PhD research

Doctoral graduates from 2018 whose research focused on sustainability and resilience.

• Antoine Felden investigated whether transporting exotic species outside of their native range may affect behavioural traits and promote their invasiveness.
• Balam Jimenez described the genetic structure and demographic history of the grey mullet in New Zealand and showed the importance of directing conservation efforts to juveniles and estuarine habitats.
• Becky Focht utilised fine scale measurements to evaluate the effects of wave action on reef fish abundance, phenotype, performance, and behaviour.
• Charlie Clark explored how plant species may adapt to a change in environment when introduced to a new geographic range.
• Chommanaad Boonaree investigated factors affecting leisure reading practice, and determined how these factors affect reading in community libraries in the most socio-economically deprived area of Thailand.
• Dee Ninis examined tectonic deformation of ancient river and beach terraces, to better understand subduction plate boundary processes, including megathrust earthquakes and the hazard they pose, in the southern part of the North Island.
• Diana De Alwis investigated the economic impacts of disasters in Sri Lanka by focusing on frequent floods, droughts, and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, and identified policies that can contribute to successful recovery.
• Evan Brenton-Rule used the examples of invasive ants, bees, and wasps to examine the interface between the ecology of invasive species and regulations intended to control them that have led to reduced uncertainty and new management approaches.
• Francis Hualupmomi showed that energy security is created through interactions between political actors and the institutions and processes of energy governance, as demonstrated in Papua New Guinea’s governance of liquid fuels.
• Iona Nyree Fea examined the impact of introduced mammals on New Zealand birds, to better understand the processes that affect the birds’ long-term survival.
• Irina Ilyushinka investigated mechanisms underlying population differentiation and adaptation of the red rock lobster in order to inform conservation and sustainable harvesting of the species.
• Junior Ulu examined the stories of 18 Samoans who migrated for education and analysed their experiences and the contribution they have made to the development of Samoa.
• Konrad Weaver analysed the seismological and hydrogeological controls on earthquake-induced groundwater changes, providing a framework with potential to inform investment decisions that make water supply infrastructure more resilient to seismic hazards.
• Maren Preuss added to our understanding of New Zealand's seaweed biodiversity, describing several species and researching various aspects of their biology and evolution.
• Nabil Allaf analysed the integration of seismic retrofit and existing architecture in unreinforced masonry buildings in New Zealand, approaching seismic structures through their capacity to enrich architectural qualities.
• Olivia Vergara examined the effects of mammal control and exclusion on ground-dwelling invertebrates in New Zealand forests, to better understand the impact over time of introduced mammals on invertebrate populations.
• Rashidah Bolhassan examined the complex knowledge-sharing processes of the indigenous people of Sarawak, Malaysia, and adapted a knowledge-management approach to enable heritage institutions to better safeguard indigenous knowledge.
• Ruth Weatherall explored the connections between identity and change in the community sector, examining how different identities are part of catalysing change in an organisation supporting survivors of domestic violence.
• Susette Goldsmith examined the complicated twenty-first-century networks of people, policies, politics, and history that define tree heritage in Aotearoa New Zealand and introduced a new approach to its acknowledgement and protection.
• Yasmin Gabay examined the cellular and physiological events that occur when corals acquire different types of symbiotic algae, and how these events might limit the capacity for corals to adapt to climate change.

For a more extensive summary or a PDF copy of any thesis in the Victoria University of Wellington library, visit the online catalogue and enter the person’s name and the keyword 'thesis'.