Fresh Water Ecology Group

Professor Angus McIntosh is a freshwater ecologist specialising in population ecology, community ecology, ecosystem ecology, and aquatic landscape ecology across streams, rivers, lakes, and wetlands. His research focuses on fish and invertebrate ecology, aquatic food webs, predator–prey interactions, invasion, flow‑related habitat size, disturbance regimes, restoration and cross‑ecosystem (aquatic–terrestrial) linkages.

 

He has led long‑term studies in the upper Waimakariri River system (Canterbury – particularly at the Cass Field Station), the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (Colorado), and agricultural streams of the Canterbury Plains, advancing understanding of biodiversity patterns, habitat dynamics, and ecosystem resilience.

 

Key research areas include:

 

• Impacts of non‑native trout on galaxiid fishes
• Riverscape configuration and drivers of aquatic biodiversity
• Effects of flow alteration and habitat size change on river food webs
• Habitat drying and responses of pond communities
• Aquatic–terrestrial ecosystem exchanges and cross‑boundary energy flows
• Freshwater restoration, including the Canterbury Waterway Rehabilitation Experiment (CAREX)

 

Angus also provides consulting and Environment Court expertise in freshwater ecology, habitat assessment, and river management.

 

For more information, photographs, and outreach material are available through the Freshwater Ecology Research Group (FERG) and his EcologyLive website.

For more details, please see https://tonkinlab.org. Follow my newsletter at https://predirections.substack.com.

My research focuses on understanding the structure and dynamics of communities with the aim of testing and developing ecological theory that is fundamental for the effective management of ecosystems.