Academic CV: Phil Battley

Phil's research interests

Education and employment

2007 Lecturer in Vertebrate Zoology, Massey University, Palmerston North (relocating in April).
2006-2007 Research fellow, University of Auckland.
2003-2006 Postdoctoral fellow, University of Otago (FRST postdoctoral fellowship).
2002-2003 Postdoctoral fellow, Netherlands Institute for Sea Research.
1997-2001 PhD (Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia). Behavioural ecophysiology of migrating Great Knots.
1993-1996 MSc (First-class Honours, Zoology, Massey University). The ecology of migrant waders in New Zealand, focussing on Farewell Spit, North-West Nelson.
1989-1993 BSc (Zoology), Massey University (first year at Auckland University).

Short-term positions held
2001 Ornithologist, Department of Conservation (Brown Teal, Great Barrier Island).
1996 Ornithologist, Department of Conservation (River Recovery Project, Twizel).

Theses

Battley, P.F. 2002. Behavioural ecophysiology of migrating Great Knots. PhD thesis, Australian School of Environmental Studies, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia.

Battley, P.F. 1996. The ecology of migrant waders in New Zealand, focussing on Farewell Spit, North-West Nelson. MSc thesis (First-class Honours, Zoology), Department of Ecology, Massey University, Palmerston North

Scientific papers

Submitted

Published

  1. Piersma, T., M. Brugge, B. Spaans & P.F. Battley. Endogenous circannual rhythmicity in body mass, molt and plumage of Great Knots (Calidris tenuirostris). Auk, in press.

  2. van Gils, J.A., T. Piersma, A. Dekinga & P.F. Battley. 2006. Modelling phenotypic flexibility: an optimality analysis of gizzard size in red knots (Calidris canutus). Ardea, in press.

  3. Melville, D.S. & P.F. Battley. 2006. Shorebirds in New Zealand. Stilt 50: 269-277.

  4. Rogers, D.I., N. Moores & P.F. Battley. 2006. Northwards migration of shorebirds through Saemengeum, the Geum Estuary and Gomso Bay, South Korea in 2006. Stilt 50, 62-78.

  5. Battley, P.F. 2007. Plumage and timing of migration in bar-tailed godwits: a comment on Drent et al. (2003). Oikos 116: 349-352.

  6. Battley, P.F. & C. Horn. 2006. A high altitude Bar-tailed Godwit on Mt Ruapehu. Notornis 53: 381-382.

  7. Battley, P.F. 2006. Consistent annual schedules in a migratory shorebird. Biology Letters 2: 517-520.

  8. Moore, S.J., P.F. Battley, I.M. Henderson & C.J. Webb. 2006. The diet of brown teal (Anas chlorotis). New Zealand Journal of Ecology 30: 297-403.

  9. Rogers, D.I., P.F. Battley, T. Piersma, J.A. van Gils & K.G. Rogers. 2006. High tide habitat choice: modelling roost selection by shorebirds around a tropical bay. Animal Behaviour 73: 563-575.

  10. Moore, S.J. & P.F. Battley. 2006. Digestive organ morphology of wild and captive brown teal (Anas chlorotis) and implications for releases. Bird Conservation International 16: 253-264.

  11. Battley, P. & D. Rogers. 2005. Migration – Life in the Fast Lane. Chapter 3 In Geering, A.D.W., L. Agnew & S. Harding (eds). Shorebirds of Australia: their biology and conservation. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Australia. In press.

  12. Ballance, P.F., R. Schuckard, D.S. Melville & P.F. Battley. 2006. Dual sand sources on Farewell Spit intertidal sand flats, New Zealand: partitioning during redistribution. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics 49: 91-99.

  13. Battley, P.F. 2005. Mechanisms by which Bar-tailed Godwits form subgroups. Stilt 48:18.

  14. Battley, P.F., D.I. Rogers & C.J. Hassell. 2005. Pre-breeding moult, plumage, and evidence for a presupplemental moult in the Great Knot. Ibis 148: 27-38.

  15. Battley, P.F., D.I. Rogers, T. Piersma, C.J. Hassell, A. Boyle & H.-Y. Yang. 2005. How do red knots leave Northwest Australia in May and reach the breeding grounds in June? Predictions of stopover times, fuelling rates and prey quality in the Yellow Sea. Journal of Avian Biology 36: 494-500.

  16. van Gils, J.A., P.F. Battley, T. Piersma & R. Drent. 2005. Reinterpretation of gizzard sizes of red knots world-wide emphasises overriding importance of prey quality at migratory stopover sites. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B 272: 2609-2618.

  17. Battley, P.F. & T. Piersma. 2005. Body composition and flight ranges of Bar-tailed Godwits (Limosa lapponica baueri) from New Zealand. Auk 122: 922-937.

  18. Battley, P.F., D.S. Melville, R. Schuckard & P.F. Ballance. 2005. Quantitative Survey of the Intertidal Benthos of Farewell Spit, Golden Bay. Marine Biodiversity Biosecurity Report. No. 7. 119 pp.

