Conference Prizes are awarded for outstanding student presentations during the NZMSS annual conference
Grady Petersen (right) with NZMSS President Pete Wilson (left)
2024 – Tasmania
Best Overall Student Talks
FIRST PLACE
Grady Petersen – Victoria University of Wellington
“Global systematic review of intertidal/subtidal habitat-function relationships to parameterise partitioned Bayes network models for estuarine management”
RUNNER-UP
Melissa Nehmens – Massey University
“The Reference Genome of Centrostephanus rodgersii: Potential for Informing Management Strategies“
Best Speed Talks
FIRST PLACE
Chelsea Beese – Victoria University of Wellington
“Introducing MizerReef: a new tool to support management from degradation to decision-making”
RUNNER-UP
Alexandra Northmore – Victoria University of Wellington
“Assessment of the effect of reduced irradiance on the carbon sequestration potential of Wellington Harbour macroalgae”
Best Posters
FIRST PLACE
Abbey Browne – University of Auckland
“Coping with a warming world: Thermal preference and performance in the amphipod Melita inaequistylis”
RUNNER-UP
Ian Dixon-Anderson – University of Otago
“Effects of food and warming on New Zealand sand dollar larvae”
Best Student Presentations - Special Topics
Coastal Marine Science and Resource Management
Sponsored by: Coastal Special Interest Group (CSIG)
Saskia Foreman – University of Otago
“A tale of two stressors: Nitrogen, microplastics, and their influence on estuarine carbon dynamics”
Dr Roger Grace Scientific Diving Award
Sponsored by: University of Auckland
Jeff Goode – University of Otago
“Paralarval prey preferences of the common Sydney octopus, Octopus tetricus, to inform aquaculture rearing“
Aquaculture
Sponsored by: Fisheries NZ
Martin Cheng – University of Auckland
Battle of the Labs!
The University of Otago
This prize is awarded to the university that achieved the highest average score across all of their student presentations/posters