KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Di Tracey | Friday 3 July
2025 NZMSS award - Matai Mōana - winner
Di Tracey is a deep-sea Emerita scientist at Earth Sciences NZ with a long career in fisheries and coral research. She has focussed on the biology of deepwater fishes such as orange roughy, spending a lot of time at sea on trawl surveys to collect data and biomass estimates for use in fisheries stock assessments. Di has been instrumental in coordinating and advocating for deep-sea coral research in Aotearoa New Zealand, leading and contributing to research publications on their taxonomy, identification and distribution, age and growth, life-history traits, and threats. Her efforts have greatly increased awareness and understanding of deep-sea coral biodiversity; as such, Di is a recognised international expert on deep-sea corals.
Di has a strong history of advocacy for and mentoring of women working in science during her 40+ year career. She has been a willing and strong mentor for women researchers, has hosted numerous national and international students in the lab and at sea, and supervised several PhD and Masters students. She was awarded a New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal in 1993, was the recipient of the Miriam Dell Award for Excellence in Science Mentoring, and is the 2025 NZ Marine Sciences Society Award winner.
Decades in the deepsea - career reflections
It is a real privilege to give a keynote to this community, as was receiving the Mātai Moana award in 2025. My keynote address is a great opportunity to reflect on my forty years plus career in Marine Science in Aotearoa. There have been many changes in my field over the decades - along with several highlights, some significant milestones, chat’s with Government Ministers, and let’s not forget gender equity. My career began in the 1970’s with research on snapper and tarakihi, studying parasites to help define stocks, I dived for work, and I even worked in this rohe tagging bluff oysters! Once the Exclusive Economic Zone had been declared in 1982, I moved into the deep-sea space. ‘Thinking deep’, I participated on or led several fisheries research surveys to help measure the biomass of key commercial species and collect biological data on fish size, spawning, feeding, and age and growth. I will describe the application of improved radio-isotope methods to validate the ages of my ‘very political’ study species, both of orange roughy and, once we moved into exploring the rich diversity of our deep sea, of various coral groups. The slow growth rates we have measured for corals have provided key data to evaluate risk from commercial fisheries, and the high longevity measured for both orange roughy and corals, has certainly highlighted the need for considering long-term anthropogenic impacts. I will emphasise the importance of regular and routine data collection and on-going monitoring of marine fauna; the continuation of support of taxonomy to identify our deep-sea discoveries and to aid those who educate, conserve and manage our marine realm. Finally, I shall emphasise the need for a paradigm shift to measure success in the workplace and to bridge gaps.
Dr Jenni Stanley | Thursday 2 July
Dr Jenni Stanley is a Senior Lecturer in Marine Science at the University of Waikato and a Rutherford Discovery Fellow. She is a marine ecologist and aquatic acoustician with broad expertise in underwater sound, from the sounds produced by marine animals to the effects of human-made noise on marine ecosystems.
Her research combines soundscape ecology, underwater acoustic analysis, signal processing, sensory ecology, bioacoustics, animal behaviour, and noise pollution. Her current work focuses on the underwater soundscapes of Aotearoa New Zealand’s marine protected areas, exploring how much anthropogenic noise occurs within these spaces, which sound-producing species are present, and how human-made noise may alter the acoustic environment. This work supports the development of non-invasive and cost-effective approaches for monitoring and managing marine protected areas.
