Rochelle Lee Constantine is a New Zealand marine biologist, and is a full professor at the
University of Auckland
, mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work
, established = 1883; years ago
, endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021)
, budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021)
, chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant
, vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...
. Constantine specialises in marine mammal conservation.
Academic career
Constantine completed a
PhD PHD or PhD may refer to:
* Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification
Entertainment
* '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series
* ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic
* Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group
** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...
titled ''The behavioural ecology of the bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) of northeastern New Zealand: a population exposed to tourism'' at the
University of Auckland
, mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work
, established = 1883; years ago
, endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021)
, budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021)
, chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant
, vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...
in 2002. Constantine then joined the faculty, rising to full professor, and leader of the Marine Mammal Ecology Lab.
Constantine's research focuses on marine mammal conservation. Her research into accidental deaths of Bryde's whales in the
Hauraki Gulf
The Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana is a coastal feature of the North Island of New Zealand. It has an area of 4000 km2, Constantine has also worked on Hector's and Māui dolphin threat management plans. In 2016 she co-led an expedition to the Kermadecs and her research has traced the migration patterns of humpback whales through Oceania, the Kermadec Islands and Antarctica.
Constantine is a member of the Executive Committee of the South Pacific Whale Consortium and co-founded a charitable trust to research technologies for marine conservation. Since 2010 Constantine has been Chair of the
International Whaling Commission
The International Whaling Commission (IWC) is a specialised regional fishery management organisation, established under the terms of the 1946 International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW) to "provide for the proper conservation of ...
– Southern Ocean Research Partnership humpback whale research since 2010.
Honours and awards
Constantine's work on ship-strike of Bryde's whale won her one of three inaugural Holdaway Awards in 2013.
In the 2023 King's Birthday and Coronation Honours, Constantine was appointed an
Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit
The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rend ...
, for services to wildlife conservation and marine biology.