Staff Profile

I'm a quantitative marine ecologist within the School of Natural and Environmental Sciences and Vice Chair (marine theme) for IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA - https://www.iucn.org/our-union/commissions/group/iucn-wcpa-marine-thematic-group).

I have primarily worked on understanding the ecology of organisms that live on or near the seafloor spanning coastal to deep sea ecosystems, although I have also worked on distribution patterns of top predators such as whales and sharks. Using a combination of experimental and statistical modelling approaches, my research has focussed on developing quantitative science that aims to inform strategic policy approaches to managing the marine environment.



PhD: Newcastle University (2016)

MSc: Newcastle University (2012)

BSc (Hons): Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh (2009)

Reserach Overview

My research has focussed on understanding spatial patterns and drivers of biodiversity at different spatial scales, including understanding how anthropogenic impacts (e.g., effect of multiple stressors such bottom-fishing and climate change) may affect these patterns. Ultimately, I’m most interested in understanding how this information can be used for effective marine spatial planning and risk assessment, including considerations of how ecologically, economically and culturally important ecosystems can be protected at present and moving forward in the face of a changing climate.

My interdiciplinary NUAcT fellowship, Using Spatial Estimates of Ecosystem Services for Equitable Conservation of Multiple Values Under a Changing Climate, will focus on:

• developing novel methods for predicting spatial patterns of biodiversity that can more robustly predict into future climatic conditions by accounting for biological interactions. 
• Using these biodiversity predictions, to quantify current and future spatial patterns in coastal ecoystem services and ecosystem service bundles for use in collaborative decision making processes.

External Funding

• Co-leader (2019 – 2023, with Dr Joanne Ellis from the Univeristy of Waikato): “Communicating risk and uncertainty to aid decision-making”. $1.4 million (NZD) from Phase II of The Sustainable Seas National Science Challenge. https://www.sustainableseaschallenge.co.nz/our-research/communicating-risk-and-uncertainty
• Project manager and science leader (2020 – 2022): “Understanding ecosystem degradation and recovery”. $301,600 (NZD) funding from NIWA Coasts & Oceans Research Programme 5.
• Project manager and science leader (2019 – 2021): “Development of a New Zealand Marine Habitat Classification”. $331,600 funding (NZD) from the New Zealand Department of Conservation
• Project manager and science leader (2018 – 2019): “Improving information on the distribution of seabirds and marine mammals”. $109,900 funding (NZD) from Fisheries New Zealand (New Zealand Minisitry for Primary Industries)
• Project manager and science leader (2018 – 2019): “Mapping key ecological areas in the New Zealand marine environment”. $169,000 funding (NZD) from the New Zealand Department of Conservation.

Teaching

NES8010 - Quantitative Ecological Research Methods (PG module)

Postgraduate Reaserch Supervision

Completed

Dr Savanah Goode, University of Victoria, Wellington. (2023) Thesis title: Resilience of seamount benthic communities to fishing disturbance

Stephanie Watson, University of Waikato. (2024) Thesis title: Marine stressor and receptor interactions: A new approach to incorporate cumulative effects into marine spatial management

In progress

Edoardo Zelli, University of Waikato. PhD: The combined effects of climate change and commercial fisheries on New Zealand deep-sea coral ecosystems: ecological and social implications.

Elizabeth Harrison, University of Waikato. PhD: The effects of cumulative stressors on the ecosystem service potential and restoration of infaunal estuarine bivalves.

Claire Shellem, University of Waikato. PhD: Multiple stressor effects of climate change and coastal runoff on fjord ecosystems

Grady Petersen, University of Victoria, Wellington. PhD: Development of a spatially Bayesian network model to identify shifts in ecosystem function in estuaries

Huw James, Newcastle University. PhD: Assessing the environmental and ecological drivers of interannual variability in the life histories and population dynamics of icefishes around the sub-Antarctic Island of South Georgia

