Zoology PhD Students
ADAMS, Amy
Email: adaam558@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Spatial ecology, resource use and population structure of common brushtail possums across an urban-rural gradient.
Supervisors: Kath Dickinson (Botany), Bruce Robertson, Yolanda van Heezik
ALQAISI, Khalid
Email: alqkh943@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Identification and isolation of steroidogenic enzymes and steroid receptors in New Zealand starfish species.
Supervisor: Mark Lokman
BAYER, Tina
Email: bayti364@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Effects of climate change on large, oligotrophic lakes in New Zealand.
Supervisors: Carolyn Burns, Marc Schallenberg
BIERSCHENK, Antje
Email: biean819@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Impacts of human land use practices on river, estuarine and marine ecosystems.
Supervisors: Christoph Matthaei, Candida Savage (Marine Science), Colin Townsend
BIERSCHENK, Beate
Email: biebe009@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Niche partitioning in estuarine/brackish invertebrates.
Supervisors: Carolyn Burns, Gerry Closs, Marc Schallenberg
BRAKES, Philippa
Email: braph923@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic:
Supervisor: Liz Slooten
BRYNER, Vivienne
Email: bryvi279@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic:
Supervisor: Jean Fleming
BUXTON, Rachel
Email: buxra691@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Geography)
Topic: Spatio-temporal patterns of seabird recovery after predator removal: implications for long-term monitoring and management.
Supervisors: Henrik Moller (CSafe), Alison Cree
CADE, Octavia
Email: cadoc276@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Science Communication)
Topic:
Supervisor: Lloyd Davis
CLARKE, Stephen
Email: clast749@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Biochemistry)
Topic: Ice active proteins from the Antarctic nematode, Panagrolaimus davidi.
Supervisors: Craig Marshall (Biochemistry), David Wharton
COLLINS, Catherine
Email: colca018@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Genetics)
Topic: Ancient DNA analysis of New Zealand sealions.
Supervisors: Jon Waters, Bruce Robertson
CUMMING, Rebecca
Email: cumre103@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: The effect of reproductive mode on patterns of dispersal and connectivity in marine invertebrates associated with macroalgae in New Zealand sub-Antarctic.
Supervisors: Jon Waters, Hamish Spencer
DANN, Tanya
Email: danta246@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Investigating the life history and distribution of two New Zealand damsefly species.
Supervisors: Gerry Closs/Christoph Matthaei
DIVERS, Sean
Email: divse220@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: New Zealand eel aquaculture, establishing broodstock conditioning and maturation protocols.
Supervisor: Mark Lokman
DORSEY, Lance
Email: doral136@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: The life history and impact of the non-native Brook Char (Salvelinus fontinalis) in headwater streams of Otago, New Zealand (or failed species introduction leaves potential for species invasion).
Supervisor: Gerry Closs
DUSSEX, Nick
Email: dusni050@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Conservation genetics of Kea (Nestor notabilis).
Supervisor: Bruce Robertson/Ian Jamieson
EGETER, Bastian
Email: egeba296@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: DNA-based detection of frog predation by small mammals.
Supervisor: Phil Bishop, Bruce Robertson
ELLEN, Charles
Email: ellch770@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Mechanisms of dopamine receptors in Kenyon cells and their contribution to the formation and recall of olfactory memories in the honeybee Apis mellifera.
Supervisor: Alison Mercer/Caroline Beck
FALAHATIMARVAST, Ali
Email: falal493@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Localization, identification of receptors and signalling pathways for growth differentiation factor 9 (GDF-9) ligands based on genomic analyses and immunohistochemical study in the ovary of the shortfinned eel Anguilla australis.
Supervisor: Mark Lokman
FORBES, Erin
Email: forer069@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Identification, cloning and characterization of genes regulated by 11-ketotestosterone in the gonad of the short-finned eel, Anguilla australis.
Supervisor: Mark Lokman
FUMAGALLI, Maddalena
Email: fumma785@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic:
Supervisors: Liz Slooten
GABRIELSSON, Rasmus
Email: gabra817@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Salmonid migration and recruitment patterns: wildlife monitoring using trace-element and isotope markers.
Supervisors: Gerry Closs, Phil Seddon
GREER, Michael
Email: gremi998@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic:
Supervisor: Gerry Closs
GRIMALDI, Wray
Email: griwr403@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Environmental drivers of disease in Adelie penguins
Supervisor: Phil Seddon
GROSSER, Stefanie
Email: grost309@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic:
Supervisors: Jon Waters
HAMMOND, Vanessa
Email: hamva372@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Ecology of the invasive diatom, Didymo.
