Career Profile - Carolyn
Lundquist
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AWIS member
Carolyn Lundquist has what many people would say is a dream job – as a
marine ecologist. Based at NIWA in Hamilton, she enjoys the odd
mix of fieldwork, boating, SCUBA diving and environmental research that
comes with the job.
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Carolyn grew up in the United States and developed a passion for
SCUBA diving when she was a student at UCLA. She continued diving while
a PhD student at UC Davis and the Bodega Marine Laboratory in
California.
While studying the population dynamics of sea urchins and large crabs
amongst the kelp forests of the North Californian coast, she found out
why working on a rough day was called ‘washing machine’ diving!
Now living in New Zealand, Carolyn’s work focuses on the impacts of
sedimentation on marine life in estuaries at NIWA (National Institute
of
Water & Atmospheric Research Ltd).
As the land use in an estuarine catchment area changes, it can result
in sediment entering the system that smother biological communities in
the estuary. The purpose of Carolyn’s research is to identify estuarine
areas and marine organisms that are highly susceptible to sedimentation
damage and determine how quickly they recover. This important
information
gives local authority guidance on where to allow development in
catchment
areas.
Carolyn describes her experiments as ‘fun with mud’. She has added
sediment to areas and documented what happens to the estuarine animals
living in the area. The animals she examines include bivalves
(‘cockles’ and ‘wedge shells’), polychaete worms and amphipods (‘sand
hoppers’). Burial of these invertebrates by sediment was usually
disastrous for any deeply dwelling shellfish or sessile (non-mobile)
organisms. Carolyn also wanted to know about the invertebrate animals
that come into the estuary environment. To
analyse this, small ‘sediment traps’ were set up to catch drifting and
dispersing
organisms. These trapped biota were compared to those at places within
the estuary and allowed Carolyn to determine if the travelling
organisms have
come from local areas or are long-distance dispersers.
As a marine ecologist Carolyn spends a lot of time in boats,
walking in tide pools, scuba diving and snorkelling. Although some
marine biologists work with marine mammals, the majority work on
invertebrates, plankton or fish (which Carolyn suggests are infinitely
more exciting anyway). Working in this field is not without its
hazards. On several occasions Carolyn has found herself laden down with
sampling equipment and firmly stuck waist deep in mud! Then there are
the critters. The practise of washing off the mud in a nearby creek at
one site came to a sudden end when a particularly large eel was found
to be sharing her bath! However, in all the scuba dives Carolyn has
done, (more than 500) she has never seen a shark underwater.
Recently, Carolyn became the first NZ scientist appointed to the marine
governing board of the international Society for Conservation Biology.
She contributes to the organisation’s goal of promoting marine
conservation, science and restoration of biological diversity.
At university Carolyn studied Biology,
Oceanography, Physics (useful for oceanography), Chemistry, and Maths
(useful for ecological modelling). Carolyn also has a SCUBA
certification, DaySkipper certificate (boat handling), ATV driving
licence, and uses basic computer skills on a regular basis.
Carolyn can be contacted at the following address:
National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research
PO Box 11-115,
Hamilton
Email: c.lundquist@niwa.co.nz
Local children are keen to assist with field work in
Raglan Harbour. Photo: John Radford
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Carolyn checks a trip in Whitford Estuary. Photo: Pip
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