• Articles

  • Stephenson F, Tablada J, Rowden AA, Bulmer R, Bowden DA, Geange SW. Independent statistical validation of the New Zealand Seafloor Community Classification. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 2024, 34(3), e4114.
  • Bennion M, Anderson OF, Rowden AA, Bowden DA, Geange SW, Stephenson F. Evaluation of the full set of habitat suitability models for vulnerable marine ecosystem indicator taxa in the South Pacific high seas. Fisheries Management and Ecology 2024, ePub ahead of Print.
  • Rullens V, Stephenson F, Townsend M, Lohrer AM, Hewitt JE, Pilditch CA, Ellis JI. Accounting for uncertainty in marine ecosystem service predictions for spatial prioritisation. Diversity and Distributions 2024, epub ahead of print.
  • Kim H, Peterson GD, Cheung WWL, Ferrier S, Alkemade R, Arneth A, Kuiper JJ, Okayasu S, Pereira L, Acosta LA, Chaplin-Kramer R, den Belder E, Eddy TD, Johnson JA, Karlsson-Vinkhuyzen S, Kok MTJ, Leadley P, Leclere D, Lundquist CJ, Rondinini C, Scholes RJ, Schoolenberg MA, Shin Y-J, Stehfest E, Stephenson F, Visconti P, van Vuuren D, Wabnitz CCC, Jose Alava J, Cuadros-Casanova I, Davies KK, Gasalla MA, Halouani G, Harfoot M, Hashimoto S, Hickler T, Hirsch T, Kolomytsev G, Miller BW, Ohashi H, Gabriela Palomo M, Popp A, Paco Remme R, Saito O, Rashid Sumalia U, Willcock S, Pereira HM. Towards a better future for biodiversity and people: Modelling Nature Futures. Global Environmental Change 2023, 82, 102681.
  • Gordo-Vilaseca C, Stephenson F, Coll M, Lavin C, Costello MJ. Three decades of increasing fish biodiversity across the northeast Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2023, 120(4), e2120869120.
  • Armoudian M, Stevens G, Stephenson F, Ellis J. New Zealand's media and the crisis in the ocean: News norms and scientific urgency. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 2023, 33(6), 606-619.
  • Stephenson F, Rowden AA, Anderson OF, Ellis JI, Geange SW, Brough T, Behrens E, Hewitt JE, Clark MR, Tracey DM, Goode SL, Petersen GL, Lundquist CJ. Implications for the conservation of deep-water corals in the face of multiple stressors: A case study from the New Zealand region. Journal of Environmental Management 2023, 346, 118938.
  • Stephenson F, Hamilton ONP, Torres LG, Kozmian-Ledward L, Pinkerton MH, Constantine R. Fine-scale spatial and temporal distribution patterns of large marine predators in a biodiversity hotspot. Diversity and Distributions 2023, 29(7), 804-820.
  • Lohrer T, Hewitt JE, Lohrer AM, Parsons DM, Ellis JI, Stephenson F. Evidence of rebound effect in New Zealand MPAs: Unintended consequences of spatial management measures. Ocean and Coastal Management 2023, 239, 106595.
  • Douglas EJ, Hewitt J, Lohrer AM, Stephenson F. Changing intra- and interspecific interactions across sedimentary and environmental stress gradients. Ecosphere 2023, 14(1), e4373.
  • Stephenson F, Brough T, Lohrer D, Leduc D, Geange S, Anderson O, Bowden D, Clark MR, Davey N, Pardo E, Gordon DP, Finucci B, Kelly M, Macpherson D, McCartain L, Mills S, Neill K, Nelson W, Peart R, Pinkerton MH, Read GB, Robertson J, Rowden A, Schnabel K, Stewart A, Struthers C, Tait L, Tracey D, Weston S, Lundquist C. An atlas of seabed biodiversity for Aotearoa New Zealand. Earth System Science Data 2023, 15(9), 3931-3939.
  • Stephenson F, Rowden AA, Tablada J, Tunley K, Brough T, Lundquist CJ, Bowden DA, Geange S. A seafloor bioregionalisation for New Zealand. Ocean and Coastal Management 2023, 242, 106688.
  • Rullens V, Townsend M, Lohrer AM, Stephenson F, Pilditch CA. Who is contributing where? Predicting ecosystem service multifunctionality for shellfish species through ecological principles. Science of the Total Environment 2022, 808, 152147.
