Current Students| CMEER | Victoria University of Wellington

Publications:
Cook, E., Arsenault, G., Ashton, G., Barnette,P., Clark, P., Coutts, A.D.M., Gollasch, S., Hewitt, C., Liu, H., Minchin, D., Ruiz, G., Shucksmith, R., (in press). Marine biodiversity hotspots under threat from exotic escapes: a call for action. Science.

Coutts, A.D.M., Dodgshun, T. D., (in press). A preliminary assessment of the nature and extent of fouling in ships’ sea-chests in New Zealand. Marine Pollution Bulletin.

Coutts, A.D.M., Taylor, M. D., Hewitt, C. L., 2007. Novel method for assessing the en route survivorship of biofouling organisms on various vessels types at different hull locations. Marine Pollution Bulletin 54, 97-116.

Coutts, A.D.M., Forrest, B. M., 2007. Development and application of tools for incursion response: lessons learned from the management of a potential marine pest. In: Whitlatch, R. B., Bullard, S. G., (Eds) in the Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 342 (1) pg 154-162.

Coutts, A. D. M., Taylor, M. D., 2004. A preliminary investigation of biosecurity risks associated with biofouling on merchant vessels in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater 38: 215-229.

Mr Tyler Eddy
PhD Student

Research Interests: Marine Ecology, Marine Conservation and Fisheries Management

My current project focuses on three marine reserves (MRs) in central New Zealand as well as the subtropical Kermadec MR, established in 1990. The Kapiti MR is located on the southwest coast of the North Island and was established in 1992; the Taputeranga MR is on Wellington’s south coast was established in 2008 and the Long Island-Kokomohua MR is located in the Marlborough Sounds was established in 1993. Size frequency data of reef fishes from our underwater monitoring program are used to determine the effects of MR protection on commercially important species and fish assemblages throughout time. Trophic linkages and biomass flow through marine ecosystems are investigated using an Ecopath model to determine how food web structure changes with MR protection and how fisheries affect central New Zealand marine communities. A spatial and dynamic modeling approach provides information for the effective size and placement of MRs for both conservation and management of coastal resources.

Research conducted at the Juan Fernández Archipelago, Chile in collaboration with lobster fishermen yielded traditional, local and fishers ecological knowledge knowledge (TEK, LEK, FEK) about the changes in lobster abundance and fishing effort throughout the archipelago over time. This knowledge, combined with historic sources and the fishery catch record have been used to reconstruct baselines of lobster abundance dating back to the discovery of the Archipelago in 1574. The use of a bio-economic model predicts lobster abundance and fishing effort throughout these historic baselines and is used to simulate differing management scenarios such as the use of MRs, effort reduction and stewardship by community-based co-management to determine tradeoffs between catch and conservation.

Publications:

Eddy, T.D., Gardner, J.P.A., 2009. Trophic modeling of a temperate marine ecosystem throughout marine reserve protection in New Zealand. In: Palomares, M.L.D., Morissette, L., Cisneros-Montemayor, A., Varkey, D., Coll, M., Piroddi, C. (eds.), Ecopath 25 Years Conference Proceedings: Extended Abstracts, pp. 57-58. Fisheries Centre Research Reports 17(3). Fisheries Centre, University of British Columbia [ISSN 1198-6727]. 165 p.

Eddy, TD. 2009. New Zealand’s Largest and Most Isolated Marine Reserve: the subtropical Kermadec Islands. JMBA Global Maine Environment 9: 8-9.

Eddy TD, Gardner JPA, Bell JJ. 2008. A Status Report on the Biological and Physical Information for Wellington’s South Coast with Monitoring Recommendations for the Taputeranga Marine Reserve. New Zealand Department of Conservation Report.

Eddy TD, Ramírez F, Perez-Matus A. 2008. Oceanic Islands: The Chilean Juan Fernández Archipelago. From Natural Observations to Management Challenges. JMBA Global Marine Environment 7: 16-19.

Fast MD, Johnson SC, Eddy TD, Pinto D, Ross NW. 2007. Lepeophtheirus salmonis secretory/excretory products and their effects on salmonid immune gene regulation. Parasite Immunology 29: 179-189.

I am currently completing an MSc and will begin the research component in November 2007. This research will focus on the basic biology and dispersal capacity of Didemnum vexillum, an invasive ascidian which is currently threatening the Marlborough Sounds environment. D. vexillum poses a significant threat to the New Zealand mussel industry because of its ability to overgrow and smother mussels growing on crop lines.

