Professor Bruce Robertson

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

• Conservation Biology
• Molecular Ecology
• Behavioural Ecology
• Evolutionary Biology
• Wildlife Management

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)