Marine Studies

I have been with the team at Marine Studies since 1995 and retain a strong passion for getting out of the office and into the environment.  I have an MSc in Marine Ecology from Auckland University, am a PADI scuba instructor and a qualified skipper.

I run the Marine Science and Ecology module in the first year, Marine Ecology and Monitoring in the second year and Marine Ecology 6 in the third year as well as team teaching over a wide range of topics over the entire program.  My areas of research involve Marine Reserve Monitoring particularly at the Tuhua Marine reserve, Stock Assessment surveys in Vanuatu, Sponge Culture in the Northern Territory of Australia and biosecurity monitoring of alien invaders. I have a strong background in tropical reef biology and ecology.  
Outside of work you will find me surfing, sailing, mountain biking, scuba diving and travelling with all these.

Keith in the Galapagos with large marine iguana (Keith is the one with the board)

Meet yet another aquaculture convert. I completed my M.Sc. at Otago University in 2002 researching feeding interactions of Haliotis iris and Evechinus chloroticus with the invasive seaweed Undaria pinnatifida.

I then traveled to Norway to complete my PhD at the Institute of Marine Research. My PhD focused on the reproductive biology of the Ballan Wrasse Labrus bergylta. This involved practical and analytical histology of the teleost reproductive system and quantitative analysis of steroid hormones, as well as fish husbandry, experimental design and construction

Having come back to New Zealand I am encouraged by the government signaling its support to help further developments in the aquaculture industry. With my particular interest area being finfish aquaculture I am excited by how our new facility will help us assist developments in this field.

I enjoy a diverse range of activities and interests, including outdoor life, meeting new people and traveling.

Qualifications: PhD University of Auckland 2004, MSc University of Queensland Australia 1999, BSc University of Auckland 1995

Over the past three years I have led the development of the Ahumoana a Toi Aquaculture Centre and now run two research programmes, one on the hatchery production of echinoderms, namely sea cucumber and sea urchin, and the other examining the effect of ocean acidification and sea surface temperature increase on sea urchin larval life cycle characteristics. The sea urchin Evechinus chloroticus (Kina) is being used as a model animal to understanding the wider implications of climate events and the interaction of these with coastal development for sustainability in the Bay of Plenty region.

Research theme - Sustainable Seafood and Aquaculture Production

At Ahumoana a Toi Aquaculture Centre we have developed a production line for the sea cucumber Austrastichopus mollis, taking broodstock through spawning, then larval rearing in our systems, through to settlement and the early juvenile period. We also use this system to breed and rear sea urchin. Both have commercial applications and much of the work to date has been focused around the development of a reliable intensive pilot commercial scale system. Linking into this is the use of embryos and larvae of both sea cucumbers and sea urchins to investigate the wider implications of global and regional climate events and coastal development on larval life cycle characteristics. Currently, the focus is on laboratory assays using sea urchin embryos and larvae to ascertain the impact of ocean acidification and sea surface temperature increases on early life history.

I also lead student-based field projects on marine invertebrates with commercial, cultural, recreational and intrinsic ecosystem value to the Bay of Plenty region, including:

• quantifying paddle crab population dynamics, including seasonal movement, reproduction, distribution and abundance,
• monitoring tuatua beds, especially recruitment into the population and fluctuations in abundance and distribution
• establishing population structure and recruitment of sea cucumber and sea urchins locally and comparing this to offshore Islands.

I currently teach:

• 2nd year aquaculture growth feeds and nutrition
• 2nd year introduction to sampling and statistics
• 3rd year marine ecology paper in the areas of population dynamics and larval ecology.

Selected publications

Morgan, A.D. 2011. Perspectives on effects-based management of New Zealand exclusive economic zone resources. Ocean and Coastal Management. 54:652-657.

Morgan, A.D. 2011. Patterns of distribution and abundance of the temperate sea cucumber Australostichopus mollis on a rocky subtidal reef. New Zealand Journal of Zoology. 38(3):195-206.

Morgan, A.D. 2009. The assessment of egg and larval quality during hatchery production of the temperate sea cucumber Australostichopus mollis (Levin). Journal of the World Aquaculture Society. 40(5):629-642.

Morgan, A.D. 2009. Spawning in the temperate sea cucumber, Australostichopus mollis (Levin). Journal of the World Aquaculture Society. 40(3):363-373.

Morgan, A.D. 2008. Metamorphosis in the temperate sea cucumber Australostichopus mollis (Hutton). Invertebrate Reproduction and Development. 51(3):127-143.

Morgan, A.D. 2008. The effect of food availability on phenotypic plasticity in larvae of the temperate sea cucumber Australostichopus mollis. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 363:89-95.

"I have just joined the team in 2011 after completing a PhD in Freshwater Ecology at Massey University. My thesis was entitled “The effects of productivity and disturbance on stream invertebrate diversity”. Much of this was focused around the Tongariro National Park in the central North Island with a portion of time studying streams in Hawke’s Bay. I was also fortunate enough to use links in Cantabria, Spain to research Cantabrian streams and compare productivity-diversity relationships with those found in New Zealand. Prior to that, I completed an honours thesis on the Tongariro River looking at the effects of the hydro-electric development on stream invertebrate drift.

My research interests focus around the ‘big picture’ theoretical questions in Ecology including large scale diversity patterns and how productivity and disturbance interact to affect these patterns. I’m also interested in all other things freshwater ecology and management. I have also spent a fair bit of time doing various consultancy jobs including fish and invertebrate surveys for Regional and District Councils.

I teach Waste Water Management for first year Environmental Management students, Freshwater Ecology and Monitoring and Coastal Management for both Environmental Management and Marine Studies second year students, and Applied Freshwater Ecology in the third year through Waikato University.

Apart from science my interests involve surfing, downhill mountain biking, kayak and fly fishing, snowboarding and tramping when time allows."

I have finished my three years of studying at the Polytech not too long ago, finishing my two year diploma and my degree though AUT and can’t stay away! 

In 2009 I was employed for one year as the tutors' assistant while Paul (Geezer) Warren was out furthering his education. Like Geezer I have a variety of roles including dive training, scientific diving, aquaculture and assisting on field trips. I coordinate all the dive gear and ensure that it is in great condition.

If you have any diving questions please feel free to contact me. Due to staff pregnancies and extended field trips I have been lucky to stay on in 2010 where I can learn even more off the experienced staff members.

I enjoy surveying algae, especially invasive species that may have a threat on our bio-security and have spent a month in Fiji surveying tropic algae. The best though is the buzz after an incredible dive in one of the many great dive sites around Tauranga.