
Project funding:
Hutton Fund

Emily is a Massey University Scholar who joined CERG in February 2019. Her PhD research focusses on the reproductive biology of New Zealand common dolphins (Delphinus delphis). She completed her undergraduate degree in Natural Sciences at Massey University in 2018 and her research interests have always been marine mammals and their environment. During 2018-19, she completed a summer research scholarship working on contaminants. In December 2019, she attended the World Marine Mammal Conference in Barcelona, Spain, where she presented her undergraduate research on sperm whale strandings (Physeter macrocephalus) in New Zealand.
PhD Project:
Life history of New Zealand common dolphins (Delphinus delphis)
Supervisors: Prof Karen Stockin & Dr Emma Betty
This project assesses growth and reproduction of New Zealand common dolphins, of which there is a lack of knowledge for this population. At post-mortem, critical parameters of reproductive biology are assessed from stranded and bycaught individuals. Anthropogenic impacts are well documented for the species and life history knowledge is critical for informing conservation management.

Graduate Women New Zealand