Wenjie Wu
Supervised by Carolyn Lundquist
Wenjie Wu’s fascination for marine life and drive to protect our oceans led him towards a PhD in Marine Science, specialising in the Pelagic dispersal and population connectivity of the green-lipped mussel.
Liv Cornelissen
Supervised by Craig Stevens
Liv Cornelissen is working towards a PhD at the NIWA, specialising in ocean modelling and ocean observations.
Georgia Third
Supervised by Darren Parsons - Graduated in 2022
Past NIWA and University of Auckland masters student Georgia Third was filmed getting up close and personal with snapper guts and teeth to understand the differences between biologically distinct snapper populations in New Zealand.
Dina Hanifah
Supervised by Sally Watson
International student Dina Hanifah is completing a thesis in marine geology and geophysics, aiming to solve unanswered questions about our oceans.
Ash Heaphy
Supervised by Darren Parsons
Ash Heaphy is channelling her fear of the ocean into a PhD, investigating marine ecosystems in the Hauraki Gulf.
Meet our past students
Supervised by Carolyn Lundquist
| Degree | Student | Supervisor | School | Conferral date | Thesis title | Current employer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Currently enrolled | ||||||
| PhD | Gabby O'Connor | Co-supervisor | School of Dance | 2024, Thesis under examination | Science Nexus and Environmental Complexity | Defence passed, final thesis submission in process |
| PhD | Wenjie Wu | Co-supervisor | Institute of Marine Science | 2024, Thesis under examination | Connectivity of greenshell mussels in the eastern Bay of Plenty using trace elemental fingerprints | Defence passed, final thesis submission in process |
| MSc | Brianna Marvin | Primary supervisor | Institute of Marine Science | 2025, currently enrolled | Harnessing citizen science to reconnect people and nature. | Enrolled |
| MSc | Calum Doughty | Primary supervisor | School of Biological Sciences | 2025, currently enrolled | Incorporating connectivity into marine reserve design for deep sea corals | Enrolled |
| MSc | Anirudh Arvind | Primary supervisor | Institute of Marine Science | 2024, currently enrolled | Variability in conservation priorities across taxonomic groups in the Otago region. | Enrolled |
| MSc | Sarndra Theobold | Primary supervisor | School of Environment | 2025, currently enrolled | Applying the Nature Futures Framework to values for invasive macroalgae in Aotearoa. | Enrolled |
| Completed | ||||||
| PhD | Stephanie Watson | Primary supervisor | School of Science, University of Waikato | 2024 | Marine stressor and receptor interactions: A new approach to incorporate multiple stressor impacts into marine spatial management | Hydrographic Health Modeller, Ocean Associates Inc. |
| PhD | Mengie Wei | Co-supervisor | School of Environment | 2022 | “Blue Carbon” characteristics across vegetated and non-vegetated coastal habitats in the Auckland Region, New Zealand | Postdoctoral researcher, China |
| PhD | Tamlin Jefferson | Primary supervisor | Institute of Marine Science | 2022 | Maximising marine conservation while maintaining fishing: Designing marine protected areas with multiple objectives | Blue Infinity Ecology, Auckland |
| PhD | Nestor Robinson | Co-supervisor | School of Biological Sciences | 2020 | Predicting habitat suitability of invasive red seaweeds at global scale, using Species Distribution Models (SDMs). | StatsNZ |
| PhD | Craig Norrie | Primary supervisor | Institute of Marine Science | 2019 | Quantifying population connectivity of marine larvae: Hydrodynamic modelling and shell microchemistry methods to determine larval dispersal of Perna canaliculus | Postdoctoral researcher, University of Washington |
| PhD | Suyadi | Co-supervisor | School of Environment | 2018 | Spatial distribution of mangroves in the Auckland Region (1940-2014) and implications for aboveground carbon stocks | Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional / National Research and Innovation Agency, Indonesia |
| PhD | Irawan Asaad | Co-supervisor | Institute of Marine Science | 2018 | Prioritization of Marine Biodiversity Conservation in the Coral Triangle | Ministry of Forestry, Indonesia |
| PhD | Jenny Hillman | Primary supervisor | Institute of Marine Science | 2018 | Habitat variability and ecosystem processes in intertidal soft-sediments | Research Fellow, University of Auckland |
| PhD | Richard Bulmer | Primary supervisor | Institute of Marine Science | 2017 | Mangrove ecosystem dynamics and clearance impacts | Tidal Research, Auckland |
| PhD | Rebecca Gladstone-Gallagher | Co-supervisor | School of Science, University of Waikato | 2017 | The role of cross boundary subsidies of macrophyte detritus in soft-sediment ecosystem function | Rutherford Fellowship, University of Auckland |
| PhD | Phil Ross | Co-supervisor | School of Science, University of Waikato | 2012 | Connectivity amongst New Zealand estuaries: Using the common cockle Austrovenus stutchburyi as a model to examine inter-estuary dispersal and predict larval transport. | Ministry of Primary Industries, New Zealand |
| MSc | Vanessa Crockett | Primary supervisor | School of Environment | 2023 | Modelling the Distribution and Connectivity of Biogenic Habitat in the Tīkapa Moana-Te Moanaui-ā-Toi-Hauraki Gulf Marine Park | Data Expert, AIA, Auckland |
| MSc | Charles Michie | Co-supervisor | School of Biological Sciences | 2023 | Variation in larval settlement patterns and its power in predicting genetic divergence of benthic marine invertebrates around New Zealand | PhD student, United Kingdom |