Jenni works closely with marine managers, regulatory agencies, and conservation professionals to help translate acoustic science into practical environmental management. She has worked internationally, including in the United States as a Research Scientist with NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center and Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, and later with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Beyond the Visible Ocean: Sound as a Missing Dimension in Marine Ecosystem Science
Marine ecosystems are often studied through what we can see, sample, map, tag, or model. These approaches have transformed our understanding of the ocean, but they still provide only a partial view. Underwater sound offers another way of observing marine systems: one that captures biological activity, physical processes, and human use as they overlap through time and space. Sound travels efficiently underwater and is central to the lives of many marine animals, supporting communication, orientation, predator avoidance, habitat selection, and social interactions. For scientists and managers, underwater sound provides a continuous, non-invasive way to observe patterns that are difficult to capture directly. Passive acoustic monitoring can reveal diel and seasonal rhythms, the presence and activity of sound-producing animals, vessel traffic, and changes in acoustic conditions across habitats and management contexts. In this talk, I will explore what underwater listening can add to the way we understand, monitor, and manage marine ecosystems. I will draw on examples from my Rutherford Discovery Fellowship research, with a particular focus on Fiordland work undertaken in collaboration with the Department of Conservation and Environment Southland. These examples show how soundscapes can complement biodiversity monitoring by revealing biological activity, environmental variability, and human activity in dynamic coastal environments. I will also consider how acoustic approaches may support marine management in places where conservation values, cultural values, tourism, fisheries, vessel activity, and climate pressures intersect. As marine science responds to growing ecological change and increasing demands on ocean space, listening underwater provides a complementary tool for understanding the systems we seek to protect. To look beyond the visible ocean, we also need to listen.
Prof James J Bell | Wednesday 1 July
James Bell is a Professor of Marine Biology at Victoria University of Wellington, where he leads a research team focused on subtidal reef ecology. His work spans shallow coastal habitats to mesophotic ecosystems, with a strong emphasis on understanding how anthropogenic stressors influence benthic communities. He is best known for his research on sponges.
His research integrates field surveys, experimental ecology, genomics, and emerging technologies such as photogrammetry and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) to map and monitor reef biodiversity across Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally.
James is currently supported by a Royal Society Mana Tūārangi Distinguished Researcher Fellowship, multiple Marsden grants, and philanthropic funding. He is actively involved in national and international collaborations with government agencies and regional councils, focusing on classification and mapping frameworks for deep reef habitats. He is a past recipient of the Royal Society of New Zealand Charles Fleming Award.
He has supervised over 50 postgraduate students, with past members of his group now working worldwide as researchers, lecturers, environmental managers, and consultants. He has also led national outreach programmes, developed teaching resources for schools, and featured in documentaries, podcasts, and magazines, as well as giving numerous media interviews.
Below the kelp zone and before the deep sea: exploring the mesophotic communities of Aotearoa New Zealand
Just below the kelp zone, but before reaching the deep sea, lies the mesophotic zone. These unique ecosystems exist at the lower limit of light availability for photosynthesis and typically span depths from 25 to 150 m, although in some light-limited locations, such as Fiordland and parts of Wellington, they occur in much shallower waters. In recent years, the increased availability of small, lower-cost remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) has revolutionised our ability to explore mesophotic ecosystems. Over the past five years, my research group has explored deep rocky reefs within the mesophotic zone across Aotearoa New Zealand and has also worked on shallower mesophotic ecosystems in Fiordland, Wellington, and other parts of the world. Although sponges often dominate temperate mesophotic ecosystems, we have documented a wide range of ecosystem types, including red coral gardens off Fiordland, sponge and anemone forests in Wellington, and ascidian beds off Rakiura/Stewart Island. In this talk, I will discuss my group’s work to explore, characterise, and map mesophotic communities across Aotearoa. I will describe our research to understand the ecological function of mesophotic reefs and the role they play in supporting ecologically, culturally and economically important species. I will outline our efforts, working with the Department of Conservation and regional councils, to develop a habitat/biotope classification scheme for mesophotic reefs and apply new photogrammetry approaches to establish ROV-based monitoring programmes. I will also discuss our group’s experimental work to understand how dominant mesophotic organisms respond to anthropogenic stressors, particularly the response of sponges to marine heatwaves (MHWs). This will include our recent work to understand the role of symbiotic microbes in supporting sponge acclimation to MHWs and the potential for sponges to survive in changing warmer oceans.