Supervisor: Gerry Closs
HARRIS, Kim
Email: harki906@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology/Ecology)
Topic: Habitat modification in tussock grasslands
Supervisors: Kath Dickinson(Botany), Phil Seddon, Peter Wigham (Information Science)
HOLTMANN, Benedikt
Email: holbe957@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Animal personality and social networks in a species with variable mating systems, the Dunnock (Prunella modularis).
Supervisors: Shinichi Nakagawa
HOWARD, Sunkita
Email: howsu195@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic:
Supervisor: Mike Paulin
HSU, Yu-Hsun
Email: hsuyu145@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: The causes and consequences of extra-pair paternity.
Supervisor: Shinichi Nakagawa
HUMPHRIES, Grant
Email: humgr963@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic:
Supervisors: Henrik Moller (CSafe), Phil Seddon
JONES, Douglas
Email: jondo802@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: What determines whether individual juvenile trout become residents or migrants?
Supervisor: Gerry Closs/Shinichi Nakagawa
JONES, Peter
Email: jonpe670@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Differential tolerance to trout pressures in non-migratory galaxiid fish: An interspecific analysis of life history strategies.
Supervisors: Gerry Closs/Graham Wallis
KING, Keith
Email: kinke718@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Genetics)
Topic: Evolution of melanism in the alpine weta, Hemideina maori.
Supervisor: Graham Wallis/Jon Waters
KNAFLER, Gabrielle
Email: knaga467@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: The application of major histocompatability complex (MHC), toll-like receptor (TLR), and microsatellite markers to examine bottleneck effects in three diverse New Zealand birds.
Supervisors: Ian Jamieson/Bruce Robertson
KOHN, Yair
Email: kohya760@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Reproductive biology of groper (Polyprion oxygenoides) in an aquaculture environment.
Supervisor: Mark Lokman
KUECHOLL, Leonie
Email: kuean836@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: What determines whether individual juvenile brown trout (Salmo trutta) become residents or migrants?
Supervisor: Gerry Closs
LANGE, Katharina
Email: lanka115@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Modeling land use and climate change effects on stream ecosystem structure and function.
Supervisors: Christoph Matthaei, Colin Townsend
LEUNG, Elaine
Email: leuel699@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Development of foraging behaviour in juvenile New Zealand sea lions.
Supervisor: Bruce Robertson
LEWIS, Debbie
Email: armde691@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)Topic: Habitat use of pateke/brown teal in Northland and Great Barrier Island.
Supervisor: Philip Seddon/Yolanda van Heezik
LLOYD, Melanie
Email: llome300@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: In vitro studies of intra-clonal interactions in parasitic trematodes.
Supervisor: Robert Poulin
MCNALLY, Nathan
Email: mcnna098@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Survival, recruitment and breeding behaviour of male New Zealand sea lions Phocarctos hookeri at Enderby Island, Auckland Islands.
Supervisor: Bruce Robertson, Stephen Dawson (Marine Science)
MCQUILLAN, Jamie
Email: mcqhe451@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Factors modulating dopamine receptor expression in the honey bee brain and antennae: implications for memory and learning.
Supervisor: Alison Mercer
MACLEOD, Colin
Email: macco602@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: The effects of ocean acidification on the interaction of marine trematode parasites and their hosts.
Supervisor: Robert Poulin
MEYER, Stefan
Email: meyst482@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Population dynamics and conservation of New Zealand sea lions.
Supervisor: Bruce Robertson
MILLER (Hutchison), Eleanor
Email: hutel337@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: What drives dolphin distribution? Investigating Hector’s dolphin diet and the role of prey availability in Hector’s dolphin fine-scale habitat selection.
Supervisors: Steve Dawson (Marine Science), Liz Slooten, Steve Wing (Marine Science)
MONDET, Fanny
Email: monfa729@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Interactions between the honey bee, Apis mellifera, and its main parasite, Varroa destructor: chemical ecology, host tolerance and virus spread.
Supervisor: Alison Mercer
MONK, Travis
Email: montr316@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Computational modelling of the evolution of synapticlearning levels.
Supervisor: Mike Paulin
NIEBUHR, Chris
Email: niech699@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD in Zoology
Topic: Investigating avian malaria (Plasmodium spp.) transmission dynamics along an altitudinal gradient.
Supervisor: Robert Poulin
O'DWYER, Katie
Email: odwka942@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Periwinkle parasites: Trematode parasites of New Zealand periwinkles, Austrolittorina antipodum and Austrolittorina cincta, and their ecological consequences.
Supervisor: Robert Poulin
PAUL, Sourav
Email: pauso726@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Role of eco-physiology in the distribution of mysid Shrimps (Tenagomysis spp) in temperate estuaries of New Zealand.
Supervisor: Gerry Closs, Keith Probert (Marine Science)
PAYNE, Keith
Email: payke167@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: GSM tags in wildlife management.
