Libby grew up with the coastal waters of Northland, New Zealand as her playground. In recent times she has lived in Australia and the USA working on tropical reefs of the Indo-Pacific Ocean. She is now a Lecturer in Marine Ecology at Massey University, Auckland where she is excited to be conducting research in familiar territory!

Libby’s research focuses on understanding the colonization and dispersal patterns of marine animals. During the voyage, Libby will be collecting DNA samples from fish and marine invertebrates. The DNA will be used to reveal how animals found at the Kermadecs are related to animals found in New Zealand and other regions of the Pacific Ocean. Collecting these data help us understand where the biodiversity of the Kermadecs orginates from, how often animals disperse to/from the Kermadecs, and how populations of fish and marine invertebrates of the Kermadecs might respond to climate changes in future.