Jess Ericson
Aquaculture Scientist
Climate Change Adaptation and Outreach Early Career Researcher (ECR) Leader and Student Liaison
Role at Cawthron
Jess is an Aquaculture Scientist working within the Shellfish Aquaculture Research Platform (ShARP). Her current research focuses on the effects of climate change (e.g. marine heatwaves and acidification) on shellfish, and the potential for farmed and wild species to acclimate and adapt. She combines a range of physiological measurements from the whole animal to the cellular level to understand the complex responses of marine organisms to environmental stress. A key objective of this research is to provide scientific solutions to real-world problems faced by coastal industries and communities.
Jess is also the ECR leader and Student Liaison at Cawthron. In this role she supports our early career scientists, technicians and students with their professional development and wellbeing at the institute.
Technical skills, experience and interests
- Shellfish macrophysiology and biosignals (e.g. respirometry, cardiac performance, behaviour)
- Selective breeding for climate change resilience
- Shellfish health and cellular biomarkers of stress
- Aquaculture
- Climate change outreach and community engagement
Professional Affiliations
- Member of the Centre for Marine Socioecology (CMS, Tasmania)
- Science Communicators Association of New Zealand (SCANZ)
Qualifications
- PhD in Quantitative Marine Science, University of Tasmania, 2019
- MSc in Marine Science, University of Otago, 2010
- BSc in Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, 2008