Qualifications: MSc Otago PhD Dalhousie

Personal Website: http://conradpilditch.wordpress.com

About Conrad

Since joining the Department of Biological Sciences I have lectured primarily in the area of marine ecology and oceanography. In addition to coordinating the marine ecology courses (see below) I also contribute to undergraduate courses in environmental science (ENVS101) and ecology (BIOL212).

I maintain an active student research laboratory and really enjoy helping them develop as scientists.  I am looking for new students to join the laboratory and welcome inquires.

When not working I enjoy traveling with my family and outdoor activities. I am a keen (but not very good) surfer, enjoy diving, sailing and hiking.

Honours and Disctinctions

• ASLO DIALOG III Participant (1999)
• Elected New Zealand Marine Sciences Society elected council member (1999-2002, 2006-)
• Editorial advisory board for New Zealand Journal of Marine & Freshwater Research

Membership of professional and learned societies

• New Zealand Marine Sciences Society since 1989
• American Society for Limnology and Oceanography since 1991
• Oceanography Society since 1998

Contribution to wider community

• Independent expert in various technical working groups co-ordinate by Environment Waikato, Auckland Regional Council and Department of Conservation to assess impacts of human activities on coastal environments.
• Provide expert reviews of research proposals for funding agencies in the UK, USA and Chile, regular reviewer for leading marine ecology journals.
• Assisted iwi groups to establish coastal monitoring programs and provided advice on environmental issues.
• Participated in national workshops on marine conservation and classification of the marine environment.
• Communicated the results of scientific research to the general public via numerous talks to community groups (e.g. Forest and Bird Society, high school students) and publication of popular articles.
• Co-convener of the New Zealand Marine Sciences Society annual meeting in 2000 & 2007.

Research Interests

My area of speciality is benthic oceanography/ecology focusing on the processes that influence the structure and function of soft-sediment communities. Specifically, I am interested in how hydrodynamics and benthic organisms interact to affect sediment transport, recruitment, nutrient fluxes and food supply. Together with colleagues and students, research has been conducted in a wide range of environments ranging from the inter-tidal to the deep sea, a reflection of the extensive occurrence of soft-sediment habitats.

Research Supervised

PhD

• Clark, Dana (in progress). Key drivers of change in estuaries.
• Flowers, Georgina (in progress). The role of sediments in regulating nutrient cycling in Tauranga Harbour.
• Hamilton, Dallas Jack (in progress). Effects of climate change on estuary benthic biodiversity: implications for carbon storage and cycling.
• McBride, Chris (in progress). Modelling the effect of nutrient fluxes on thesholds for ecological restoration of shallow polymictic lakes.
• Mangan, Stephanie (in progress). Multi-stressor impacts on soft sediment ecosystem function.
• Prinz, Natalie (in progress). Going down - Effects of sea level rise on estuarine intertidal ecosystems.
• Ranapia, Megan (in progress). Identifying suitable translocation sites for the green-lipped mussel restoration in Ōhiwa Harbour through using a shellfish growth model and local mātauranga Māori.
• Rullens, Vera (in progress). Bundles of ecosystem services provided by infaunal shellfish beds in temperate estuaries.
• Watson, Stephanie (in progress). Marine stressor and receptor interactions: A new approach to incorporate cumulative effects into marine spatial management.
• Douglas, Emily (2018). Resilience and response of estuaries to nutrient enrichment.
• Drylie, Tarn (2020). Response and resilience of estuarine benthic ecosystems to anthropogenic pressures.
• Gladstone-Gallagher, Rebecca (2017). The role of cross-boundary subsides of macrophyte detritus in soft sediment ecosystem function.
• Niemand, Clarisse (2018). The impact of macroalgal mats on the biodiversity and ecosystem functioning of benthic communities.
• Harris, Rachel (2015). The effects of benthic organisms on intertidal sediment erodibility.
• Pratt, Daniel (2014). Changes in benthic ecosystem properties and functions across sedimentary gradients in estuaries.
• Needham, Hazel (2011). The context-specific roles of a bioturbating crab (Austrohelice crassa) on ecosystem functioning.
• Ross, Phillip (2011). The genetic structure of New Zealand's coastal benthos: using the estuarine clam Austrovenus stutchburyi, to determine rates of gene flow and population connectivity.
• Knox, Matthew (2012). Diversity of New Zealand deep-sea amphipoda.
• Jones, Hannah (2011). The ecological role of the suspension feeding bivalve, Austrovenus stutchburyi, in estuarine ecosystems.
• Dos Santos, Virginie (2011). Impacts of black swans grazing and anthropogenic contaminants on New Zealand seagrass meadows.
• Burger , David (2006). Dynamics of internal nutrient loading in a eutrophic, polymictic lake (Lake Rotorua, New Zealand).
• Giles, Hilke (2006). Dispersal and remineralisation of biodeposits: Ecosystem impacts of mussel aquaculture.

