I am a marine ecologist with a research emphasis on understanding food web structure and metapopulation dynamics within coastal marine communities. Together these processes underpin persistence and stability of biological communities making their study directly relevant to conservation and management of marine ecosystems.
My research group at Otago focuses on biogeochemical cycling in food webs to resolve how diversity of basal organic matter sources and changes to food web structure through species loss influence productivity and resource use by higher trophic level groups such as rock lobsters, reef fish, marine mammals, sea birds and people. The work is supported by direct observations, in situ experiments and state-of-the-art environmental chemistry, including stable isotope and trace metal analysis. We also carry out studies on population structure and metapopulation dynamics of fish and invertebrates in coastal marine environments.
I have active research projects in Fiordland, Antarctica, the sub-Antarctic islands as well as mainland New Zealand focused on understanding ecosystem function and dynamics.
