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Dr Adam Smith staff profile picture

Contact details +6492136195

Dr Adam Smith PhD, MSc, PGDipSc, BSc

Senior Lecturer

Doctoral Supervisor
School of Natural and Computational Sciences

I have been actively involved in research in biostatistics since 2002, with a particular emphasis on the interface between ecology, conservation, and statistics. I have worked as an ecological statistician in the science group at the Department of Conservation (DOC) in Christchurch, and then in the fisheries modelling group at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) in Wellington. In 2009, I moved to Auckland to undertake a PhD under the supervision of Marti Anderson at Massey University. Nearing the end of my PhD, in July 2013 I took a position as Lecturer in Statistics in the Institute of Natural and Mathematical Sciences at Massey Albany.

I am interested in all aspects of applied statistics, but particularly in studies of marine ecology, fisheries, and conservation. In particular, as part of my PhD, I worked on a new approach to zero inflation for count data, applied in a Bayesian context to evaluate the effects of marine reserves on snapper Pagrus auratus. I am also examining the effects of marine reserves and habitat features on crypto-benthic fishes, especially triplefins. In the past, I have worked on a diverse array of projects, including species distribution modelling of Antarctic plankton and New Zealand fishes using boosted regression trees, fisheries stock assessments of paua and crayfish, ecological restoration of Californian freshwater communities, and the biological evaluation of a Marine Environment Classification. I was co-author on the paper that recognised Maui’s dolphin, a subspecies of Hector’s dolphin. 

I am an applied statistician specialising in the analysis of ecological data, particularly from the marine environment.

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Professional

Contact details

  • Ph: 43195
    Location: 3.09, IIMS
    Campus: Albany

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy - Massey University (2017)
  • Master of Science (First Class Honours) - University of Auckland (2007)
  • Postgraduate Diploma in Science - University of Canterbury (2004)
  • Bachelor of Science - University of Canterbury (1998)

Certifications and Registrations

  • Licence, Supervisor, Massey University

Research Expertise

Research Interests

Statistics, Applied Statistics, Bayesian Statistics, Marine Ecology, Marine Reserves, Fish Ecology, Data Mining, Boosted Regression Trees, Hierarchical models, Ecology, Fisheries, Bayesian Statistics & Modelling, Mixed Effects Models

Thematics

Resource Development and Management, Future Food Systems

Area of Expertise

Field of research codes
Applied Statistics (010401):
Biogeography and Phylogeography (060302): Biological Sciences (060000):
Biostatistics (010402):
Community Ecology (060202):
Conservation and Biodiversity (050202):
Ecology (060200):
Environmental Science and Management (050200): Environmental Sciences (050000):
Evolutionary Biology (060300): Marine and Estuarine Ecology (incl. Marine Ichthyology) (060205):
Mathematical Sciences (010000): Statistics (010400)

