Dr Svenja Halfter

Zooplankton Ecologist

Qualifications

B.Sc. (Biological Sciences), M.Sc. (Marine Biology), Ph.D. (Marine Sciences)

Location
Wellington
Science Centre

Contact Details

Biography

Dr Svenja Halfter is a zooplankton ecologist and biogeochemist and has worked at NIWA Wellington since July 2022. 

Research Interests:

  • Zooplankton diversity & biogeography
  • Role of zooplankton in the biogeochemical cycles
  • Sea ice ecosystem of the Ross Sea: metazoans in the ice & connection between ice and water column

 

Field experience (since starting at NIWA):

  • Sea ice campaign in McMurdo Sound, Ross Sea, in Oct-Nov 2022 (5 weeks)
  • RV Tangaroa voyage to Antarctica in Jan-Feb 2023 (6 weeks)
  • RV Laura Bassi voyage to Antarctica in Jan-Feb 2024 (5.5 weeks)
  • Coming up: Sea ice campaign in McMurdo Sound and southern Ross Sea, in Oct-Nov 2024 (5 weeks)

 

Methods:

  • Plankton nets & trawls
  • Continuous Plankton Recorder
  • Microscopy
  • Water sampling and filtration e.g., eDNA, POC/N etc. 
  • Ice sampling with various corers for physics and biology
  • Stable isotopes

 

Open to co-supervise undergraduate, master's, and PhD projects! Contact me: [email protected]