Dr Matt Baber Research Director, Lecturer
Matt is a conservation biologist who currently works as a Natural Heritage
Scientist for the Auckland Regional Council. He has a BS in Zoology from Otago
University, Dunedin; an MS (Hons) in Biological Sciences from Auckland
University, and a Ph.D. in Ecology from the International University of
Florida, Miami (2001). Matt has research experience with both terrestrial and
aquatic systems, and has worked with invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles, and
birds. For his masters, he studied the behavioural ecology of the takahe
(Notornis mantelli), a critically endangered flightless bird, on Tiritiri
Matangi Island. In 1996, Matt moved to Florida to pursue his Ph.D. He engaged
in research on pond-breeding amphibians in the greater Everglades region.
During his Ph.D., Matt was fortunate to be part of a 3-month biological
expedition to inventory the reptiles and amphibians of British Guyana, South
America. After completing his Ph.D., Matt took up a postdoctoral position at
the University of New Hampshire. His primary focus at UNH was to manage a large
research project examining conservation strategies for amphibians in industrial
forest landscapes. When Matt returned to New Zealand, he taught ecology and
conservation biology at EcoQuest, and was responsible for coordinating EcoQuest
research activities and Directed Research Projects for students.