AUT - Armagan Sabetian

Dr Armagan Sabetian

Programme leader BSc & Senior Lecturer

Phone: 921 9999 Ext 8004

Email: armagan.sabetian@aut.ac.nz

Physical Address:
WL 107 (31 Symonds street)

Postal Address:

School of Applied Sciences
Auckland University of Technology
34 St Paul St, Private Bag 92006
Auckland 1142, New Zealand

Links to relevant web pages:

Earth & Oceanic Sciences Research Institute

The International Society for Reef Studies

New Zealand Marine Sciences Society

Qualifications:

• PhD (James Cook University, Australia)
• MSc (Otago University, New Zealand)

Memberships and Affiliations:

The International Society for Reef Studies

New Zealand Marine Sciences Society

Teaching Areas:

• Marine Biology
• Marine Ecology
• Coastal management
• Environmental monitoring

Research areas:

• Fish biology and ecology
• Coral reef fisheries
• Coastal urban marine conservation

Research Summary:

My research interests to date have focused on tropical reef fisheries and population dynamics, including catch per unit effort and stock assessment, age determination, growth, mortality and reproductive biology of reef fishes.

Specifically, I am interested in the demography and life-history of herbivorous fishes and their critical roles as grazers and bioeroders within coral reef ecosystems. More widely, my research is being conducted within the context of urban coastal fisheries where adjacent coral reefs are subjected to disproportionate exploitation compared to coastal village fisheries. As a result, I have equally been interested in fisher behaviour, knowledge, and tenure issues related to resource access.

I am also interested in marine conservation, and in particular on the role of marine reserves as ecosystem conservation or management tools.

Current Research Projects:

I am currently embarking on an emerging area of research interest which aims to examine the life-history and demography of herbivorous fishes under various levels of exploitation, ranging from high fishing pressure to full protection within marine reserves.

Schedule:

I’ll be attending the NZ Marine Sciences Society Conference 5-8 July 2011 in Stewart Island, and the 12th International Coral Reef Symposium 9-13 July 2012 in Cairns, Australia.

Publications:

Aswani, S.  Sabetian, A., (2010). Implications of Urbanization for Artisanal Parrotfish Fisheries in the Western Solomon Islands. Conservation Biology, 24(2) pp520-530.

Aswani, S., Albert, S., Sabetian, A. Furusawa, T., (2007). Customary management as precautionary and adaptive principles for protecting coral reefs in Oceania. Coral Reefs (26) 1009-1021.

Sabetian, A.  Foale, S., (2006). Evolution of the Artisanal fisher; case-studies from Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. SPC Traditional Marine Knowledge and Resource Management Bulletin. (20) 3-10.

Sabetian, A., 2003. The association of physical and environmental factors with abundance and distribution patterns of groupers.  Environmental Biology of Fishes. (68) 93-99.

Sabetian, A., 2002. The importance of ethnographic knowledge to fishery research design and management in the South Pacific. SPC Traditional Marine Knowledge and Resource Management Bulletin. (14) 22-34.

Awards:

• 2008 Conservation International Grant
• 2005 Global Conservation Fund
• 2003 James Cook University Postgraduate Research Fellowship
• 2001 PADI AWARE Grant
• 2000 PADI Foundation Grant
• 1999 PADI Foundation Grant