Marine Ecology Research Group

The Marine Ecology Research Group (MERG) was formed in 1993 and is centred within the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Canterbury. The focus of the group is field-based, marine and coastal ecological research.

The major emphasis is on the processes responsible for the biological structure of near-shore coastal communities, which increasingly involve human impacts as well as the effects of natural hazards and climate change.

Areas of research include the ecology of coastal fishes and fisheries management, the effects of wave exposure on settlement and recruitment of habitat-forming species, human effects on intertidal ecosystems, and life history studies on a wide range of invertebrates, algae and coastal vegetation. Most of the research is done by students in pursuit of a post-graduate degree in marine ecology or related management disciplines.