
Contact details +6492136195
Dr Adam Smith PhD, MSc, PGDipSc, BSc
Senior Lecturer
Doctoral Supervisor School of Natural and Computational SciencesI 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.
Professional
Contact details
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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 | 4 |
Research Outputs
Journal
[Journal article]Authored by: Anderson, M., Pawley, M., Smith, A.
[Journal article]Authored by: Anderson, M., Pawley, M., Smith, A.
[Journal article]Authored by: Smith, A.
[Journal article]Authored by: Smith, A.
[Journal article]Authored by: Smith, A.
[Journal article]Authored by: Betty, E., Smith, A., Stockin, K.
[Journal article]Authored by: Anderson, M., Pawley, M., Smith, A.
[Journal article]Authored by: Anderson, M., Pawley, M., Smith, A.
[Journal article]Authored by: Anderson, M., Pawley, M., Smith, A.
[Journal article]Authored by: Anderson, M., Pawley, M., Smith, A.
[Journal article]Authored by: Anderson, M., Pawley, M., Smith, A.
[Journal article]Authored by: Pawley, M., Smith, A.
[Journal article]Authored by: Pawley, M., Smith, A.
[Journal article]Authored by: Smith, A.
[Journal article]Authored by: Anderson, M., Pawley, M., Smith, A.
[Journal article]Authored by: Anderson, M., Pawley, M., Smith, A.
[Journal article]Authored by: Anderson, M., Smith, A.
[Journal article]Authored by: Aguirre-Davies, J., Smith, A.
[Journal article]Authored by: Smith, A., Stockin, K.
[Journal article]Authored by: Aguirre-Davies, J., Liggins, L., Smith, A., Thomas, D.
[Journal article]Authored by: Anderson, M., Smith, A.
[Journal article]Authored by: Smith, A.

[Journal article]Authored by: Anderson, M., Smith, A.
[Journal article]Authored by: Smith, A.

[Journal article]Authored by: Smith, A.
[Journal article]Authored by: Smith, A.
[Journal article]Authored by: Smith, A.

[Journal article]Authored by: Smith, A.
[Journal article]Authored by: Smith, A.

[Journal article]Authored by: Smith, A.

[Journal article]Authored by: Smith, A.

Thesis
[Doctoral Thesis]Authored by: Smith, A.Edited by: Pawley, M.

[Masters Thesis]Authored by: Smith, A.

Report
[Technical Report]Authored by: Pawley, M., Smith, A.

Conference
[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Anderson, M., Pawley, M., Smith, A.
[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Pawley, M., Smith, A.
[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Smith, A.
[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Smith, A.

[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Smith, A.

[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Pawley, M., Smith, A.

[Conference Poster]Authored by: Smith, A.

[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Smith, A.

[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Smith, A.

[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Smith, A.

[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Smith, A.

[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Smith, A.

[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Smith, A.
[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Smith, A.

[Conference Oral Presentation]Authored by: Smith, A.
Other
[Oral Presentation]Authored by: Smith, A.
Teaching and Supervision
Teaching Statement
Courses Coordinated
Summary of Doctoral Supervision
Position | Current | Completed |
---|---|---|
Main Supervisor | 2 | 1 |
Co-supervisor | 5 | 2 |
Current Doctoral Supervision
Main Supervisor of:
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Alex Burton
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Doctor of Philosophy
The Population Ecology of School Sharks in the Southern Kaipara Harbour -
Odette Howarth
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Doctor of Philosophy
"Applications of baited remote underwater videos (BRUVs) for monitoring fish assemblages in the Hauraki Gulf”
Co-supervisor of:
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Andre Samayoa
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Doctor of Philosophy
Spatial patterns of population genetic and phylogenetic diversity in New Zealand's marine environment -
Michael Gordon
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Doctor of Philosophy
Statistical analysis of crowd sourcing science projects -
Tyler Kolisnik
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Doctor of Philosophy
Machine Learning Approaches to Uncovering Novel Genomic Features Important to Cancer Prognostics -
Enzo Rodriguez-Reyes
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Doctor of Philosophy
Spatial and behavioral ecology of two isolated populations of the Floreana Mockingbird: laying the basis for reintroduction -
Helen Smith
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Doctor of Philosophy
Source attribution models for whole genome sequencing data
Completed Doctoral Supervision
Main Supervisor of:
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2021
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Amir Bashir
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Doctor of Philosophy
Sparse Summaries of Complex Covariance Structures
Co-supervisor of:
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2019
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Nurudeen Adedayo Adegoke
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Doctor of Philosophy
Contributions to improve the power, efficiency and scope of control-chart methods -
2018
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David Acuna Marrero
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Doctor of Philosophy
Spatial ecology and human perceptions toward sharks in the Galapagos marine reserve
Media and Links
Media
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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
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 -
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 -
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.