Professor Chris Battershill

Qualifications: BSc MSc(Hons) PhD Auckland, Dip AICD Australian Institute of Company Directors

Professor Chris Battershill holds the inaugural Bay of Plenty Regional Council Chair in Coastal Science, based in Tauranga. Amongst other national and international collaborations the new Chair oversees the New Zealand operation of the INTERCOAST programme, established by Waikato University and Bremen University in Germany to create a major centre of marine research excellence in the Bay of Plenty. Professor Battershill also heads the Coastal Marine Group in the Faculty of Science and Engineering. Formerly Principal Scientist and Research Team Leader (Supporting Sustainable Use of Marine Biodiversity) at the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), his research focuses on marine ecology and environmental science, and he was responsible for the establishment of the first dedicated marine biodiscovery teams in Australia and New Zealand, focusing on the medicinal and agricultural sectors.

Research Interests

• Aquaculture
• Biotechnology
• Coastal Processes and Management
• Ecology
• Environmental Technology
• Invasive Species
• Kaupapa Māori Research
• Marine Systems

Recent Publications

• Coppock, A. G., Kingsford, M. J., Battershill, C. N., & Jones, G. P. (2022). Significance of fish–sponge interactions in coral reef ecosystems. Coral Reefs. doi:10.1007/s00338-022-02253-8

• González-Murcia, S., Coppock, A. G., Ekins, M., Battershill, C. N., & Jones, G. P. (2022). Effects of exposure, depth and aspect on sponge communities on a coral reef. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 685, 111-126. doi:10.3354/meps13981

• Mc Cormack, S. P., Kelly, M., & Battershill, C. N. (2020). Description of two news pecies of Dysidea (Porifera, Demospongiae, Dictyoceratida, Dysideidae) from Tauranga Harbour, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. Zootaxa, 4780(3), 523-542. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4780.3.5

• Bartholomä, A., Capperucci, R. M., Becker, L., Coers, S. I. I., & Battershill, C. N. (2020). Hydrodynamics and hydroacoustic mapping of a benthic seafloor in a coarse grain habitat of the German Bight. Geo-Marine Letters, 40(2), 183-195. doi:10.1007/s00367-019-00599-7

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