  • Lavin CP, Gordo-Vilaseca C, Stephenson F, Shi Z, Costello MJ. Warmer temperature decreases the maximum length of six species of marine fishes, crustacean, and squid in New Zealand. Environmental Biology of Fishes 2022, 105(10), 1431-1446.
  • Lavin CP, Gordo-Vilaseca C, Costello MJ, Shi Z, Stephenson F, Gruss A. Warm and cold temperatures limit the maximum body length of teleost fishes across a latitudinal gradient in Norwegian waters. Environmental Biology of Fishes 2022, 105(10), 1415-1429.
  • Rullens V, Mangan S, Stephenson F, Clark DE, Bulmer RH, Berthelsen A, Crawshaw J, Gladstone-Gallagher RV, Thomas S, Ellis JI, Pilditch CA. Understanding the consequences of sea level rise: the ecological implications of losing intertidal habitat. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 2022, 56(3), 353-370.
  • Rullens V, Stephenson F, Hewitt JE, Clark DE, Pilditch CA, Thrush SF, Ellis JI. The impact of cumulative stressor effects on uncertainty and ecological risk. Science of the Total Environment 2022, 842, 156877.
  • Mouton TL, Stephenson F, Torres LG, Rayment W, Brough T, McLean M, Tonkin JD, Albouy C, Leprieur F. Spatial mismatch in diversity facets reveals contrasting protection for New Zealand's cetacean biodiversity. Biological Conservation 2022, 267, 109484.
  • Clark DE, Gladstone-Gallagher RV, Hewitt JE, Stephenson F, Ellis JI. Risk assessment for marine ecosystem-based management (EBM). Conservation Science and Practice 2022, 4(3), e12636.
  • Anderson OF, Stephenson F, Behrens E, Rowden AA. Predicting the effects of climate change on deep-water coral distribution around New Zealand—Will there be suitable refuges for protection at the end of the 21st century?. Global Change Biology 2022, 28(22), 6556-6576.
  • Bulmer RH, Stephenson F, Lohrer AM, Lundquist CJ, Madarasz-Smith A, Pilditch CA, Thrush SF, Hewitt JE. Informing the management of multiple stressors on estuarine ecosystems using an expert-based Bayesian Network model. Journal of Environmental Management 2022, 301, 113576.
  • Stephenson F, Gladstone-Gallagher RV, Bulmer RH, Thrush SF, Hewitt JE. Inclusion of biotic variables improves predictions of environmental niche models. Diversity and Distributions 2022, 28(7), 1373-1390.
  • Watson SL, Stephenson F, Pilditch CA, Lundquist CJ. Improving predictions of coastal benthic invertebrate occurrence and density using a multi-scalar approach. Ocean and Coastal Management 2022, 230, 106355.
  • Stephenson F, Rowden AA, Brough T, Petersen G, Bulmer RH, Leathwick JR, Lohrer AM, Ellis JI, Bowden DA, Geange SW, Funnell GA, Freeman DJ, Tunley K, Tellier P, Clark DE, Lundquist CJ, Greenfield BL, Tuck ID, Mouton TL, Neill KF, Mackay KA, Pinkerton MH, Anderson OF, Gorman RM, Mills S, Watson S, Nelson WA, Hewitt JE. Development of a Seafloor Community Classification for the New Zealand Region Using a Gradient Forest Approach. Frontiers in Marine Science 2022, 8, 792712.
  • Goetz KT, Stephenson F, Hoskins A, Bindoff AD, Orben RA, Sagar PM, Torres LG, Kroeger CE, Sztukowski LA, Phillips RA, Votier SC, Bearhop S, Taylor GA, Thompson DR. Data Quality Influences the Predicted Distribution and Habitat of Four Southern-Hemisphere Albatross Species. Frontiers in Marine Science 2022, 9, 782923.
  • Douglas EJ, Gammal J, Needham HR, Stephenson F, Townsend M, Pilditch CA, Lohrer AM. Combining Techniques to Conceptualise Denitrification Hot Spots and Hot Moments in Estuaries. Ecosystems 2022, 25(8), 1670-1681.
  • Mouton TL, Leprieur F, Floury M, Stephenson F, Verburg P, Tonkin JD. Climate and land-use driven reorganisation of structure and function in river macroinvertebrate communities. Ecography 2022, 2022(3), e06148.
