Principal Investigator
Professor Joanne Ellis
Joanne is an Associate Professor in Marine Sciences. Her research focuses on understanding how human drivers of environmental change, including coastal intensification and climate change, impact the functioning and structure of marine ecosystems.
Notable advances include: 1) the development of gradient design approaches, including quantile regression, to better understand optimal environmental niches of taxa and therefore resilience in the face of a changing environment; 2) prediction of the effects of climate change stressors on the health of benthic communities highlighting the synergistic effect of ocean warming and eutrophication on soft-sediment and coral reef communities; and 3) the development of integrated frameworks that link risks from ecological degradation to business, social and cultural well-being.
She obtained her PhD from Memorial University, Canada. Prior to this she received her BSc (Auckland University) and BSc Hons (Victoria University) from New Zealand universities. Before joining The University of Waikato, Joanne worked at NIWA, Cawthron Institute (Marine Science Team Leader) and KAUST University. Joanne is currently academic team co-leader for the Marine Sciences and Aquaculture group at the University of Waikato. Since joining the University of Waikato she has been appointed as chief program leader for two Sustainable Seas National Science Challenge programs focused on Risk and Uncertainty and Scale and Ecosystem Based Management.
Top row L to R: Vera Rullens, Georgina Flowers, Claire Shellem, Lolita Rynkowski, Siobhan Nuri, Jade Visser. Middle row: Megan Ranapia, Kiri Reihana, Caleb Crosbie, Conrad Pilditch, Jack Hamilton, Joanne Ellis, Lizzie Harrison, Fabrice Stephenson. Front row: Natalie Prinz, Timothy Thomson.
PhD Students
Timothy Thomson
2020-present
Changes in microbially driven processes in mangrove forest sediments in response to anthropogenic nutrient enrichment
Claire Shellem
2021-present
The effects of climate change on benthic communities in Doubtful Sound, Fiordland
Lizzie Harrison
2022-present
The effects of cumulative stressors on the ecosystem service potential and restoration of infaunal estuarine bivalves
Edoardo Zelli
2022-present
The combined effects of climate change and commercial fisheries on New Zealand deep-sea coral ecosystems: ecological and social implications
Jessica Rutherford
2023-present
“A Confluence of Parallel Pressures”: Investigating offshore exploration bidding processes and
marine conservation overlap: Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia comparison
Carolina Aguirre
2023-present
Plastic pollution in marine ecosystems: assessing the impact of macro and microplastics in aquaculture environments
Masters Students
Caleb Crosbie
2022-present
Consequences of shellfish die-offs on seafloor biodiversity
Jade Visser
2022-present
Temporal Variability of Blue Carbon Stocks in Restored Saltmarsh Wetlands: A Case Study from the Bay of Plenty, Aotearoa New Zealand
Co-Supervised Students
Akuhata Bailey-Winiata (Shari Gallop)
Jack Hamilton (Conrad Pilditch)
Joanne Howells (Phil Ross)
Kiri Reihana (Kura Paul-Burke)
Lolita Rynkowski (Conrad Pilditch)
Natalie Prinz (Conrad Pilditch)
Past Students
Anita Lewis (MSc)
Dr. Dana Clark (PhD/ Conrad Pilditch)
Frank Ross (MSc/ Conrad Pilditch)
Dr. Vera Rullens (Research fellow)
Tyla Kettle (MSc/ Shari Gallop)
Dr. Ross Martin (PhD)