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Contact DetailsSteve Dawson 2020 Image

Email steve.dawson@otago.ac.nz

Academic Qualifications

MSc University of Auckland
PhD University of Canterbury

Research Interests

  • Conservation biology of marine mammals, especially Hector's dolphin
  • Incidental catch of marine mammals in fisheries
  • Acoustic behaviour and communication in cetaceans
  • Line-transect surveys for inshore cetaceans
  • Photogrammetry

Research Projects

  • Conservation biology and Ecology of Hector's dolphin
  • Conservation biology of Fiordland Bottlenose dolphins
  • Ecology and acoustic behaviour of sperm whales
  • UAV photogrammetry as a tool for understanding cetacean ecology

Visit here for more information on the New Zealand Whale & Dolphin Trust

Postgraduate Students

David Johnston – Thesis Title (PhD): Photogrammetry of right whales.

Lindsay Wickman – Thesis Title (PhD): Population modelling of Hector's dolphins at Banks Peninsula, NZ.

Steph Bennington – Thesis Title (PhD): Investigating recovery of the endangered Hector's dolphin

Hannah Williams – Thesis Title (MSc): Hector's dolphins in Otago

Recent graduates

  • Will Carome MSc (2022)
  • Max Harvey MSc (2022)
  • María Valdés Hernández PhD (2022)
  • Toby Dickson MSc (Distinction: 2020)
  • Dr Tom Brough PhD (2019)
  • Dr Marta Guerra PhD (2019)
  • Steph Bennington (Distinction: 2019)
  • Rob Lewis (Distinction: 2019)
  • Tamlyn Somerville MSc (Distinction: 2019)
  • Lindsay Wickman MSc (Distinction: 2017)
  • Eva Leunissen MSc (Distinction: 2017)
  • David Johnston MSc (Distinction: 2017)

Awards

  • Division of Sciences Outstanding Teacher award. University of Otago. December 2020.
  • John Morton Medal (New Zealand Marine Sciences Society). Awarded for outstanding contribution to the advancement of marine conservation and sustainability in New Zealand. 2016 (Awarded jointly with Prof Elisabeth Slooten).
  • University of Otago Award for Excellence in Teaching – 2012.
  • Sir Charles Fleming Award (Royal Society of NZ) for outstanding contribution to conservation science. 2004. (Awarded jointly with Dr Elisabeth Slooten).