Supervisor: Philip Seddon
PERK, Chris
Email: perca643@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Cellular mechanisms of behavioural hyperativity in the brain.
Supervisor: Alison Mercer
PICKERELL, Georgina
Email: picge075@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Interaction between water flow, island characteristics and predation risk by introduced mammalian predators on the Rangatata River, South Canterbury.
Supervisor: Philip Seddon, Deb Wilson (Landcare), Colin O'Donnell (Department of Conservation)
PIGGOTT, Jay
Email: pigje354@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Multiple stressors in pasture streams: the effects of nutrients, sediment and water temperature.
Supervisors: Christoph Matthaei, Colin Townsend
PULLAR, Kiri
Email pulki839@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Computational modelling of elasmobranch electroreception: sensory biophysics and neural processing.
Supervisor: Mike Paulin
RAMEZANI, Javad
Email: ramja054@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Effects of agricultural stressors on trout populations in Otago.
Supervisors: Gerry Closs, Christoph Matthaei
RODDA, Judy
Email: rodju951@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Population biology of Hector's dolphin at Te Wae Wae Bay, Southland, New Zealand.
Supervisor: Tony Moore (Surveying), Liz Slooten
SALIS, Romana
Email: salro483@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Multiple stressor effects of nitrification dicyandiamide (DCD), nutrients and sediment on stream benthic communities.
Supervisor: Christoph Matthaei & Tina Summerfield (Botany)
SENIOR, Alistair
Email: senal826@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Quantifying the fitness of sex reversed fish.
Supervisor: Shinichi Nakagawa
SEYBOLD, Anna
Email: seyan398@student.otago.ac.nz
Topic: Molecular adaptation mechanisms in Antarctic nematodes.
Supervisors: Craig Marshall, Peter Dearden, David Wharton
SHAHPOURY, Pourya
Email: pshahpoury@chemistry.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Chemistry)
Topic: Pesticides in New Zealand streams.
Supervisors: Kimberley Hageman, Christoph Matthaei, Keith Hunter
STUMBO, Anthony
Email: stuan077@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Impact of optic parasites on fish behaviour.
Supervisor: Robert Poulin
SUGISHITA, Junichi
Email: sugju811@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Foraging ecology of Northern Royal Albatross.
Supervisor: Philip Seddon
SUTTON, Jolene
Email: sutjo591@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Neutral microsatellite and functional major histocompatibility complex (MHC) variation in New Zealand passerines with different bottleneck histories.
Supervisors: Ian Jamieson, Bruce Robertson
SYMON, Vanda
Email: camva237@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Science Communication)
Topic:
Supervisor: Jean Fleming
TAYLOR, Amy
Email: tayam433@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Genetics)
Topic: Epigenetic control of regeneration in Xenopus laevis and Ambystoma mexicanum.
Supervisor: Caroline Beck/Alison Mercer
VALOIS, Amanda
Email: valam479@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Parasitism in lake plankton communities: direct and indirect effects of invasive species on parasite prevalence and virulence.
Supervisor: Robert Poulin
VIVANCOS, Aurelien
Email: vivau915@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Ecology)
Topic: Social structure within shoals of similar sized drift-feeder and its implication for habitat and resources partitionning: an example with juveniles non-diadromous Galaxiid (Galaxiid sp.).
Supervisor: Gerry Closs
WANG, Elisha
Email: wanyi487@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Genetics)
Topic: Lens and limb regeneration in anuaran amphibian Xenopus laevis.
Supervisors: Caroline Beck, Jon Waters
WARBURTON, Manna
Email: warma014@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Constraints of life history on the distribution of diadromous fish.
Supervisor: Gerry Closs, Martin Krkosek
WEAVER, Amy
Email: weaam485@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Environmental Science)
Topic: Land use development and microbial nutrient cycling in an oligotrophic lake.
Supervisors: Carolyn Burns, Marc Schallenberg
WEBSTER, Trudi
Email: webtr515@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Southern right whale acoustics: repertoire, behaviour and the effects of noise pollution.
Supervisors: Steve Dawson (Marine Science), Mike Paulin
WEISER, Emily
Email: weiem624@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Managing genetic diversity for population viability in threatened birds.
Supervisor: Ian Jamieson/Catherine Grueber
WESTON, Kerry
Email: weske543@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Conservation genetics of rock wren (Xenicus gilviventris).
Supervisor: Bruce Robertson/Ian Jamieson
WREN, Sally
Email: wresa659@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic:
Supervisor: Phil Bishop
WYLIE, Matt
Email: wylma731@student.otago.ac.nz
Course: PhD (Zoology)
Topic: Gonadotropin secretion and gonad development in hapuku (Polyprion oxygeneios).
Supervisor: Mark Lokman