Page 34 - November 2021 IB FINAL

Beyond

LABS & LECTURE THEATRES

Giving students opportunities to experience marine environments, For students studying marine biology at AUT, the university’s glob-
and get beyond labs and lecture theatres, is an important focus for ally respected researchers and research connections also open up ex-
AUT’s marine science programmes. citing opportunities.
“Scientific expedition is a really critical skill. There is a huge amount Marine ecologist AUT Professor Andrea Alfaro has led major re-
of planning and logistics involved before you can start to gather data search projects for New Zealand’s aquaculture industry to improve the
and make discoveries,” says Dan Breen, programme leader for marine reproduction and growth of mussels and other commercial shellfish.
biology. “We want to ensure our students develop those skills, in the Now working with the Cawthron Institute, she has secured a govern-
field, as part of their study.” ment grant to establish a shellfish culture programme which will see
Field trips include estuaries, zoos, marine parks and intertidal students working with industry on commercial projects.
shores but also extend beyond New Zealand waters. AUT has culti- Associate Professor Dr Kat Bolstad, who heads up the lab for Cepha-
vated scientific partnerships in the Pacific and has a research station in lopod Ecology and Systematics aka “AUT Squid Lab”, has established
the Solomon Islands where undergraduate and postgraduate students links with the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
can undertake fieldwork. (NIWA), giving students access to life changing research experiences.
“We’ve seen how valuable the experience is for our students. They PhD candidate Ryan Howard took part in a scientific expedition to the
come away with a more global outlook, they can carry out research Chatham Rise and dissected a giant squid aboard the NIWA research
in both temperate and tropical marine environments and they build vessel Tangaroa.
practical skills that are vital for ecologists.” AUT marine students are also undertaking research in New Zealand
Getting to study marine life in the Solomon Islands during his Bach- and Australian waters thanks to partnerships with organisations in-
elor of Science is part of what inspired AUT PhD candidate Antony cluding Seafood Innovations in New Zealand and the Australian Blue
Vavia to pursue postgraduate studies, and he spent most of 2020 col- Economy Collaborative Research Centre.
lecting fieldwork data on Mitiaro Island in the Cook Islands.

34 Islands Business, November 2021