MPhil

• Monahan, Bradley (2018). Dispersal and ecological connectivity of Austrovenus stutchburyi and Paphies australis larvae in Tauranga Harbour.

MSc (Research)

• Dixon, Olivia (in progress).
• Nuri, Siobhan (in progress).
• Ross, Frank (in progress).
• Hughes, Ryan (2016). The coupled effects of shading and nutrient loading on the morphology, growth, and association macrofauna of seagrass meadows.
• Cooper, Jordan (2015). Does seagrass influence the behavioural and physiological response to flow in juvenile snapper (Pagrus auratus)?
• Hines, Laura (2015). Effects of macrofauna diversity on porewater nutrient concentrations following enrichment.

MSc

• Green, Jessica (in progress). 
• Gladstone-Gallagher, Rebecca (2013). Production and decay of mangrove (Avicennia marina subsp. australasica) detritus and its effects on coastal benthic  communities.
• McCartain, Lisa (2013). The effects of terrigenous sediment on the behaviour of Macomona liliana (Bivalvia) in permeable sediments: implications for porewater exchange.
• Greenfield, Barry (2013). Spatial variation in functional group diversity in a sandflat benthic community: implications for ecosystem resilience.
• Gibson, Aimee (2009). Seasonal variation in bivalve antioxidant enzymes: can they be used as indicators of heavy metal contamination?
• Niemand, Clarisse (2009). The application of elemental fingerprinting techniques to identify population connectivity using Austrovenus stutchburyi recruits.
• Simpson, Julia (2009). Effects of heavy metal contamination on burial rates of Austrovenus stutchburyi: implications for sediment transport.
• Hailes, Sarah (2006). Contribution of seagrass (Zostera muelleri) to estuarine food webs revealed by carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis
• Sandwell, Dean (2006). Austrovenus stutchburyi, regulators of estuarine benthic-pelagic coupling.

Teaching Commitments

Recent Publications

• Clark, D. E., Pilditch, C. A., Pearman, J. K., Ellis, J. I., & Zaiko, A. (2020). Environmental DNA metabarcoding reveals estuarine benthic community response to nutrient enrichment – Evidence from an in-situ experiment. Environmental Pollution, 267, 17 pages. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115472

• Hope, J. A., Hewitt, J., Pilditch, C. A., Savage, C., & Thrush, S. F. (2020). Effect of nutrient enrichment and turbidity on interactions between microphytobenthos and a key bivalve: Implications for higher trophic levels. Frontiers in Marine Science, 7, 17 pages. doi:10.3389/fmars.2020.00695

• Joensuu, M., Pilditch, C. A., & Norkko, A. (2020). Temporal Variation in Resuspension Potential and Associated Nutrient Dynamics in Shallow Coastal Environments. Estuaries and Coasts. doi:10.1007/s12237-020-00726-z

• Cussioli, M. C., Seeger, D., Pratt, D. R., Bryan, K. R., Bischof, K., de Lange, W. P., . . . Pilditch, C. A. (2020). Spectral differences in the underwater light regime caused by sediment types in New Zealand estuaries: implications for seagrass photosynthesis. Geo-Marine Letters, 9 pages. doi:10.1007/s00367-020-00640-0

View All research publications by Conrad Pilditch

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