  19. Battley, P.F. & T. Piersma. 2005. Adaptive interplay between feeding ecology and features of the digestive tract. Pp. 201-227 In Starck, J.M. & T. Wang (eds). Physiological and ecological adaptations to feeding in vertebrates. Science Publishers, Enfield, USA.

  20. Battley, P.F. and R.E. Gill, Jr. 2004. Knowns and unknowns in the migration of eastern Bar-tailed Godwits. Pp. 73-85 In Proceedings of the 2004 International Symposium on Migratory Birds, Gunsan, Korea. Ornithological Society of Korea.

  21. Battley, P.F. & S.J. Moore. 2004. Predation on non-breeding wrybills in the Firth of Thames. Notornis 51: 233-234.

  22. Rogers, D.I., P.F. Battley, J. Sparrow, A. Koolhaas & C.J. Hassell. 2004. Treatment of capture myopathy in shorebirds: a successful trial in North-western Australia. Journal of Field Ornithology 75: 157-164.

  23. Battley, P.F., T. Piersma, D.I. Rogers, A. Dekinga, B. Spaans & J. van Gils. 2004. Do body condition and plumage during fuelling predict northwards departure dates of Great Knots (Calidris tenuirostris) from North-west Australia? Ibis 146: 46-60.

  24. Battley, P.F., W.K. Vahl & B. Spaans. 2003. Turnstone retains egg in oviduct for five months. Wader Study Group Bulletin 101/102: 67-69.

  25. Pennycuick, C.J. & P.F. Battley. 2003. Burning the engine: a time-marching computation of fat and protein consumption in a 5420-km flight by great knots Calidris tenuirostris. Oikos 103: 323-332.

  26. Moore, S.J. & P.F. Battley. 2003. The use of wing remains to determine condition before death in Brown Teal (Anas chlorotis). Notornis 50: 133-140.

  27. Battley, P.F., D.I. Rogers, T. Piersma & A. Koolhaas. 2003. Behavioural evidence for heat load problems in Great Knots fuelling in tropical Australia for a northward flight of 5,500 km. Emu 103: 97-103.

  28. Moore, S.J. & P.F. Battley. 2003. Cockle-opening by a dabbling duck, the Brown Teal. Waterbirds 26: 331-334.

  29. Battley, P.F., M. Poot, C. Gordon, Y. Ntiamoa-Baidu, T. Piersma, & P. Wiersma. 2003. Social foraging by waterbirds in shallow coastal lagoons in Ghana. Waterbirds 26: 26-34.

  30. Battley, P.F., A. Dekinga, M.W. Dietz, T. Piersma, S. Tang & K. Hulsman. 2001. Basal metabolic rate declines during long-distance migratory flight in Great Knots. Condor 103: 838-845.

  31. Battley, P.F., M.W. Dietz, T. Piersma, A. Dekinga, S. Tang & K. Hulsman. 2001. Is long-distance bird flight equivalent to a high-energy fast? Body composition changes in freely migrating and captive fasting Great Knots. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 94: 435-449.

  32. Battley, P.F., T. Piersma, M.W. Dietz, S. Tang, A. Dekinga and K. Hulsman. 2000. Empirical evidence for differential organ reduction during trans-oceanic bird flight. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Biological series 267: 191-195.

  33. Piersma, T., M.W. Dietz, A. Dekinga, S. Nebel, J. van Gils, P.F. Battley & B. Spaans. 2000. Reversible size-changes in stomachs of shorebirds: When, to what extent, and why? Proceedings of the 3rd European Ornithological Congress, Gdansk, September 1999. Acta Ornithologica34: 175-181.

  34. Battley, P.F. 1999. Seasonal mass changes of Lesser Knots in New Zealand. Notornis 46: 143-153.

  35. Ntiamoa-Baidu, Y., T. Piersma, P. Wiersma, M. Poot, P. Battley & C. Gordon. 1998. Habitat selection, daily foraging routines and diet of waterbirds in coastal lagoons in Ghana. Ibis 140: 89-103.

  36. Battley, P.F. & T. Piersma. 1997. The body composition of Lesser Knots Calidris canutus rogersi preparing to take off on migration from northern New Zealand. Notornis 44: 137-150.

  37. Battley, P.F. 1997. The northward migration of Arctic waders in New Zealand: departure behaviour, timing and possible migration routes of Red Knots and Bar-tailed Godwits from Farewell Spit, North-West Nelson. Emu 97: 108-120.

  38. Piersma, T., R. Hoekstra, A. Dekinga, A. Koolhas, P. Wolf., P.F. Battley & P. Wiersma. 1993. Scale and intensity of intertidal habitat use by knots Calidris canutus in the western Wadden Sea in relation to food, friends and foes. Netherlands Journal for Sea Research 31: 331-357.

Other publications

  1. Battley, P.F. & M.E. Hauber. 2006. Beauty is only partly in the eye of the beholder. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 22(2): 62-63. Review of Bird Coloration, Volumes I & II, edited by Geoffrey E. Hill and Kevin J. McGraw.

  2. Battley, P.F. 2005. Book Review: Shorebirds of North America. The Photographic Guide. By D. Paulson. Notornis 52: 122-123.

