Email bruce.robertson@otago.ac.nz
Tel +64 3 479 4110
Teaching
- ZOOL 319 Conservation Biology
- ZOOL 418 Conservation Biology of Marine Mammals
- WILM 401 Principles of Wildlife Management (Course Coordinator)
Research Interests
Current and Potential Projects
Kakapo (Strigops habroptilus)
- Mate choice, reproductive behaviour and conservation genomics of kakapo
- Role of genetic similarity/heterozygosity in poor hatching success
- Immunocompetence and MHC variation in kakapo and other large NZ parrots
- Genetic management of kakapo recovery
Kea (Nestor notabilis)
- Phylogeography and population genetic structure of wild and captive kea
- Genetic basis of explorative behaviour of kea
Rock wren (Xenicus gilviventris)
- Phylogeography and population genetic structure of rock wren
- Mating system of rock wren
Silvereye(Zosterops spp)
Genetic basis of winter dominance
New Zealand Dotterel (Charadrius obscurus)
- Phylogeography of dotterels
Oceanitinae Storm-petrel and Diving-petrel
- Microsatellite analysis of the NZ storm-petrel to examine genetic variation and population size
- Phylogenetics of Fregetta storm-petrels
- Phylogenetic affinities of Codfish Island Diving-petrels
Kaki (Himantopus novaezelandiae)
- Sex allocation in captive breeding of kaki
- MC1R gene variation in kaki hybrids
New Zealand fur seal (Arctocephalus forsteri)
- Population genetic structure of NZ fur seals
- Genetic assignment of NZ fur seals killed as bycatch in NZ trawl fisheries to colonies of origin
New Zealand sea lion (Phocarctos hookeri)
- Population genetic structure of NZ sea lions
- Fine-scale genetic structure of a breeding colony
- Reproductive behaviour, paternity and dispersal
- Historic population size based on DNA evidence
- Management of sea lion bycatch in NZ deepwater fisheries
Current Postgraduate Students
- Yasmin Foster (PhD) Genetic aging and genomic analysis of the kakapo Strigops habroptilus
- Melanie Young (PhD) Coping with nutritional stress: diet, dispersal and plasticity in the foraging strategies of hōiho/yellow-eyed penguins (Megadyptes antipodes)
- Denise Martini (PhD) Conservation genomics of the kaka
Past Postgraduate Students
- Luke Easton (PhD) Phylogeography of New Zealand native frogs.
- Ann-Kathrin Schlesselmann (PhD) Population genetic structure of the New Zealand black-fronted tern.
- Kalinka Rexer-Huber (PhD) White-chinned petrels Procellaria aequinoctialis: movement ecology, populations and provenance of bycatch.
- Carlos Esteban Lara (PhD) Maternal effects and offspring quality in the dunnock.
- Gabby Knafler (PhD) The application of MHC, TLR, and microsatellite markers to examine bottleneck effects in three diverse New Zealand birds.
- Stefanie Grosser (PhD) Past and contemporary population genetics of little blue penguins, Eudyptula minor.
- Stefan Meyer (PhD) Population modeling of New Zealand sea lions Phocarctos hookeri at the Auckland Islands, New Zealand - Estimating the population's current status, future trends and management options.
- Benedikt Holtmann (PhD) Personality in a species with variable mating systems, the dunnock.
- Kerry Anne Weston (PhD) Conservation genetics of the rock wren.
- Bastian Egeter (PhD) Molecular detection of mammalian predation of frogs.
- Catherine Collins (PhD) Temporal genetic analyses on Phocarctos sea lions.
- Nicolas Dussex (PhD) Conservation genetics of the alpine parrot, kea Nestor notabilis.
- Jolene Sutton (PhD) Characterization of neutral and MHC diversity, along with malaria resistance, in New Zealand saddlebacks and robins.
- Amy Adams (PhD) Spatial ecology, resource use and population structure of the common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) across an urban-rural gradient.
- Elaine Leung (PhD) Ontogeny of diving and juvenile survival of threatened New Zealand sea lions Phocarctos hookeri.
- Thorsten Horn (PhD) Molecular aging of vertebrates.
- Nathan McNally (PhD) Survival, recruitment, mass estimates and breeding behaviour/tenure of male New Zealand sea lions, Phocarctos hookeri, at Enderby Island, Auckland Islands.
- Samanthan Haultain (MSc) Inbreeding depression in captive Otago skinks.
- Tristan Rawlence (MSc) Response of alpine rock wren to predator control.
- Claudia Mischler (MSc) Conservation genetics of the endangered black billed gull.
- Imogen Foote (MSc) Genetic basis of personality in the New Zealand sea lion.
- Meghan Milner-Jones (MSc) Conservation genetics of kokako.
- Emma Kelman (MSc) Bioacoustic analysis of the kakapo.
- Clare Cross (MSc) Feral cats in New Zealand.
- Samantha Botting (MSc) Sexing New Zealand skinks.
- Laura Berger (MSc) Female kakapo lineages: population structure and pedigree reconstruction.
- Kaitlyn White (MSc) Inbreeding depression in the kakapo.
- Kristina Thompson (MSc) Mate choice and reproductive success of the kakapo.
- Matthew Taylor (MSc) Population genetic structure of the New Zealand sea lion (Phocarctos hookeri)
Publications
Guhlin, J., Le Lec, M. F., Wold, J., Koot, E., Winter, D., Biggs, P. J., … Urban, L., Foster, Y., … Robertson, F. E., Robertson, B. C., Gemmell, N. J., … Dearden, P. K. (2023). Species-wide genomics of kākāpō provides tools to accelerate recovery. Nature Ecology & Evolution. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1038/s41559-023-02165-y
Journal - Research Article
McLean, L. R. W., Horton, T. W., Robertson, B. C., Robertson, F., Greer, A. L., & Nelson, X. J. (2023). Reproductive roles as likely drivers of sexual dimorphism in New Zealand’s endangered mountain parrot, the Kea. Ornithology, ukad038. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1093/ornithology/ukad038
Journal - Research Article
Bertoia, A., Murray, T., Robertson, B. C., & Monks, J. M. (2023). Pitfall trapping outperforms other methods for surveying ground-dwelling large-bodied alpine invertebrates [Review]. Journal of Insect Conservation. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1007/s10841-023-00498-4
Journal - Research Article
Lopes, F., Oliveira, L. R., Beux, Y., Kessler, A., Cárdenas-Alayza, S., Majluf, P., … Loch, C., Robertson, B. C., … Bonatto, S. L. (2023). Genomic evidence for homoploid hybrid speciation in a marine mammal apex predator. Science Advances, 9, eadf6601. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adf6601
Journal - Research Article
Schlesselmann, A.-K. V., Cooper, J., Dussex, N., & Robertson, B. C. (2023). New Zealand endemic open-habitat specialist, the Black-fronted Tern (Chlidonias albostriatus), experienced population expansion during Pleistocene glaciation and recent decline. Ibis, 165, 288-296. doi: 10.1111/ibi.13107
Journal - Research Article