Emma Waterhouse Scholarship Recipients

Sophie's intriguing research involves studying the sensory perceptions of black angel fish in the Mokohinau Islands, situated in the outer Hauraki Gulf/Te Moana Nui o Toi. She's investigating the idea that black angel fish might communicate not only through sound but also through the displacement of water caused by the movement of various objects in their underwater environment. This is a radical, non-human way of perceiving the world that offers a different perspective to help further our understanding of marine life.

Sophie's particular interest in the application of sound and movement data in environmental impact work is something she's keen to explore further once she has completed her MSc thesis.

Irisa provided us with this short update on her studies, and the impact of the scholarship in October 2023.

"The scholarship has been incredibly helpful over the past year - it helped me with travel costs to and from Nelson, where I was working at the Cawthron Institute last summer and then again when I got back to Auckland. Its been so nice to not have to worry about funding so much! and it has allowed me to focus more on my studies - This was the first full year since starting my degree that there were no covid restrictions/impacts, so I got to be on campus all semester which was fantastic! 

I am just about to head down to Ulva Island to do two weeks of volunteering with DOC, which is very exciting; I have also been selected as a Blake NZ freshwater ambassador, so I will be working at NIWA for a bit this summer. Next year, Im going to start my research year, likely looking at seagrass floristics, so hopefully, my experiments will go well (highly contingent on the presence of flowers!). Thanks again for the scholarship; it has been incredibly helpful, and has really helped me make the most out of the past year. "

Pippa was the inaugural recipient of the Emma Waterhouse Scholarship for Women in Natural Sciences.