Dr Jenni Stanley

PhD Auckland (2011)
BSc Auckland (2006)

Contact details
Phone: +64 9 373 7599 ext 83610
Email: ja.stanley@auckland.ac.nz

Recently there has been an increase in research investigating the role underwater sound plays in coastal reef environments and the organisms that inhabit these habitats. It has become clear that the post-larvae of many coastal fish and decapod crustaceans can interpret and respond to ambient underwater sound accordingly.

My research interests lie in how marine larvae respond to, both behaviourally and physiologically, ambient and anthropogenic underwater sound during their recruitment processes. In 2011 I completed my PhD looking at ambient underwater sound, measuring the importance of spatial and temporal variability and its effect on late-stage crustacean larvae. Specifically examining the distinct signatures emanating from different kinds of underwater habitats and how this effects the settlement and metamorphosis of many species of marine larvae. The research is important because there is growing international concern about the impact that underwater sound pollution from vessels, coastal motorways and petroleum exploration are having on ecological processes in the marine environment.

I am now working as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Auckland’s Leigh Marine Laboratory where I am working on a variety of research projects, related to my PhD research.

One of the research projects investigate how overfishing of snapper and crayfish has resulted in extensive loss of natural underwater habitats and change to the underwater soundscape. I also examine how in turn these changes in natural sounds have affected the attraction of the settling stages of marine organisms, especially crayfish (Jasus edwardsii).Understanding these changes will be critical for undertaking measures that will ensure the restoration of habitats and crayfish populations and coastal ecosystems resilience, especially in places like the Hauraki Gulf where crayfish populations have been decimated. In another research project I am looking at the effects of ship hull noise and its contribution to hull fouling.

 Current postgraduate projects

• The impact of crayfish harvesting on the subsequent recruitment of Jasus edwardsii juveniles to coastal reefs in New Zealand, Jan Hesse – PhD
• Control of nuisance fouling barnacles in Greenshell mussel farms, Davide Zazzaro - PhD

• Wilkens, S., Stanley, J., Jeffs, A. 2012. Induction of settlement in mussel (Perna canaliculus). Biofouling.
• Stanley, J. A., Radford, C. A., Jeffs, A. G. In Review. Location, location, location – finding a suitable home in amongst the noise. Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences.
• Jeffs, A., Stanley, J. A., Radford, C. A. In Production. Ecological Effects of Acoustic Pollution in the Marine Environment. In: Pollutants in Aquatic Environments. (Allodi, S., Nazari, E. M., eds). Research Signpost, India.
•  Stanley, J. A., Radford, C. A., Jeffs, A.G. 2011. Behavioural response thresholds in New Zealand crab megalopae to ambient underwater sound. PLoS ONE 6: e28572.
•  Stanley, J. A., Radford, C., Jeffs, A. 2011. The effects of noise on larval settlement. In: Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life. (Fay, R. R., Popper, A. N., eds). Springer Science + Business Media, LLC, New York.
•  Radford, C., Stanley, J., Simpson, S., Jeffs, A. 2011. Juvenile coral reef fish use sound to locate habitats. Coral Reefs. 10.1007/s00338-010-0710-6.
• Stanley, J. A., Radford, C., Jeffs, A. 2010. Induction of settlement in crab megalopae by ambient underwater reef sound. Behavioral Ecology, 21: 112 – 120.
•  Radford, C., Stanley, J. A, Chris, T., Montgomery, J., Jeffs, A. 2010. Localised coastal habitats have distinct underwater sound signatures. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 401: 21 – 29.