Publications

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
Journal - Research Article
Brough, T. E., Rayment, W. J., Slooten, L., & Dawson, S. (2023). Prey and habitat characteristics contribute to hotspots of distribution for an endangered coastal dolphin. Frontiers in Marine Science, 10, 1204943. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2023.1204943
Journal - Research Article
Carome, W., Rayment, W., Slooten, E., Bowman, M. H., & Dawson, S. M. (2023). Vessel traffic influences distribution of Aotearoa New Zealand's endemic dolphin (Cephalorhynchus hectori). Marine Mammal Science, 39, 626-647. doi: 10.1111/mms.12995
Journal - Research Article
Bennington, S., Guerra, M., Johnston, D., Currey, R., Brough, T., Corne, C., … Slooten, E., Dawson, S., & Rayment, W. (2023). Decadal stability in the distribution of bottlenose dolphins in Dusky Sound/Tamatea, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Marine & Freshwater Research, 57(3), 411-424. doi: 10.1080/00288330.2022.2038214
Journal - Research Article
Lewis, R., Dawson, S., & Rayment, W. (2023). Size structure of broadnose sevengill sharks (Notorynchus cepedianus) in Sawdust Bay, Rakiura/Stewart Island, estimated using underwater stereo-photogrammetry. New Zealand Journal of Marine & Freshwater Research, 57(1), 104-118. doi: 10.1080/00288330.2021.1968010
Journal - Research Article
Slooten, L., & Dawson, S. (2013). Dolphins down under: Understanding the New Zealand dolphin. Dunedin, New Zealand: Otago University Press, 96p.
Authored Book - Research
Dawson, S., & Slooten, E. (1996). Down-under Dolphins: The story of Hector's Dolphin. Christchurch, New Zealand: Canterbury University Press, 60p.
Authored Book - Research
Dawson, S. M. (2018). Cephalorhynchus dolphins: C. heavisidii, C. eutropia, C. hectori, and C. commersonii. In B. Würsig, J. G. M. Thewissen & K. M. Kovacs (Eds.), Encyclopedia of marine mammals. (3rd ed.) (pp. 166-172). London, UK: Academic Press. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-804327-1.00086-8
Chapter in Book - Research
Tregenza, N., Dawson, S., Rayment, W., & Verfuss, U. (2016). Listening to echolocation clicks with PODs. In W. W. L. Au & M. O. Lammers (Eds.), Listening in the ocean: New discoveries and insights on marine life from autonomous passive acoustic recorders. (pp. 163-206). New York: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-3176-7_7
Chapter in Book - Research
Dawson, S. M. (2009). Cephalorhynchus dolphins: C. heavisidii, C. eutropia, C. hectori, and C. commersonii. In W. F. Perrin, B. Würsig & J. G. M. Thewissen (Eds.), Encyclopedia of marine mammals. (2nd ed.) (pp. 191-195). Burlington, MA: Academic Press.
Chapter in Book - Research
Dawson, S. M. (2008). Marine mammals. In M. Winterbourn, G. Knox, C. Burrows & I. Marsden (Eds.), The natural history of Canterbury. (3rd ed.) (pp. 685-702). Christchurch, New Zealand: Canterbury University Press.
Chapter in Book - Research
Brett, T., Carter, L., Carter, R. M., Darby, J., Davis, L., Dawson, S., Jillett, J., Probert, K., & Spencer, H. (2003). The open sea. In J. T. Darby, R. E. Fordyce, A. F. Mark, P. K. Probert & C. R. Townsend (Eds.), The natural history of Southern New Zealand. (pp. 313-338). Dunedin: University of Otago Press.
Chapter in Book - Research
Pichler, F. B., Slooten, E., & Dawson, S. M. (2003). Hector's dolphins and fisheries in New Zealand: A species at risk. In N. J. Gales, M. A. Hindell & R. Kirkwood (Eds.), Marine mammals: Fisheries, tourism and management issues. (pp. 153-173). Collingwood, VIC: CSIRO.
Chapter in Book - Research
Dawson, S. M. (2002). Cephalorhynchus dolphins. In W. F. Perrin, B. Wurisg & J. G. M. Thewissen (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals. (pp. 200-203). San Diego: Academic Press.
Chapter in Book - Research
Bennington, S., Guerra, M., Johnston, D., Currey, R., Brough, T., Corne, C., … Slooten, E., Dawson, S., & Rayment, W. (2023). Decadal stability in the distribution of bottlenose dolphins in Dusky Sound/Tamatea, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Marine & Freshwater Research, 57(3), 411-424. doi: 10.1080/00288330.2022.2038214
Journal - Research Article
Brough, T. E., Rayment, W. J., Slooten, L., & Dawson, S. (2023). Prey and habitat characteristics contribute to hotspots of distribution for an endangered coastal dolphin. Frontiers in Marine Science, 10, 1204943. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2023.1204943
Journal - Research Article
Carome, W., Rayment, W., Slooten, E., Bowman, M. H., & Dawson, S. M. (2023). Vessel traffic influences distribution of Aotearoa New Zealand's endemic dolphin (Cephalorhynchus hectori). Marine Mammal Science, 39, 626-647. doi: 10.1111/mms.12995
Journal - Research Article
Dickson, T., Guerra, M., Rayment, W., & Dawson, S. (2023). Multi-decadal observations of the size structure of sperm whales at Kaikōura, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Marine & Freshwater Research, 57(1), 63-74. doi: 10.1080/00288330.2021.1960570
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
Journal - Research Article
Lewis, R., Dawson, S., & Rayment, W. (2023). Size structure of broadnose sevengill sharks (Notorynchus cepedianus) in Sawdust Bay, Rakiura/Stewart Island, estimated using underwater stereo-photogrammetry. New Zealand Journal of Marine & Freshwater Research, 57(1), 104-118. doi: 10.1080/00288330.2021.1968010
Journal - Research Article
Carome, W., Slooten, E., Rayment, W., Webster, T., Wickman, L., Brough, T., & Dawson, S. M. (2022). A long-term shift in the summer distribution of Hector’s dolphins is correlated with an increase in cruise ship tourism. Aquatic Conservation, 32, 1660-1674. doi: 10.1002/aqc.3881
Journal - Research Article
Guerra, M., Dawson, S. M., Somerford, T. R., Slooten, E., & Rayment, W. J. (2022). Fine-scale habitat use of foraging sperm whales is driven by seafloor topography and water column structure. Marine Mammal Science, 38, 626-652. doi: 10.1111/mms.12881
Journal - Research Article
Harvey, M., Dawson, S., & Rayment, W. (2022). Estimating the abundance of the Hector’s dolphins (Cephalorhynchus hectori hectori) that use Porpoise Bay, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Marine & Freshwater Research. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/00288330.2022.2112060
Journal - Research Article
Hersh, T. A., Gero, S., Rendell, L., Cantor, M., Weilgart, L., Amano, M., Dawson, S. M., Slooten, E., … Guerra, M., … Whitehead, H. (2022). Evidence from sperm whale clans of symbolic marking in non-human cultures. PNAS, 119(37), e2201692119. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2201692119
Journal - Research Article
Somerford, T. R., Dawson, S. M., Slooten, E., Guerra, M., Childerhouse, S. J., Richter, C. F., van der Linde, M. L., & Rayment, W. J. (2022). Long-term decline in abundance of male sperm whales visiting Kaikōura, New Zealand. Marine Mammal Science, 38, 606-625. doi: 10.1111/mms.12886
Journal - Research Article
Bennington, S., Rayment, W., Currey, R., Oldridge, L., Henderson, S., Guerra, M., … Johnston, D., … Slooten, L., & Dawson, S. (2021). Long-term stability in core habitat of an endangered population of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus): Implications for spatial management. Aquatic Conservation, 31, 665-676. doi: 10.1002/aqc.3460
Journal - Research Article
Bennington, S., Rayment, W., & Dawson, S. (2020). Putting prey into the picture: Improvements to species distribution models for bottlenose dolphins in Doubtful Sound, New Zealand. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 653, 191-204. doi: 10.3354/meps13492
Journal - Research Article
Brough, T., Rayment, W., Slooten, E., & Dawson, S. (2020). Spatiotemporal distribution of foraging in a marine predator: Behavioural drivers of hotspot formation. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 635, 187-202. doi: 10.3354/meps13198
Journal - Research Article
Christiansen, F., Dawson, S. M., Durban, J. W., Fearnbach, H., Miller, C. A., Bejder, L., … Rayment, W., Leunissen, E., … Moore, M. J. (2020). Population comparison of right whale body condition reveals poor state of the North Atlantic right whale. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 640, 1-16. doi: 10.3354/meps13299
Journal - Research Article
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
Journal - Research Article
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