This research will have three components including: (1) a description of the reproductive state over a one year period and how this relates to environmental conditions; (2) an assessment of larval competency under lab conditions and larval mass load over a reproductive season; and (3) examination of the role of D. vexillum in the development of fouling communities. The goal of my research is to identify high risk periods and triggers for spawning and to quantify the natural dispersal potential.

Eileen Y. Koh
PhD Student

Research interests: Environmental/Marine Microbiology, Cell and Molecular Biology

The main group of prokaryotes in Antarctic sea-ice is the heterotrophic bacteria, which are critical members of the sea-ice food web community. These bacteria absorb nutrients at very low concentrations and channel them into the ‘microbial loop’. These bacteria account for ~30% of ice-bound primary production. Light-responding prokaryotic cells may also be present in Antarctic sea-ice, and it is possible that this occurs via photosynthesis in chlorophyll-based or proteorhodopsin-based prokaryotes.
Thus, the goals of my research are to (i) confirm the presence of phototrophic prokaryotes in Antarctica sea-ice, and (ii) establish the biodiversity of these prokaryotic phototrophs and quantify their abundance, over a gradient of latitudes along the Victoria Land coast. I will be using both conventional and state-of-the-art techniques in this research.
This research is part of the integrated approach to the Antarctic-NZ-coordinated Latitudinal Gradient Project (LGP). Concerns for global warming and consequent sea level rise will put my work in a wider context.

E.Y.Koh, A.M.Simpson, A.R.Martin, S.K.Davy, R.O'Toole & K.G.Ryan (2007a). Microbial diversity in Antarctic sea ice. In NZMSS Annual Conference. Hamilton, New Zealand.

E.Y.Koh, E.Abdool, A.R.Martin, M.Rajanahally, L.Bryant, R.O'Toole, S.K.Davy & K.G.Ryan (2007b). Studies in sea ice microbial ecology at Victoria University of Wellington. In Antarctica New Zealand '50 Years on Ice' - Tip of the Iceberg. Wellington, New Zealand.

Erasmo Macaya Horta
PhD Student

PhD Thesis (in progress): "Phylogeny, connectivity and dispersal patterns of the giant kelp Macrocystis spp."

Research interests: Seaweed taxonomy, Algal aquaculture, Ecology of floating macroalgae, Algal defenses mechanisms and Genetics of kelp populations.
My research focuses on algae-herbivore interactions; Floating algae along the Chilean coast; red and brown algae aquaculture and connectivity between kelp populations.

PhD project: Macrocystis represents the most widely recognized kelp genus, forming dense forests that span the temperate west coasts of North and South America and also includes Argentina, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and most of the sub-Antarctic islands. Despite their economic and ecological importance, Macrocystis phylogeny, taxonomy and dispersal pattern still remains unresolved. Using different molecular markers I will study the connectivity, phylogeography and dispersal patterns of Macrocystis in a global scale and with more details in New Zealand and Chilean coasts. My proposed study will contribute to a better understanding of the evolutionary ecology of Macrocystis and thereby provide an important tool for marine ecologists and conservation managers involved in the design of networks of marine protected areas.

Publications:
Macaya E. & Thiel M. 2008. In situ tests on inducible defenses in Dictyota kunthii and Macrocystis integrifolia (Phaeophyceae) from the Chilean coast. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 354: 28–38.

Thiel M., Macaya E., Acuña E., Arntz W., Bastias H., Brokordt K., Camus P, Castilla JC, Castro L., Cortés M., Dumont C., Escribano R., Fernandez M., Gajardo J., Gaymer C., Gomez I., González A., Gonzalez H., Haye P., Illanes JE, Iriarte JL., Lancellotti D., Luna-Jorquera G., Luxoro C., Manriquez P., Marín V., Muñoz P., Navarrete SA., Perez E., Poulin E., Sellanes J., Sepúlveda H., Stotz W., Tala F., Thomas A., Vargas C, Vásquez J. & Vega A. 2007. The Humboldt current system of northern-central Chile: Oceanographic processes, ecological interactions and socio-economic feedback. Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review. 45:195-345.
Bulboa C.R., Macchiavello J., Veliz K., Macaya E. & Oliveira E.C. 2007. In vitro recruitment of Ulva sp. and Enteromorpha sp. on gametophytic and tetrasporophytic thalli of four populations of Chondracanthus chamissoi from Chile. Journal of Applied Phycology. 19: 247-254.

