News
29 May 2026
Micronesian trailblazer inspires Pacific students at Otago
It isn’t every day you get the chance to hear from someone who’s been to the bottom of the ocean.
29 May 2026
Heartbreak and squid inspire debut single from award-winning band
Five-piece alternative rock metal band Ammonita, who release their debut single 'Walnut' on all major streaming platform...
28 Apr 2026
Tuning into dolphins
Monitoring the sounds of an endangered dolphin species may provide clues to ensuring their survival, a new University of...
02 Mar 2026
Collaborating to help manage tourism and the environment
Chatting to two colleagues prompted Denmark-based Otago alumnus, David Lusseau (PhD,2004), to apply for the 2026 JA Vale...
26 Feb 2026
Inaugural symposium charting new waters for Centre for Oceanography
The new Centre for Oceanography will hold its inaugural symposium in March, marking a significant step in expanding nati...
22 Dec 2025
Govt funding for Otago’s Antarctica research
Two Otago-led projects investigating Antarctica’s sea ice decline and exploring groundwater movements are part of an int...
18 Nov 2025
Eminent Otago scientists receive BLAKE awards
Emeritus Professor Sir Alan Mark has been awarded the 2025 BLAKE Medal, alongside three other Otago researchers who rece...
07 Nov 2025
Supervisor with ‘super positive vibe’ takes top award
Dr Bridie Allan has won the Otago University Students’ Association (OUSA) Overall Supervisor of the Year Award for 2025.
05 Nov 2025
Otago research in outer space
A mission to search for the origin-of-life on Titan, Saturn's largest moon, will be aided by University of Otago – Ōtāko...
09 Oct 2025
Celebrating a career connected to the ocean
Marine science academic Emeritus Professor Abby Smith wasn’t even aware of the term ‘bryozoan’ prior to moving to New Ze...
04 Sep 2025
$41 million funding success for Otago scientists
Otago is celebrating the success of its researchers in the latest Endeavour Fund investment round.
28 Aug 2025
Contrasting conservation outlooks for NZ crested penguins
International researchers have taken an in-depth look at three Aotearoa New Zealand crested penguin species, revealing o...
Events
Archived stories
Colossal Squid dissection (2014)
Our student Tyler Northern helped to dissect a Colossal squid with NIWA at Te Papa (the second specimen ever found intact!):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Yz_57uadUQ
Te Papa also have a blog with more details on the dissection:
http://blog.tepapa.govt.nz/2014/09/05/colossal-squid-live/
Invasive Bryozoan and Ascidian Recruitment and Growth Experiment – iBARGE (2017)
Otago researchers join international study examining the fouling communities of ports and harbours.
Department of Marine Science researchers have joined iBARGE, the Invasive Bryozoan and Ascidian Recruitment and Growth Experiment.
iBARGE aims to examine the richness and growth rates of fouling communities, groups of marine organisms that grow on the undersides of boats, docks, and aquaculture equipment. In many locations, fouling communities are dominated by invasive species which can overgrow native species including commercially important organisms like oysters and mussels.
The iBARGE program compares the growth rates of invasive species between locations on three different continents (the east and west coasts of North America, the UK, and NZ), using photographs taken on a weekly basis. Settlement panels – PVC squares – were deployed in the northern hemisphere's spring and summer and in Otago Harbour for the austral spring and summer. Analysis of the data collected is allowing scientists to understand how growth rates vary with water temperature and location.
Visit the iBARGE website:
http://ibargeprogram.wordpress.com/