Fresh Water Ecology Group
PEOPLE
- Contact
- Associate Dean (Research)
- Faculty of Science
- Associate Dean (Research)Faculty of Science
- Professor
- School of Biological Sciences
- ProfessorSchool of Biological Sciences
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.
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.
- Faculty of Science
- Registered to supervise Master's/Doctoral students
- 14 Life Below Water
- 15 Life on Land
- 13 Climate Action
- 12 Responsible Consumption and Production
- 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
- Collaborative research projects
- Consulting & advisory services
- Industry partnerships & innovation
- Media enquiries
- Outreach & community engagement
- Policy advice & government consultation
Fields of Research- Biological sciences
- Ecology
- Freshwater ecology
- Community ecology (excl. invasive species ecology)
- Environmental sciences
- Climate change impacts and adaptation
- Environmental management
- Conservation and biodiversity
- Environmental rehabilitation and restoration
- Biosecurity science and invasive species ecology
- Population ecology
- Ecological impacts of climate change and ecological adaptation
- Contact
- Professor
- School of Biological Sciences
- ProfessorSchool of Biological Sciences
I am a community ecologist and biodiversity scientist at Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury. My research focuses on understanding how ecological communities change across space and time, how ecosystems respond to environmental disturbances, and how biodiversity can be maintained in a rapidly changing world. I combine field experiments, ecological theory, advanced data analysis, and large-scale synthesis to uncover the processes that shape ecosystems and the species within them.Much of my work is centred on freshwater ecosystems, particularly rivers and streams, although my research extends across a wide range of ecological systems and disciplinary boundaries. By developing new approaches to understanding biodiversity patterns and ecosystem resilience, my research helps inform conservation, restoration, and management strategies that address global environmental challenges and support more sustainable futures.I have won a number of awards, including the NZ Prime Minister’s MacDiarmid Emerging Scientist Prize, the NZ Freshwater Sciences Society and University of Canterbury Early Career Researcher Awards, and a Rutherford Discovery Fellowship. My research has appeared in leading multidisciplinary (Nature, Science) and ecological (Nature Ecology & Evolution, Nature Water, Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Frontiers in Ecology & the Environment) journals. I currently serve as an associate editor at Frontiers in Ecology & the Environment, Freshwater Policy & Practice, and Water Biology & Security.
I lead the Tonkin Lab, a diverse group of postdocs and postgraduate students, and am a Principal Investigator in Te Pūnaha Matatini, a New Zealand Centre of Research Excellence in Complex Systems. Together, we work with students and collaborators in New Zealand and internationally to tackle fundamental questions in ecology and find practical solutions to the joint biodiversity-climate crisis.
For more details, please see https://tonkinlab.org. Subscribe to my newsletter: weekly future-focused writing on biodiversity, climate, and water for a changing world at https://predirections.substack.com.I am a community ecologist and biodiversity scientist at Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury. My research focuses on understanding how ecological communities change across space and time, how ecosystems respond to environmental disturbances, and how biodiversity can be maintained in a rapidly changing world. I combine field experiments, ecological theory, advanced data analysis, and large-scale synthesis to uncover the processes that shape ecosystems and the species within them.Much of my work is centred on freshwater ecosystems, particularly rivers and streams, although my research extends across a wide range of ecological systems and disciplinary boundaries. By developing new approaches to understanding biodiversity patterns and ecosystem resilience, my research helps inform conservation, restoration, and management strategies that address global environmental challenges and support more sustainable futures.I have won a number of awards, including the NZ Prime Minister’s MacDiarmid Emerging Scientist Prize, the NZ Freshwater Sciences Society and University of Canterbury Early Career Researcher Awards, and a Rutherford Discovery Fellowship. My research has appeared in leading multidisciplinary (Nature, Science) and ecological (Nature Ecology & Evolution, Nature Water, Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Frontiers in Ecology & the Environment) journals. I currently serve as an associate editor at Frontiers in Ecology & the Environment, Freshwater Policy & Practice, and Water Biology & Security.
I lead the Tonkin Lab, a diverse group of postdocs and postgraduate students, and am a Principal Investigator in Te Pūnaha Matatini, a New Zealand Centre of Research Excellence in Complex Systems. Together, we work with students and collaborators in New Zealand and internationally to tackle fundamental questions in ecology and find practical solutions to the joint biodiversity-climate crisis.
For more details, please see https://tonkinlab.org. Subscribe to my newsletter: weekly future-focused writing on biodiversity, climate, and water for a changing world at https://predirections.substack.com.- Faculty of Science
- Registered to supervise Master's/Doctoral students
- 14 Life Below Water
- 15 Life on Land
- 6 Clean Water and Sanitation
- 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
- 13 Climate Action
- Collaborative research projects
- Consulting & advisory services
- Industry partnerships & innovation
- Media enquiries
- Outreach & community engagement
- Policy advice & government consultation
Fields of Research- Biological sciences
- Environmental sciences
- Ecology
- Community ecology (excl. invasive species ecology)
- Computational ecology and phylogenetics
- Freshwater ecology
- Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology)
- Population ecology
- Terrestrial ecology
- Ecology not elsewhere classified
- Evolutionary ecology
- Biosecurity science and invasive species ecology
- Landscape ecology
- Time series and spatial modelling
- Modelling and simulation
- Biological network analysis
- Ecosystem function
- Ecosystem services (incl. pollination)
- Ecological impacts of climate change and ecological adaptation
- Ecological applications
- Global change biology
- Evolutionary biology
- Contact
- Senior Lecturer abv the bar
- School of Biological Sciences
- Senior Lecturer abv the barSchool of Biological Sciences
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.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.- Faculty of Science
- Registered to supervise Master's/Doctoral students
Fields of Research- Ecology
- Ecological applications
- Environmental management
- Biological sciences
- Environmental sciences