Sabadel, A., Slooten, E., Somerford, T., Williams, R., Wing, L., & Rayment, W. (2020). Changes in habitat use by a deep-diving predator in response to a coastal earthquake. Deep Sea Research Part I, 158, 103226. doi: 10.1016/j.dsr.2020.103226

Glue, P., Neehoff, S., Sabadel, A., Broughton, L., Le Nedelec, M., Shadli, S., McNaughton, N., & Medlicott, N. J. (2020). Effects of ketamine in patients with treatment-refractory generalized anxiety and social anxiety disorders: Exploratory double-blind psychoactive-controlled replication study. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 34(3), 267-272. doi: 10.1177/0269881119874457

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Sinclair, D., Hitt, N. T., Neil, H., Komugabe-Dixson, A. K., Fallon, S., Bury, S., … Sabadel, A., … Hellstrom, J. C. (2020). Multi-proxy evidence for a millennial expansion of the south Pacific gyre driven by ENSO/SAM interactions. Proceedings of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting. PP034-08. Retrieved from https://www.agu.org

Durante, L., Sabadel, A., Ingram, T., & Wing, S. (2020). Investigating long-term temporal changes in trophic structure of fish communities: Insights from whole muscle tissue and compound specific isotopic analysis of amino acids. Proceedings of the Ocean Sciences Meeting (OSM). ME14D-0028. Retrieved from https://agu.confex.com/agu/osm20/meetingapp.cgi

2019

Journal - Research Article

Sabadel, A. J. M., Van Oostende, N., Ward, B. B., Woodward, E. M. S., Van Hale, R., & Frew, R. D. (2019). Characterization of particulate organic matter cycling during a summer North Atlantic phytoplankton bloom using amino acid C and N stable isotopes. Marine Chemistry, 214, 103670. doi: 10.1016/j.marchem.2019.103670

Journal - Research Other

Sabadel, A. J. M., Stumbo, A. D., & MacLeod, C. D. (2019). Stable-isotope analysis: A neglected tool for placing parasites in food webs. Journal of Helminthology, 9(1), 1-7. doi: 10.1017/s0022149x17001201

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Sabadel, A. J. M., Luan, Q., Northcote, L., & Law, C. S. (2019). Climate change impact on coastal particulate organic matter cycling and nutritional value, using amino acid concentrations and stable isotopes. Proceedings of the 29th V.M. Goldschmidt Conference. Retrieved from https://www.eag.eu.com/

Sabadel, A. J. M., Luan, Q., Northcote, L., & Law, C. (2019). Climate change impact on coastal particulate organic matter cycling and nutritional value, using amino acid concentrations and C and N stable isotopes. Proceedings of the 12th New Zealand Ocean Acidification Workshop. (pp. 38). Retrieved from http://nzoac.nz

Nodder, S., Howarth, J., Orpin, A., Turnbull, J., Mountjoy, J., Gibbs, M., … Sabadel, A. (2019). Quantification of organic carbon transfer to the deep-sea by the Kaikōura earthquake turbidity current. In P. J. J. Kamp & A. Pittari (Eds.), Geoscience Society of New Zealand Miscellaneous Publication. 154A, (pp. 148). Wellington, New Zealand: GSNZ. [Abstract]

2018

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Sabadel, A., Van Oostende, N., Ward, B., Woodward, E. M. S., Van Hale, R., & Frew, R. (2018). Characterisation of particulate organic matter cycling during a summer North Atlantic phytoplankton bloom using compound-specific stable isotopes of amino acids. Proceedings of the 14th Australasian Environmental Isotope Conference (AEIC). Retrieved from http://www.confer.co.nz/aeic2018/

Sabadel, A., Stumbo, A., & MacLeod, C. (2018). Stable isotope analysis: A neglected tool for placing parasites in food webs. Proceedings of the 14th Australasian Environmental Isotope Conference (AEIC). Retrieved from http://www.confer.co.nz/aeic2018/