  • Stephenson F, Leathwick JR, Geange S, Moilanen A, Pitcher CR, Lundquist CJ. Species composition and turnover models provide robust approximations of biodiversity in marine conservation planning. Ocean and Coastal Management 2021, 212, 105855.
  • Hewitt JE, Bulmer RH, Stephenson F, Thrush SF. Sampling frequency, duration and the Southern Oscillation influence the ability of long-term studies to detect sudden change. Global Change Biology 2021, 27(10), 2213-2224.
  • Stephenson F, Rowden AA, Anderson OF, Pitcher CR, Pinkerton MH, Petersen G, Bowden DA. Presence-only habitat suitability models for vulnerable marine ecosystem indicator taxa in the South Pacific have reached their predictive limit. ICES Journal of Marine Science 2021, 78(8), 2830-2843.
  • Parsons DM, Hartill BW, Broekhuizen N, McKenzie JR, Stephenson F, Petersen GL, Lundquist CJ. Integrating multi-disciplinary data sources relating to inshore fisheries management via a Bayesian network. Ocean and Coastal Management 2021, 208, 105636.
  • Clark DE, Stephenson F, Hewitt JE, Ellis JI, Zaiko A, Berthelsen A, Bulmer RH, Pilditch CA. Influence of land-derived stressors and environmental variability on compositional turnover and diversity of estuarine benthic communities. Marine Ecology Progress Series 2021, 666, 1-18.
  • Goode SL, Rowden AA, Bowden DA, Clark MR, Stephenson F. Fine-Scale Mapping of Mega-Epibenthic Communities and Their Patch Characteristics on Two New Zealand Seamounts. Frontiers in Marine Science 2021, 8, 765407.
  • Finucci B, Duffy CAJ, Brough T, Francis MP, Milardi M, Pinkerton MH, Petersen G, Stephenson F. Drivers of Spatial Distributions of Basking Shark (Cetorhinus maximus) in the Southwest Pacific. Frontiers in Marine Science 2021, 8, 665337.
  • Rullens V, Stephenson F, Lohrer AM, Townsend M, Pilditch CA. Combined species occurrence and density predictions to improve marine spatial management. Ocean and Coastal Management 2021, 209, 105697.
  • Stephenson F, Hewitt JE, Torres LG, Mouton TL, Brough T, Goetz KT, Lundquist CJ, MacDiarmid AB, Ellis J, Constantine R. Cetacean conservation planning in a global diversity hotspot: dealing with uncertainty and data deficiencies. Ecosphere 2021, 12(7), e03633.
  • Bowden DA, Anderson OF, Rowden AA, Stephenson F, Clark MR. Assessing Habitat Suitability Models for the Deep Sea: Is Our Ability to Predict the Distributions of Seafloor Fauna Improving?. Frontiers in Marine Science 2021, 8, 632389.
  • Maureaud AA, Frelat R, Pecuchet L, Shackell N, Merigot B, Pinsky ML, Amador K, Anderson SC, Arkhipkin A, Auber A, Barri I, Bell RJ, Belmaker J, Beukhof E, Camara ML, Guevara-Carrasco R, Choi J, Christensen HT, Conner J, Cubillos LA, Diadhiou HD, Edelist D, Emblemsvag M, Ernst B, Fairweather TP, Fock HO, Friedland KD, Garcia CB, Gascuel D, Gislason H, Goren M, Guitton J, Jouffre D, Hattab T, Hidalgo M, Kathena JN, Knuckey I, Kide SO, Koen-Alonso M, Koopman M, Kulik V, Leon JP, Levitt-Barmats Y, Lindegren M, Llope M, Massiot-Granier F, Masski H, McLean M, Meissa B, Merillet L, Mihneva V, Nunoo FKE, O'Driscoll R, O'Leary CA, Petrova E, Ramos JE, Refes W, Roman-Marcote E, Siegstad H, Sobrino I, Solmundsson J, Sonin O, Spies I, Steingrund P, Stephenson F, Stern N, Tserkova F, Tserpes G, Tzanatos E, van Rijn I, van Zwieten PAM, Vasilakopoulos P, Yepsen DV, Ziegler P, Thorson JT. Are we ready to track climate-driven shifts in marine species across international boundaries? - A global survey of scientific bottom trawl data. Global Change Biology 2021, 27(2), 220-236.
  • Stephenson F, Mill AC, Scott C, Stewart GB, Grainger MJ, Polunin NVC, Fitzsimmons C. Socio-economic, technological and environmental drivers of spatio-temporal changes in fishing pressure. Marine Policy 2017, 88, 189-203.