Research Projects

Summary of Research Projects

Position Current Completed
Project Leader 3 5

Research Outputs

Journal

Smith, A., Cook, N., Cook, K., Brown, R., Woodgett, R., Veron, J., . . . Saylor, V. (2021). Field measurements of a massive Porites coral at Goolboodi (Orpheus Island), Great Barrier Reef. Scientific Reports. 11(1)
[Journal article]Authored by: Smith, A.
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Howarth, OR., Liggins, L., & Smith, ANH. (2021). Using qualitative data to classify reef fishes into dietary guilds. Austral Ecology. 46(6), 982-990
[Journal article]Authored by: Liggins, L., Smith, A.
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Cresswell, AK., Ryan, NM., Heyward, AJ., Smith, ANH., Colquhoun, J., Case, M., . . . Gilmour, JP. (2021). A quantitative comparison of towed-camera and diver-camera transects for monitoring coral reefs. PeerJ. 9
[Journal article]Authored by: Smith, A.
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Smith, ANH., Acuña-Marrero, D., Salinas-De-León, P., Harvey, ES., Pawley, MDM., & Anderson, MJ. (2020). Instantaneous vs. non-instantaneous diver-operated stereo-video (DOV) surveys of highly mobile sharks in the Galápagos Marine Reserve. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 649, 111-123
[Journal article]Authored by: Anderson, M., Pawley, M., Smith, A.
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Langlois, T., Goetze, J., Bond, T., Monk, J., Abesamis, RA., Asher, J., . . . Harvey, ES. (2020). A field and video annotation guide for baited remote underwater stereo-video surveys of demersal fish assemblages. Methods in Ecology and Evolution. 11(11), 1401-1409
[Journal article]Authored by: Smith, A.
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MacNeil, MA., Chapman, DD., Heupel, M., Simpfendorfer, CA., Heithaus, M., Meekan, M., . . . Prasetyo, A. (2020). Author Correction: Global status and conservation potential of reef sharks (Nature, (2020), 583, 7818, (801-806), 10.1038/s41586-020-2519-y). Nature. 585(7825), E11
[Journal article]Authored by: Smith, A.
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Adegoke, NA., Smith, ANH., Anderson, MJ., & Pawley, MDM. (2021). MEWMA charts when parameters are estimated with applications in gene expression and bimetal thermostat monitoring. Journal of Statistical Computation and Simulation. 91(1), 37-57
[Journal article]Authored by: Anderson, M., Pawley, M., Smith, A.
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2
MacNeil, MA., Chapman, DD., Heupel, M., Simpfendorfer, CA., Heithaus, M., Meekan, M., . . . Prasetyo, A. (2020). Global status and conservation potential of reef sharks. Nature. 583(7818), 801-806
[Journal article]Authored by: Smith, A.
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11
Betty, EL., Stockin, KA., Smith, ANH., Bollard, B., Orams, MB., & Murphy, S. (2019). Sexual maturation in male long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas edwardii): Defining indicators of sexual maturity. Journal of Mammalogy. 100(4), 1387-1402
[Journal article]Authored by: Betty, E., Smith, A., Stockin, K.
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Adegoke, NA., Smith, ANH., Anderson, MJ., Sanusi, RA., & Pawley, MDM. (2019). Efficient homogeneously weighted moving average chart for monitoring process mean using an auxiliary variable. IEEE Access. 7, 94021-94032
[Journal article]Authored by: Anderson, M., Pawley, M., Smith, A.
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15
Adegoke, NA., Abbasi, SA., Smith, ANH., Anderson, MJ., & Pawley, MDM. (2019). A Multivariate Homogeneously Weighted Moving Average Control Chart. IEEE Access. 7, 9586-9597
[Journal article]Authored by: Anderson, M., Pawley, M., Smith, A.
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19
Acuña-Marrero, D., Smith, ANH., Salinas-De-León, P., Harvey, ES., Pawley, MDM., & Anderson, MJ. (2018). Spatial patterns of distribution and relative abundance of coastal shark species in the Galapagos Marine Reserve. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 593, 73-95
[Journal article]Authored by: Anderson, M., Pawley, M., Smith, A.
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17
8
Acuña-Marrero, D., Cruz-Modino, RDL., Smith, ANH., Salinas-de-León, P., Pawley, MDM., & Anderson, MJ. (2018). Understanding human attitudes towards sharks to promote sustainable coexistence. Marine Policy. 91, 122-128
[Journal article]Authored by: Anderson, M., Pawley, M., Smith, A.
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11
Adegoke, NA., Smith, ANH., Anderson, MJ., Abbasi, SA., & Pawley, MDM. (2018). Shrinkage estimates of covariance matrices to improve the performance of multivariate cumulative sum control charts. Computers and Industrial Engineering. 117, 207-216
[Journal article]Authored by: Anderson, M., Pawley, M., Smith, A.
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13
Ullah, I., Pawley, MDM., Smith, ANH., & Jones, B. (2017). Improving the detection of unusual observations in high-dimensional settings. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Statistics. 59(4), 449-462
[Journal article]Authored by: Pawley, M., Smith, A.
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1
Adegoke, NA., Riaz, M., Sanusi, RA., Smith, ANH., & Pawley, MDM. (2017). EWMA-type scheme for monitoring location parameter using auxiliary information. Computers and Industrial Engineering. 114, 114-129
[Journal article]Authored by: Pawley, M., Smith, A.
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17