Hinojosa, I., Boltaña, S., González, E., Macaya E., Thiel, M., Ugalde, P. & Valdivia, N. 2007. Estados tempranos de desarrollo de crustáceos decápodos asociados a macroalgas flotando a la deriva en fiordos y canales del sur de Chile. Ciencia y Tecnología del Mar. Vol 30 (2).

Hinojosa, I., González, E., Ugalde, P., Valdivia, N., Macaya E.& Thiel, M. 2007. Distribución y abundancia de macroalgas flotando a la deriva y su fauna peracarida asociada en los canales de la XI región, Chile. Ciencia y Tecnología del Mar. Vol 30 (2).

Research Interests:
Members of the genus Mytilus (blue mussels) are antitropically distributed in all oceans and main seas of the world, and three distinct smooth-shelled species are recognised: M. edulis, M. galloprovincialis, and M. trossulus form a sibling complex with the ability to hybridise in areas of sympatric distribution.

The goal of my research is to positively identify the taxonomic status of blue mussels in New Zealand using species-specific nuclear DNA markers. I then want to use highly polymorphic nuclear markers (microsatellite DNA) and mitochondrial DNA sequencing to: (1) quantify genetic sub-structuring within and between discreet intraspecific populations in New Zealand, (2) characterise phylogeographic patterning of genetic differentiation, and (3) determine if non-native lineages or taxa of blue mussels exist in NZ, where these are located, and if they interbreeding with native mussels.

Project Title: Diversity and ecology of symbionts in environmentally variable sites

Reef-building corals contain symbiotic, dinoflagellate microalgae (zooxanthellae) of the genus Symbiodinium which play a significant role in host nourishment and physiology. The unprecedented increases in global temperatures over the last century, and the predicted increase of up to 4oC by 2100 (IPCC 2007) will create a great challenge for coral reefs and their survival. My research investigates the physiological variability of these symbionts in marginal locations, such as high latitudes or sites subject to local environmental stress. The physiological responses of these coral-algal partnerships, which exist in marginal environments predisposed to thermal variation and stress, will be indicative of the ability of coral reefs to survive the future impacts of global climate change.

1. To use molecular based surveys of the algal symbiont of coral species at high latitude sites to assess the diversity, host specificity, depth distribution and geographic affinities of the organisms

2. To examine how these algal symbionts are specifically adapted to survive at varying depths and sediment regimes

3. To assess the thermal and stress tolerance of the algal symbionts, and how their physiological attributes will respond to the potential impacts of climate change

Research interests: Coral reef ecology, coral disease, statistical ecology, disease histology.

The world’s coral reefs are in severe decline. The role of coral diseases in this decline has only recently begun to receive the attention it deserves, largely due to the possible link between disease prevalence and climate change. Our research aims to generate a better understanding of the driving forces behind coral disease prevalence and to determine levels of disease in remote reef systems, removed as much as possible, from major anthropogenic impact. The research takes place at Palmyra Atoll (05° 52’ N 162° 06’ W) in the remote Central Pacific Ocean. The atoll was designated as a US National Wildlife Refuge in 2001 and is now owned by US Fish & Wildlife and the Nature Conservancy. Histology of coral diseases found at Palmyra Atoll is being conducted in collaboration with members of the Hawaiian Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) and the US Geological Survey (USGS). Research is additionally conducted on the island of Oahu, part of the main Hawaiian Islands. Here we are building explanatory statistical models of coral disease distribution in relation to environmental factors and other associated variables. I additionally have a personal interest in patterns of coral community distribution and their characterisation with the use of multivariate statistics as well as all aspects of statistical ecology.

Williams GJ, Maragos JE, Davy SK (In Review) Coral communities of Palmyra Atoll in the remote Central Pacific Ocean: establishing baselines for management

Williams GJ, Aeby GS, Davy SK (2008) Coral disease at Palmyra Atoll, a remote reef system in the Central Pacific. Coral Reefs 27: 207

Williams GJ, Cameron MJ, Turner JR, Ford RB (2008) Characterising reef fish diversity of habitats within a north-eastern New Zealand marine reserve. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 42: 33-46