Dr Matt Rayner

Senior Researcher, Land Vertebrates

Dr Matt Rayner

Dr Matt Rayner is a child of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, having been born and raised beside and on the Waitematā Harbour. He has also traveled widely with his research, which focuses on Aotearoa and the Pacific.

As a Senior Researcher in the Natural Sciences Department, Matt specialises in collections-based and field research, as well as public science communication on the fauna of New Zealand. Like the rest of his team, he is passionate about raising public awareness of the decline of New Zealand’s biodiversity—both on land and at sea—and the importance of Museum collections in telling these stories.

^{Photo by Kevin Parker.}

Research Interests and Projects

Matt's research specialty lies in the fields of avian and conservation ecology, animal behavior, and evolution. He works closely with colleagues at the University of Auckland, where he is a research associate, and has active studies ongoing in the Hauraki Gulf and on New Zealand’s offshore islands.

A range of national and international projects occupies his time, including:

Studying the effects of ecosystem change on New Zealand bird communities through isotopic analysis of contemporary and museum specimens, as well as through more traditional field survey techniques.
Investigating the biology of poorly known threatened seabirds such as terns, cormorants, storm petrels, and shearwaters.
Researching the phylogeography and taxonomy of tube-nosed seabirds.
Advocating for marine protection in the Hauraki Gulf as a means of achieving holistic land-sea protection for this declining ecosystem.
Matt supports a range of students in a co-supervisory role and welcome those considering conducting their own research to reach out and share ideas.

For a full list of Matt’s publications, click here.

Blogs by Matt

Karoro

When you think of gulls in Auckland you probably picture a large back-backed pirate, swooping down to snatch hot chips at the beach, but new research is revealing just how remarkable these birds really are.

Maria Island, conservation history on Auckland’s doorstep

Aotearoa is now a world leader in conservation and particularly protecting islands from the ravages of invasive species, but did you know that it is in the Hauraki Gulf where the dream of a predator free New Zealand first began?

Moa than meets the eye

What can a egg tell us, when its inhabitant has been gone for over 500 years? Recent scientific breakthroughs have uncovered fascinating findings from even the smallest fragments of egg shells. In this blog by Matt Rayner Senior Research Fellow, Land Vertebrates, discover the secrets of the Moa as they are revealed from the Museum's collection.

The mystery of Manawatāwhi mollymawks: a history and field report

Isolated at the bottom of the globe’s largest ocean and bathed by rich ocean currents, it is no surprise that New Zealand is a world centre of seabird diversity. We are a hub for albatrosses, the world’s largest seabirds, with 14 out of all 24 known global species breeding in our waters.

White kiwi, French poodles, and the problem of a world in pieces

It's night on Te Hauturu o Toi, Little Barrier Island, and a half moon glows softly behind the clouds. A movement off to our left alerts us and we dive into the brush and extract our prize - a baby North Island brown kiwi (Apteryx mantelli).