Le Port, A., Montgomery, JC., Smith, ANH., Croucher, AE., McLeod, IM., & Lavery, SD. (2017). Temperate marine protected area provides recruitment subsidies to local fisheries. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 284(1865)
[Journal article]Authored by: Smith, A.
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13
Acuña-Marrero, D., Smith, ANH., Hammerschlag, N., Hearn, A., Anderson, MJ., Calich, H., . . . Salinas-De-León, P. (2017). Residency and movement patterns of an apex predatory shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) at the Galapagos Marine Reserve. PLoS ONE. 12(8)
[Journal article]Authored by: Anderson, M., Pawley, M., Smith, A.
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15
Smith, ANH., Anderson, MJ., & Pawley, MDM. (2017). Could ecologists be more random? Straightforward alternatives to haphazard spatial sampling. Ecography. 40(11), 1251-1255
[Journal article]Authored by: Anderson, M., Pawley, M., Smith, A.
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Smith, ANH., & Anderson, MJ. (2016). Marine reserves indirectly affect fine-scale habitat associations, but not overall densities, of small benthic fishes. Ecology and Evolution. 6(18), 6648-6661
[Journal article]Authored by: Anderson, M., Smith, A.
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Pearson, S., Windupranata, W., Pranowo, SW., Putri, A., Ma, Y., Vila-Concejo, A., . . . Arvanitidis, C. (2016). Conflicts in some of the World harbours: what needs to happen next?. Maritime Studies. 15(1)
[Journal article]Authored by: Aguirre-Davies, J., Smith, A.
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10
Godoy, DA., Smith, ANH., Limpus, C., & Stockin, KA. (2016). The spatio-temporal distribution and population structure of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research. 50(4), 549-565
[Journal article]Authored by: Smith, A., Stockin, K.
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3
Aguirre, JD., Bollard-Breen, B., Cameron, M., Constantine, R., Duffy, CAJ., Dunphy, B., . . . Wilson, R. (2016). Loved to pieces: Toward the sustainable management of the Waitematā Harbour and Hauraki Gulf. Regional Studies in Marine Science. 8, 220-233
[Journal article]Authored by: Aguirre-Davies, J., Liggins, L., Smith, A., Thomas, D.
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Smith, ANH., Anderson, MJ., Millar, RB., & Willis, TJ. (2014). Effects of marine reserves in the context of spatial and temporal variation: An analysis using Bayesian zero-inflated mixed models. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 499, 203-216
[Journal article]Authored by: Anderson, M., Smith, A.
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17
Smith, ANH., Duffy, CAJ., & Leathwick, JR. (2013). Predicting the distribution and relative abundance of fishes on shallow subtidal reefs around New Zealand. Science for Conservation. (323), 1-25
[Journal article]Authored by: Smith, A.
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2
Smith, ANH., Anderson, MJ., & Millar, RB. (2012). Incorporating the intraspecific occupancy-abundance relationship into zero-inflated models. Ecology. 93(12), 2526-2532
[Journal article]Authored by: Anderson, M., Smith, A.
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18
Marchetti, MP., Esteban, E., Smith, ANH., Pickard, D., Richards, AB., & Slusark, J. (2011). Measuring the ecological impact of long-term flow disturbance on the macroinvertebrate community in a large Mediterranean climate river. Journal of Freshwater Ecology. 26(4), 459-480
[Journal article]Authored by: Smith, A.
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7
Raymond, B., Shaffer, SA., Sokolov, S., Woehler, EJ., Costa, DP., Einoder, L., . . . Weimerskirch, H. (2010). Shearwater foraging in the Southern Ocean: The roles of prey availability and winds. PLoS ONE. 5(6)
[Journal article]Authored by: Smith, A.
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Marchetti, MP., Garr, M., & Smith, ANH. (2010). Evaluating wetland restoration success using aquatic macroinvertebrate assemblages in the sacramento valley, California. Restoration Ecology. 18(4), 457-466
[Journal article]Authored by: Smith, A.
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13
Pinkerton, MH., Smith, ANH., Raymond, B., Hosie, GW., Sharp, B., Leathwick, JR., . . . Bradford-Grieve, JM. (2010). Spatial and seasonal distribution of adult Oithona similis in the Southern Ocean: Predictions using boosted regression trees. Deep-Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers. 57(4), 469-485
[Journal article]Authored by: Smith, A.
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Brown, JA., Smith, ANH., & Robinson, TJ. (2008). The response of rare herbaceous plants to the removal of weeds in an unproductive environment. Community Ecology. 9(1), 53-58
[Journal article]Authored by: Smith, A.
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Powlesland, RG., Sharp, SE., & Smith, ANH. (2008). Aspects of the breeding biology of the pied shag (phalacrocorax varius) at makara beach, Wellington, New Zealand. Notornis. 55(2), 69-76
[Journal article]Authored by: Smith, A.
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Smith, ANH., & Westbrooke, IM. (2004). Changes in bird conspicuousness at Pureora Forest. Notornis. 51(1), 21-25
[Journal article]Authored by: Smith, A.
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(2002). Geographical variation in hector's dolphin: Recognition of new subspecies of cephalorhynchus hectori. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 32(4), 713-727
[Journal article]Authored by: Smith, A.
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Thesis

