Rachel P. Hickcox

University of Otago · Department of Zoology

The endangered yellow-eyed penguin/hoiho (Megadyptes antipodes) predominantly forages benthically within its mainland range and shows high foraging site fidelity. Identifying consistencies in foraging locations can allow effective conservation, especially when managing bycatch risk. This study investigated the at-sea distribution of penguins breedi...

MEPS prepress abstract - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14124 Conservation implications for post-fledging dispersal of yellow-eyed penguins (hoiho) Melanie J. Young*, Philip J. Seddon, Klemens Pütz, Phillipa Agnew, Thomas Mattern, Rachel P. Hickcox, Bruce C. Robertson, Yolanda van Heezik *Corresponding author: ABSTRACT: With the extinction of y...

Establishing protected areas (PAs) ranks among the top priority actions to mitigate the global scale of modern biodiversity declines. However, the distribution of biodiversity is spatially asymmetric among regions and lineages, and the extent to which PAs offer effective protection for species and ecosystems remains uncertain. Penguins, regarded as...

Penguins face a wide range of threats. Most observed population changes have been negative and have happened over the last 60 years. Today, populations of 11 of the 18 penguin species are decreasing. Here we present a review that synthesizes details of threats faced by the world’s 18 species of penguins. We discuss alterations to their environment...

Chemical communication plays a pivotal role in shaping sexual and ecological interactions among animals. In lizards, fundamental mechanisms of sexual selection such as female mate choice have rarely been shown to be influenced by quantitative phenotypic traits (e.g., ornaments), while chemical signals have been found to potentially influence multip...

This study investigates the conservation of penguins by IUCN protected areas.

Heterosigma akashiwo is a toxic, halo-tolerant raphidophyte known to cause harmful algal blooms (HABs) worldwide. The mechanism for bloom formation in this species is largely unknown. Previous research has shown that the growth rate of H. akashiwo is constant across a range of salinities given ample light and nutrients. To understand H. akashiwo’s...