Wehi, P., Rogers, K., & Sabadel, A. (2018). Tracking trophic shifts through time in a threatened parrot. Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on the Applications of Stable Isotope Techniques to Ecological Studies (IsoEcol). KQ362QL, (pp. 112). Retrieved from https://www.isoecol.com/2018

Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

Sabadel, A. (2018, July). Characterisation of particulate organic matter cycling during a summer North Atlantic phytoplankton bloom using amino acids stable isotopes. Verbal presentation at the New Zealand Marine Sciences Society (NZMSS) Conference: Weaving the Strands, Napier, New Zealand.

2017

Journal - Research Article

Kitidis, V., Tait, K., Nunes, J., Brown, I., Woodward, E. M. S., Harris, C., Sabadel, A. J. M., … Kröger, S. (2017). Seasonal benthic nitrogen cycling in a temperate shelf sea: The Celtic Sea. Biogeochemistry, 135(1-2), 103-119. doi: 10.1007/s10533-017-0311-3

Sabadel, A. J. M., Browning, T. J., Kruimer, D., Airs, R. L., Woodward, E. M. S., Van Hale, R., & Frew, R. D. (2017). Determination of picomolar dissolved free amino acids along a South Atlantic transect using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. Marine Chemistry, 196, 173-180. doi: 10.1016/j.marchem.2017.09.008

Van Oostende, N., Fawcett, S. E., Marconi, D., Lueders-Dumont, J., Sabadel, A. J. M., Woodward, E. M. S., … Ward, B. B. (2017). Variation of summer phytoplankton community composition and its relationship to nitrate and regenerated nigrogen assimilation across the North Atlantic ocean. Deep Sea Research Part I, 121, 79-94. doi: 10.1016/j.dsr.2016.12.012

2016

Journal - Research Article

Sabadel, A. J. M., Woodward, E. M. S., Van Hale, R., & Frew, R. D. (2016). Compound-specific isotope analysis of amino-acids: A tool to unravel complex symbiotic trophic relationships. Food Webs, 6, 9-18. doi: 10.1016/j.fooweb.2015.12.003

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Woodward, M. S., Sabadel, A., & Harris, C. (2016). Nutrient dynamics in the Celtic Sea during 18 month UK Shelf Seas Biogeochemistry Programme. Proceedings of the Ocean Sciences Meeting (OSM). EC44C-1255. Retrieved from https://agu.confex.com/agu/os16/meetingapp.cgi

2015

Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

Sabadel, A. (2015, August). Compound-specific isotope analysis of amino acids: A tool to unravel complex symbiotic trophic relationships. Verbal presentation at the SINNZ Meeting, Dunedin, New Zealand.

Awarded Doctoral Degree

Sabadel, A. J. M. (2015). Stable isotope analysis of amino acids: A tool to understand trophic relationships in terrestrial and marine food webs (PhD). University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10523/5982

2014

Conference Contribution - Poster Presentation (not in published proceedings)

Sabadel, A. J., Woodward, E. M., Van Hale, R., Frew, R. D., & Boyd, P. W. (2014, February). Amino acids along a South Atlantic transect (40 SS). Poster session presented at the Ocean Sciences Meeting, Honolulu, USA.

2012

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Sabadel, A. J., Van Hale, R., Boyd, P. W., & Frew, R. D. (2012). From onshore to offshore: Using amino acids to trace the marine-terrestrial exchange. Proceedings of the Ocean Sciences Meeting. (pp. 400). Retrieved from http://www.sgmeet.com/osm2012/

2011

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Sabadel, A. (2011). Free amino acids extraction from oligotrophic seawater and its impact on the oceanographic nitrogen fixation. Proceedings of the New Zealand Marine Sciences Society (NZMSS) Conference: Understanding, Managing, and Conserving our Marine Environment. (pp. 44). Retrieved from http://nzmss.org/assets/Conference/NZMSS2011AbstractsPosterPresentations.pdf