Director

Richard is a marine ecologist. He has spent the last 15 years working in estuarine and coastal environments, studying ecological and functional dynamics. He has a research interest in blue carbon ecosystems, as well as working with iwi and hapu to support the sustainable management of Aotearoa’s environment.

Coastal Modeller (Tidal Research/University of Auckland)

Zhanchao is a postdoctoral researcher with expertise in remote sensing, hydrodynamic modeling, and machine learning. His research is dedicated to monitoring estuarine health and sediment transport through satellite data and numerical models. Zhanchao is particularly interested in applying machine learning techniques to simulate the potential impacts of sea level rise and climate change on the coastal environments of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Post doctoral fellow (Tidal Research/The Nature Conservancy)

Timothy is a research scholar in marine science with a focus on anthropogenic effects on coastal ecosystems. He uses ecological theory, together with biogeochemical, molecular, and advanced statistical tools, to understand the multifaceted interactions of ecosystem components at the dynamic land-to-sea interface. He has a strong focus on field-based approaches including manipulative field experiments and extended gradient sampling designs, to test relationships across location specific phenomena.  Notable advances of his young career include: 1) identification of key stressors of human land-use intensification across regional gradients and their effects on carbon cycling in mangrove forests, 2) the description of biogeographic dynamics of microbial communities in mangrove forests, and 3) contributions to our understanding of coral settlement after anthropogenic disturbances.