Department of Zoology newsletter
News
22 Sep 2026
Whitebait found to have secret weapon for fast evolution
Ashleigh Iwikau (Ngāti Tūwharetoa) didn’t think her Master’s in Genetics was going to involve studying whitebait.
08 Sep 2026
Smitten and bitten by the harlequin gecko
“It sounds a bit cringey, but it was Steve Irwin that got me into lizards,” says Zoology PhD candidate Jon Rolfes.
08 Jul 2026
Rau programme opens doors to research
A two-week research placement is giving tauira Māori the chance to investigate scientific questions of interest to them...
30 Jun 2026
Science Communication Prize won for 'myth busting'
A palaeogeneticist known for speaking out against de-extinction has won this year's Prime Minister’s Science Communicati...
26 Jun 2026
Research reveals rapid evolution of whitebait
Aotearoa New Zealand whitebait can rapidly switch their life-cycles in response to sudden environmental changes, new Uni...
25 Jun 2026
Funding drive launched to support student-led freshwater science
WAI Wānaka, in partnership with the University of Otago - Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka and Te Whare Wānaka o Aoraki Lincoln Univ...
15 Jun 2026
Simulation outbreak traced to Zoology Department
Forget 'Dungeons and Dragons', it’s 'Basements and Aliens' in the steampunk surrounds of Zoology's historic Marples Buil...
16 May 2026
Surreal but awesome
Completing a master’s degree in ecology is just one of many achievements for Elliot Weir, who graduates from the Univers...
15 May 2026
Double celebrations for twin graduates
From helping the fight against tuberculosis to representing New Zealand in sport and creating lifelong connections along...
14 May 2026
Once a nurse, always a scholar
When Nina Batucan became a nurse she joined her mother, two aunties, two uncles and a brother in the profession. But it...
29 Apr 2026
New discoveries in desert of snow
Associate Professor Linn Hoffmann, a biological oceanographer from the Department of Botany, wasn’t expecting to be in t...
02 Mar 2026
‘Old Mother Goose’ adds to history of NZ birds
The discovery of a rare fossil goose in an ancient Central Otago lake shows the evolutionary history of Aotearoa New Zea...