Wenjie Wu

“I have always been fascinated by the marvellous beauty of marine life and feel deeply responsible for protecting our oceans. I hope that we human beings can deepen our understanding of the ocean and use and protect it more effectively.

“My research focuses on the pelagic dispersal of mussels, aiming to contribute new insights into the biology of the early stages of the green-lipped mussel's life cycle. This endeavour is crucial for enhancing our comprehension of the natural dispersal mechanisms essential for sustaining wild mussel populations and for efficiently harvesting wild mussel spat for aquaculture.

"As a member of the Joint Graduate School with NIWA and the University of Auckland, I was able to take advantage of collaborations via my NIWA supervisor, as well as participate in Joint Graduate School activities; for example, the Spring Hui, which is a gathering of all the NIWA-associated graduate students, where they visit a NIWA campus and are introduced directly to what research is like in the real world outside of graduate school."

"My PhD scholarship was funded by the MBIE (Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment) Endeavour 'Moana Project', which funded 14 research institutions including the University of Auckland and NIWA, to improve the understanding of coastal ocean circulation, connectivity and marine heat waves. The Moana Project provided me with the invaluable experience of multidisciplinary, multi-team, and multicultural collaboration. The integration of Western science with Mātauranga Māori and culture has left a particularly lasting impression on me and has become a treasured memory.

"After that, I got a further 0.5-year Doctoral Scholarship Extension funded by the University of Auckland. This gave me a lot of support and a guarantee of life so that I could focus on my research.

“The University has also provided me with a lot of support, from providing lab space, office space & facilities, travel bookings, reimbursement of expenses, needs analysis, arrangements for the Doctoral Provisional Year Review, providing car and other facilities for field work, mental and policy support during the Covid-19 period, etc. This support made my study life smooth and ensured that I had enough resources to carry out my research.

“My two supervisors, Andrew Jeffs and Carolyn Lundquist, gave me a lot of
guidance and encouragement. In addition, the help and company of the friendly staff at the Institute of Marine Science, and other PhD students at both the Leigh and City campus, was also a very important part of my studies.

“New Zealand's oceans are huge and beautiful, and there is still a lot of unknown knowledge to be explored. Moreover, New Zealand has a marine conservation strategy, policy and public awareness that is more advanced than many other countries.

“I hope to apply the skills and methods I have learned during my PhD to solve more ecological, cultural and economic problems related to the oceans in New Zealand.”