Research team

Monique Ladds - Monique is an applied statistician with experience in biology and ecology. At DOC she has three main projects: developing the framework to monitor our marine protected areas (MMRF), modelling trophic interactions and the impacts of fishing on communities for the Marine Sentinel Sites Programme, and ensuring that climate change drivers are incorporated into DOC's work streams.

Victor Anton - Victor is a wildlife biologist and founder of Wildlife.ai. He works with data scientists and biologists around the world to translate big data into more effective wildlife conservation, and is the software coder for this project. In his spare time he enjoys snorkelling, multiday hikes and time-lapse photography.

Hiromi Beran - Hiromi is a summer intern turned contractor for the Marine Ecosystems Team at DOC, and wrote the site content. She is currently completing her Masters in marine biology at Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington, focusing on the potential of mesophotic reefs to act as thermal refuges for New Zealand coastal fish species.

Jess Marinovich is a PhD student at the University of Auckland studying the ecological role of tāmure (snapper) on northeastern New Zealand rocky reefs, particularly regarding their role as predators of kina (sea urchins). She has taken on this role as she has lots of experience analysing baited underwater videos to monitor marine reserves and has a particular interest in marine protected areas and ocean management and the ways in which we can use science to better inform our ocean practices.

Harry Allard - Harry is a marine ecologist with an interest in the indirect effects of marine reserves on reef fish assemblages. At DOC he’s enjoyed the opportunity to work on various marine reserve-related projects, and is dedicated to understanding and encouraging the use of marine reserves as a conservation tool.

Ben Knight - Ben is a co-founder and chair of the Guardians of Kāpiti marine reserve trust. An ocean lover with a background in diving, communication and business, he is passionate about enabling local communities to be involved in the protection and management of their unique coastal, marine and freshwater environments. He has a wealth of community engagement, environmental education and event management experience, most recently in his role with Sustainable Coastlines, where he has spent the past 3.5 years developing and implementing a nationwide citizen science beach litter monitoring and reduction education programme called Litter Intelligence.

Cam Hunt – Cam is a senior marine biodiversity ranger at DOC, based in Taranaki, where he leads the work program for the monitoring and compliance of the Tapuae and Parininihi marine reserves. Cam has a unique background in environmental science and GIS combined with law enforcement experience in Aotearoa/New Zealand and overseas. He is dedicated to the protection and understanding of our marine ecosystems.

Jesu Valdes - Jesu is a marine ecologist from Chile. She has always been interested in the effect that human activities have on the marine environment, and after working in Chile, the USA and Australia, she moved to Aotearoa/New Zealand to carry out her PhD on the effects of mussel farming on the endemic Hector’s dolphins. She now works in Taranaki as a marine reserve ranger for DOC, carrying out the monitoring and compliance plans for Tapuae and Parininihi marine reserves. In her free time, she enjoys all outdoor activities including scuba and free diving, surfing, mountain biking, tramping and nature photography.

Resources

Many thanks to Malcolm Francis - fisheries scientist, underwater photographer and writer extraordinaire - for allowing us to adapt the species descriptions from his identification guide. This book was an invaluable member of the team, and is a fantastic resource for anyone wanting to learn more about our coastal fish species. While now out of print, copies are still circulating in New Zealand public libraries and online.

Organisations

This project is a collaboration between Te Papa Atawhai/Department of Conservation (DOC) and Wildlife.ai.

DOC is the government agency charged with conserving Aotearoa's natural and historic heritage. Wildlife.ai works with conservation biologists to propel their research forward using machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms, and thus this exciting project was born.