• Letter

  • Sumaila UR, Skerritt D, Villasante S, Thambisetty M, Howard R, Glymour MM, Schneider LS, Selkoe DJ, Skerritt DJ, Schuhbauer A, Schuhbauer A, Villasante S, Cisneros-Montemayor AM, Cisneros-Montemayor AM, Sinan H, Sinan H, Burnside D, Burnside D, Abdallah PR, Abe K, Addo KA, Adelsheim J, Adewumi IJ, Adeyemo OK, Adger N, Adotey J, Advani S, Afrin Z, Aheto D, Akintola SL, Akpalu W, Alam L, Alava JJ, Allison EH, Amon DJ, Anderies JM, Anderson CM, Andrews E, Angelini R, Anna Z, Antweiler W, Arizi EK, Armitage D, Arthur RI, Asare N, Asche F, Asiedu B, Asuquo F, Badmus L, Bailey M, Ban N, Barbier EB, Barley S, Barnes C, Barrett S, Basurto X, Belhabib D, Bennett E, Bennett NJ, Benzaken D, Blasiak R, Bohorquez JJ, Bordehore C, Bornarel V, Boyd DR, Breitburg D, Brooks C, Brotz L, Campbell D, Cannon S, Cao L, Campo JCC, Carpenter S, Carpenter G, Carson RT, Carvalho AR, Castrejon M, Caveen AJ, Kai MNC, Chan MA, Chapin FS, Charles T, Cheung W, Christensen V, Chuku EO, Church T, Clark C, Clarke TM, Cojocaru AL, Copeland B, Crawford B, Crepin A-S, Crowder LB, Cury P, Cutting AN, Daily GC, Da-Rocha JM, Das A, De La Puente S, De Zeeuw A, Deikumah SKS, Deith M, Dewitte B, Doubleday N, Duarte CM, Dulvy NK, Eddy T, Efford M, Ehrlich PR, Elsler LG, Fakoya KA, Falaye AE, Fanzo J, Fitzsimmons C, Flaaten O, Florko KRN, Aviles MF, Folke C, Forrest A, Freeman P, Freire KMF, Froese R, Frolicher TL, Gallagher A, Garcon V, Gasalla MA, Gephart JA, Gibbons M, Gillespie K, Giron-Nava A, Gjerde K, Glaser S, Golden C, Gordon L, Govan H, Gryba R, Halpern BS, Hanich Q, Hara M, Harley CDG, Harper S, Harte M, Helm R, Hendrix C, Hicks CC, Hood L, Hoover C, Hopewell K, Horta E Costa BB, Houghton JDR, Iitembu JA, Isaacs M, Isahaku S, Ishimura G, Islam M, Issifu I, Jackson J, Jacquet J, Jensen OP, Ramon JJ, Jin X, Jonah A, Jouffray J-B, Juniper SK, Jusoh S, Kadagi I, Kaeriyama M, Kaiser MJ, Kaiser BA, Kakujaha-Matundu O, Karuaihe ST, Karumba M, Kemmerly JD, Khan AS, Kimani P, Kleisner K, Knowlton N, Kotowicz D, Kurien J, Kwong LE, Lade S, Laffoley D, Lam ME, Lam VWL, Lange G-M, Latif MT, Billon PL, Le Brenne V, Le Manach F, Levin SA, Levin L, Limburg KE, List J, Lombard AT, Lopes PFM, Lotze HK, Mallory TG, Mangar RS, Marszalec D, Mattah P, Mayorga J, Mcausland C, Mccauley DJ, Mclean J, Mcmullen K, Meere F, Mejaes A, Melnychuk M, Mendo J, Micheli F, Millage K, Miller D, Mohamed KS, Mohammed E, Mokhtar M, Morgan L, Muawanah U, Munro GR, Murray G, Mustafa S, Nayak P, Newell D, Nguyen T, Noack F, Nor AM, Nunoo FKE, Obura D, Okey T, Okyere I, Onyango P, Oostdijk M, Orlov P, Osterblom H, Owens D, Owens T, Oyinlola M, Pacoureau N, Pakhomov E, Abrantes JP, Pascual U, Paulmier A, Pauly D, Pelebe ROE, Penalosa D, Pennino MG, Peterson G, Pham TTT, Pinkerton E, Polasky S, Polunin NVC, Prah E, Ramirez J, Relano V, Reygondeau G, Robadue D, Roberts C, Rogers A, Roumbedakis K, Sala E, Scheffer M, Segerson K, Seijo JC, Seto KC, Shogren JF, Silver JJ, Singh G, Soszynski A, Splichalova D-V, Spring M, Stage J, Stephenson F, Stewart BD, Sultan R, Suttle C, Tagliabue A, Tall A, Talloni-Alvarez N, Tavoni A, Taylor DRF, Teh LSL, Teh LCL, Thiebot J-B, Thiele T, Thilsted SH, Thumbadoo RV, Tigchelaar M, Tol RSJ, Tortell P, Troell M, Uzmanolu MS, Van Putten I, Van Santen G, Villasenor-Derbez JC, Wabnitz CCC, Walsh M, Walsh JP, Wambiji N, Weber EU, Westley F, Williams S, Wisz MS, Worm B, Xiao L, Yagi N, Yamazaki S, Yang H, Zeller D. WTO must ban harmful fisheries subsidies. Science 2021, 374(6567), 544-544.

• Note

  • Gladstone-Gallagher RV, Hewitt JE, Low JML, Pilditch CA, Stephenson F, Thrush SF, Ellis JI. Coupling marine ecosystem state with environmental management and conservation: A risk-based approach. Biological Conservation 2024, 292, 110516.