Dr. Libby Liggins

Libby is a Senior Lecturer at Massey University and a Research Associate of the Auckland Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira. Libby was the 2008 BLAKE Antarctic Ambassador and has continued to participate in BLAKE activities including Expeditions to Rangitāhua in 2012 and 2018. She undertook her BSc and MSc at Victoria University of Wellington, and completed her PhD at the University of Queensland, focused on the biogeography and evolution of Indo-Pacific reef fishes and marine invertebrates. Since this time her research has focused on understanding the processes that generate, maintain and erode marine biodiversity. Currently, Libby holds a Rutherford Discovery Fellowship supporting her to research climate change impacts on Aotearoa’s biodiversity using diverse methods including genomics and citizen science, and she is part of a Ngāti kuri-led research programme “Te mana o Rangitāhua”.

Libby leads the “Ira Moana – Genes of the Sea – Project” and co-leads the citizen science initiative “WhatsThatFishNZ?” with Irene Middleton.