Smith, ANH. (2016). Bayesian modelling of direct and indirect effects of marine reserves on fishes. (Doctoral Thesis, Massey University, New Zealand)
[Doctoral Thesis]Authored by: Smith, A.Edited by: Pawley, M.
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Smith, A. (2007). Evaluation of the New Zealand marine environment classification for shallow coastal rocky reef fish communities. (Master's Thesis)
[Masters Thesis]Authored by: Smith, A.
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Report

Pawley, MDM., & Smith, ANH.(2014). The distribution and abundance of pipis and cockles in the Northland, Auckland and Bay of Plenty regions 2013. : New Zealand Government
[Technical Report]Authored by: Pawley, M., Smith, A.
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Conference

Smith, A., Acuña Marrero, D., Pawley, M., & Anderson, M. (2018, November). Challenges in Monitoring and Managing Large Marine Fishes: Lessons from the Galápagos Archipelago. Presented at Symposium on Science in Support of Archipelagic Management. Ala Moana Hotel, 410 Atkinson Dr, Honolulu, Hawaii HI 96814, USA.
[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Anderson, M., Pawley, M., Smith, A.
Read article at Massey Research Online: MRO icon
Adegoke, N., Pawley, MDM., & Smith, ANH. (2016, November). Control charts scheme for high dimensional monitoring. Presented at Joint Conference of the New Zealand Statistical Association and the Operations Research Society of New Zealand. Auckland, New Zealand.
[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Pawley, M., Smith, A.
Acuña-Marrero, D., Smith, ANH., Anderson, MJ., Salinas-de-Leon, P., & de-la-Cruz-Modino, R. (2016, September). Understanding public attitudes towards sharks at the Galapagos Islands-roadmap for a sustainable coexistence in a Marine World Heritage site. Presented at XIX Iberian Symposium on Marine Biology Studies. Porto, Portugal.
[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Smith, A.
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Smith, ANH., & Anderson, MJ. (2016, June). Indirect effects of marine reserves on densities and habitat associations of small benthic fishes. Presented at International Temperate Reefs Symposium. Pisa, Italy.
[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Smith, A.
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Smith, ANH., & Anderson, MJ. (2015, July). Do the big fish eat or just scare the little ones? Habitat-mediated indirect effects of marine reserves on New Zealand triplefins. Presented at New Zealand Marine Sciences Society & Oceania Chondrichthyan Society 2015 Conference. Auckland, New Zealand.
[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Smith, A.
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Pawley, MDM., Smith, ANH., Jones, MBJ., & Ullah, I. (2014, November). Detecting outliers in big data. Presented at Joint Conference of the NZ Statistical Association and Operations Research Society of NZ. Wellington, New Zealand.
[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Pawley, M., Smith, A.
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Smith, ANH., Anderson, MJ., & Millar, RB. (2014). Linked zero inflation: A useful new approach with an ecological application. Poster session presented at the meeting of International Society for Bayesian Analysis World Meeting. Cancun, Mexico
[Conference Poster]Authored by: Smith, A.
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Smith, ANH., & Anderson, MJ. (2011, August). Linking the zeros to the mean in zero-inflated models of abundance. Presented at New Zealand Statistical Association Conference 2011. University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Smith, A.
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Smith, ANH., & anderson, MJ. (2011, June). The effect of a marine reserve on legally sized snapper in northern New Zealand: An analysis using Bayesian hierarchical mixed models. Presented at 9th International Temperate Reefs Symposium. University of Plymouth, United Kingdom.
[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Smith, A.
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Smith, ANH., Leathwick, J., & Duffy, CAJ. (2008, July). Modelling distributions of 72 species of fish on rocky reefs using Boosted Regression Trees. Presented at New Zealand Marine Sciences Society Conference 2008. University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.
[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Smith, A.
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Smith, ANH. (2007, July). Maui’s dolphin: uncovering a new subspecies. Presented at New Zealand Statistical Association 2007 Conference. University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.
[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Smith, A.
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Smith, ANH., & Anderson, MJ. (2006, September). Evaluating the Marine Environment Classification for coastal reef fish communities. Presented at New Zealand Marine Sciences Society Conference 2006. Rutherford Hotel, Nelson, New Zealand.
[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Smith, A.
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Smith, ANH. (2005, July). Challenges in ecological classification. Presented at New Zealand Statistical Association 2005 Conference. University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Smith, A.
Smith, ANH., & Westbrooke, I. (2003, November). Comparing historical and recent bird counts in Pureora Forest. Presented at New Zealand Ecological Society Conference 2003. University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Smith, A.
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Smith, ANH. (2003, July). Discovering Maui's dolphin. Presented at New Zealand Statistical Association 2003 Conference. Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Smith, A.

