ABOUT ME
I am a lecturer at Gateway Antarctica in the School of Earth and Environment, University of Canterbury, New Zealand.
I am interested in using novel developing technologies and quantitative methods to understand species distributions and relationships with their environment. My research broadly focuses on the distribution, habitat use and foraging ecology of marine predators. Specifically, I am interested in their at-sea behaviour and its influence on the population dynamics. This research includes work done on Antarctic and Subantarctic fur seals, Weddell, Ross, and crabeater seals.
I was previously a lecturer in the Department of Zoology & Entomology, at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, where I still hold an Extraordinary Lecturer position. Other previous positions include a Claude Leon Postdoctoral Fellow with the Marion Island Marine Mammal Programme (MIMMP), studying the consequences of divergent long-term foraging strategies of Antarctic fur seals at Marion Island. I was a Pew Fellow with Dr Michelle LaRue at Gateway Antarctica, University of Canterbury studying the distribution and abundance of crabeater seals in the Weddell Sea, which will contribute to the planning of the Weddell Sea Marine Protected Area. I completed my MSc. and PhD within the MIMMP and spent two year-long expeditions as a 'Sealer' on Marion Island (2009-2010 & 2012-2013). Additional fieldwork expeditions have taken me to Antarctica and to the Tristan da Cunha archipelago (Tristan, Gough, Nightingale, and Inaccessible islands) where I was part of the National Geographic Pristine Seas expedition to the Tristan da Cunha islands in 2017.
EDUCATION
2019 - 2020
University of Canterbury
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Project title: Crabeater seal distribution in the Weddell Sea, using satellite photos and citizen science
Advisor: Dr Michelle LaRue
2017 - 2019
University of Pretoria
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Project title: Foraging ecology of Ross seals in the Weddell Sea
Advisor: Prof. Marthan N. Bester
2013 - 2017
University of Pretoria
PhD Zoology
Thesis title: Population trend and foraging ecology of sympatric Antarctic and Subantarctic fur seals at Marion Island.
Advisors: Prof. Marthan N. Bester, Prof. PJ Nico de Bruyn, Prof. Mary-Anne Lea
2010 - 2013
University of Pretoria
MSc. Zoology Cum Laude
Project title: Maternal foraging behaviour of Subantarctic fur seals from Marion Island.
Advisors: Prof. Marthan N. Bester, Prof. PJ Nico de Bruyn