| MSc | Holly Fleming | Primary supervisor | Institute of Marine Science | 2021 | The Creation of Novel Ecosystem Models to Explore the Restoration of Green-Lipped, Perna canaliculus, Mussel Reefs in the Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand. | Terra Pura Consulting, Auckland |
| MSc | Nidhi Yogesh | Primary supervisor | Institute of Marine Science | 2021 | Priority Areas for Marine Conservation in the Lakshadweep Islands of India | NIWA |
| MSc | Dallas Jack Hamilton | Primary supervisor | Institute of Marine Science | 2019 | Greenhouse gas fluxes on emerged, unvegetated intertidal flats | PhD student, University of Waikato |
| MSc | Luca Mori | Primary supervisor | Institute of Marine Science | 2017 | Analysis of ecosystem services as a framework to implement the management of New Zealand Exclusive Economic Zone | Conservation International, Auckland |
| MSc | Lukas Meysick | Co-Primary supervisor | University of Oldenburg, Germany | 2016 | Disturbance drives alternative states in marine benthic communities | Postdoctoral researcher, Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity (HIFMB), University of Oldenburg, Germany |
| MSc | Craig Norrie | Primary supervisor | Institute of Marine Science | 2015 | Potential use of laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) techniques for determining larval dispersal of Austrovenus stutchburyi in Whangarei Harbour | Postdoctoral researcher, University of Washington |
| MSc | Susan Jackson | Primary supervisor | Institute of Marine Science | 2014 | Prioritisation of areas in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park for biodiversity conservation | Tonkin & Taylor |
| MSc | Cherrys Abrigo | Co-supervisor | Institute of Marine Science | 2013 | Comparison of methods to assess connectivity between marine reserves in New Zealand | Sierreza, Phillipines |
| MSc | Rebecca Gladstone-Gallagher | Primary supervisor | School of Science, University of Waikato | 2012 | Production and decay of mangrove (Avicennia marina subsp. australasica) detritus and its effects on coastal benthic communities | Rutherford Fellowship, University of Auckland |
| MSc | Clarisse Niemand | Co-supervisor | School of Science, University of Waikato | 2009 | The application of elemental fingerprinting techniques to identify population connectivity using Austrovenus stutchburyi recruits | PhD student, University of Waikato |
| MSc | Erin Tehekenga Petuha | Co-supervisor | School of Science, University of Waikato | 2005 | A simple model of post-settlement transport of juvenile bivalves, with particular reference to the effect of bivalve size, shape and behaviour | Hawke’s Bay Regional Council |
Supervised by Darren Parsons
| Degree | Student | Date graduated | Thesis title | Current employer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSc | Tony Pan | 2018 | Effects of Elevated CO2 on the Growth Performance, Respiratory Physiology, and Visual Acuity of Key Coastal Marine Fishes | Ministry for Primary Industries, Nelson |
| MSc | Kirsty Goode | 2019 | Development of a metabolic bio-indicator of nursery habitat quality for juvenile snapper (Chrysophrys auratus, Sparidae) | Normandeau Accociates, Massachusetts |
| MSc | Laura Drummond | 2020 | How Does Diet Affect Snapper (Chrysophyrs auratus) Movement? | Bioresearchers, Auckland |
| MSc | Richa Garg | 2020 | Environment-Recruitment Relationships and Catch Data Based Analysis of Movement Patterns in New Zealand Snapper (Chrysophrys auratus) | University of London Veterinary student |
| MSc | Veronica Rotman | 2020 | Microplastic contamination in wild hoki, and effects of ingestion in snapper | PhD student, UoA |
| MSc | Devina Shetty | 2020 | Incidence of microplastics in coastal inshore fish species and surface waters in the Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand | Ministry for the Environment, Wellington |
| MSc | Georgia Third | 2022 | Morphological and diet variation in Chrysophrys auratus populations | UC Santa Cruz PhD student |
| PhD | Jessica Marinovich | Current PhD student | Are snapper (Chrysophrys auratus) important in the control of kina (Evechinus chloroticus) on New Zealand rocky reefs? | |
| PhD | Ash Heaphy | Current PhD student | Interactions between snapper and green-lipped mussel logline aquaculture in the Hauraki Gulf | |
| PhD | Lucy Underwood | 2023 | Habitat value of green-lipped mussel (Perna canaliculus) farms for fish in northern Aotearoa New Zealand | Tonkin and Taylor, Auckland |
Supervised by Craig Stevens
| Degree | Student | Date graduated | Thesis topic | Current role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PhD | Liv Cornelissen | in progress | Polynya mechanics | Student |
| PhD | Xiahou Yingpu | in progress | Ice shelf-ocean interaction | Student |
| MSc | Alice Overend | submitted | Dispersion processes in tidal flows | Technologist, NIWA |
| PhD | Khushboo Jhugroo | 2019 | Shelf seas salinity plumes | Environmental consultant , Canada |
| MSc | Ren Zhongyuang | Did not complete 2020 | Mixing on the Campbell Plateau | Not known |
| PhD | Rebecca McPherson | 2018 | Buoyant plumes in fjords | Research Scientist AWI, Germany |
| MSc | Jorlyn Le Garrec | 2018 | Ocean sampling technology | Energy engineering California |
| PhD | Richard Wilson | 2018 | Turbidity plumes | Engineering consultant Auckland |
| M Eng | Terry Moore | 2012 | Renewable energy | Retired |