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Other

Smith, ANH., & anderson, MJ. (2012, August). Let it be and glorious things will happen. In Hauraki Gulf Marine Park Seminar.
[Oral Presentation]Authored by: Smith, A.

Teaching and Supervision

Teaching Statement

  • 161.250 Data Analysis for Biological Science
  • 161.331 Biostatistics
  • 161.778 Biostatistics for Researchers
  • 161.324 Data Mining
  • 161.777 Practical Data Mining

Courses Coordinated

Contact Supervisor

Summary of Doctoral Supervision

Position Current Completed
Main Supervisor 2 1
Co-supervisor 5 2

Current Doctoral Supervision

Main Supervisor of:

  • Alex Burton - Doctor of Philosophy
    The Life History, Movement, & Metal Accumulation Potential of School Sharks (Galeorhinus galeus)
  • Odette Howarth - Doctor of Philosophy
    "Applications of baited remote underwater videos (BRUVs) for monitoring fish assemblages in the Hauraki Gulf”

Co-supervisor of:

  • Andre Samayoa - Doctor of Philosophy
    Spatial patterns of population genetic and phylogenetic diversity in New Zealand's marine environment
  • Michael Gordon - Doctor of Philosophy
    Estimating credibility of science claims – Analysis of forecasting data from metascience projects
  • Tyler Kolisnik - Doctor of Philosophy
    Machine Learning Approaches to Uncovering Novel Genomic Features Important to Cancer Prognostics
  • Enzo Rodriguez-Reyes - Doctor of Philosophy
    Spatial and behavioral ecology of two isolated populations of the Floreana Mockingbird: laying the basis for reintroduction
  • Helen Smith - Doctor of Philosophy
    Source attribution models for whole genome sequencing data

Completed Doctoral Supervision

Main Supervisor of:

  • 2021 - Amir Bashir - Doctor of Philosophy
    Sparse Summaries of Complex Covariance Structures

Co-supervisor of:

  • 2019 - Nurudeen Adedayo Adegoke - Doctor of Philosophy
    Contributions to improve the power, efficiency and scope of control-chart methods
  • 2018 - David Acuna Marrero - Doctor of Philosophy
    Spatial ecology and human perceptions toward sharks in the Galapagos marine reserve

Media and Links

Media

  • 13 Nov 2015 - Newspaper
    Opinion article in New Zealand Herald
    Adam Smith: Cause or coincidence? TV3's mistreatment of a serious issue
  • 08 Aug 2016 - Newspaper
    Shark washed up on beach a lover not a fighter
    Quoted in NZ Herald article about a blue shark which I collected from a local beach and donated to Auckland Museum
  • 08 Aug 2016 - Newspaper
    Blue shark washes up on Stanmore Bay beach
    Quoted in NZ Herald article about a blue shark which I collected from a local beach and donated to Auckland Museum
  • 01 Apr 2014 - Newspaper
    Newspaper article in the New Zealand Herald
    The article "Saving our sea life: Snapper snapshot reveals riches", by Jamie Morton, featured my research on snapper numbers in marine reserves.

Other Links