  3. Battley, P.F. 2004. Book Review: Shorebirds of the Yellow Sea, by M. Barter. Emu 2004: 299.

  4. Battley, P.F. 2003. Adaptations for endurance exercise in migratory birds. Proceedings of the Nutritional Society of Australia (2003), Volume 27. Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition 12: Supplement S3. (Plenary abstract).

  5. Rogers, D.I., P.F. Battley and T. Piersma. 2001. Radio-tracking in the tropics. Wingspan 11: 16-20.

  6. Rogers, D.I., P. Battley, M. Russell and A. Boyle. 2000. A high count of Asian Dowitchers in Roebuck Bay, North-Western Australia. Stilt 37: 11-13.

  7. Battley, P. 1998. Book Review: Handbook of Australian, New, Zealand and Antarctic Birds, Volume 3. Notornis 45: 75-77.

  8. Battley, P. , D. Jones, D. Rogers and I. Venables. 1997. Book Review: The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia, by G. Pizzey and F. Knight. Emu 97: 335-336.

  9. Battley, P. 1994. Book Review: Addicted to Birds. Wader Study Group Bulletin 75: 6-7.

  10. Piersma, T. and Battley. P.F. 1992. When and why are knots Macomaniacs, and are Macoma too dumb to do anything about it? Wader Study Group Bulletin 64: 16. Abstract of talk given at the symposium “Shorebirds and the availability of their benthic prey”, Wader Study Group conference, Texel, the Netherlands, October 1991.

  11. Battley, P.F. 1992. Book Review: Homeward Bound: problems waders face when migrating from the Banc d'Arguin, Mauritania, to their northern breeding grounds in spring. Notornis 39: 144-146.

  12. Battley, P.F. 1991. Marsh Sandpipers in New Zealand. Stilt 19: 28-29

  13. Battley, P.F. 1991. Northern Shovelers near Wanganui. Notornis 38: 48-50

  14. Battley, P.F. and C. Jowett. 1991. White-faced heron reacts to a cat. Notornis 38: 80.

Unpublished reports

  1. Moore, S.J. and P.F. Battley. 2002. Pateke/Brown Teal Monitoring, Okiwi Basin, Great Barrier Island, August-November 2001. Report to Department of Conservation, Port FitzRoy, Great Barrier Island. 43 pages.

  2. D. Rogers, P. Battley and T. Piersma. 2000. Progress Report, Tracking 2000: Radio-telemetry and other studies of Great Knots and Red Knots in Roebuck Bay, March-April 2000. Report to participants and funding agencies, September 2000. 48 pages.

  3. Battley, P.F. , M.D. Sanders and D.P. Murray. 1997. Survival and movements of black stilts released from captivity in 1996. Department of Conservation, Twizel.

Popular media coverage of research

  1. Satellite-tracking of migrating Bar-tailed Godwits was featured on the Department of Conservation Intranet (28-30 March 2007), scoop.co.nz (28 March 07), Radio New Zealand (interview on checkpoint, 28 March 07), New Zealand Herald (29 March 07), Newstalk ZB and Radio Live (interviews on 29 March 07), TV1 national news (interview on 29 March 07), Sunday Star Times (full-page article on 1 April 07), BBC World Service (interview on 3 April 07), The Times, London (full-page article on 4 March 07), Birdlife International website (4 April 07), Hankyoreh Newspaper, South Korea (9 April).

  2. Bad Korea Move. The Listener, New Zealand, May 20-26 2006, pp. 34-35 (by Kim Griggs). Reports on the Saemangeum intertidal reclamation in South Korea.

  3. Unraveling the Knot. National Geographic 203, 86-91 (February 2003) (by John L. Eliot).

  4. ‘Quantum’ (ABC Science Television series, Australia), June 2000: a 7-minute segment on a radio-tracking expedition to Broome (March 2000).

  5. Natural History Magazine, Museum of Natural History, November 2000: Organ reductions in Great Knots, based on Battley et al. 2000.

  6. The London Daily Times, March 2000: Organ reductions in migrating birds, based on Battley et al. 2000.

Professional memberships and committees

Ornithological Society of New Zealand, 1984 to present.
International Wader Study Group, 1991 to present.
Australasian Wader Studies Group, 1991 to present.
Queensland Wader Study Group, 1998-2001.
Queensland Ornithological Society, 1997-2001.

Australasian Wader Studies Group Scientific Steering Committee, 2000 to present.
Australasian Wader Studies Group Executive, 2000-2001, 2005.
Vice-president, Queensland Ornithological Society, 2000-2001. Committee member 1998-1999.
Miranda Naturalists Trust Council, 2004 to present.

Organised events

Organiser, scientific program, Australasian Shorebird Conference, Nelson, December 2005.
Co-organiser, Ornithological Society of New Zealand Scientific Day, Hamilton, June 5, 2005.
Organising Committee, 2nd Southern Hemisphere Ornithological Congress, Griffith University, Brisbane, 28 June to 2 July 2000.
Co-organiser, Australasian Wader Studies Group conference, Griffith University, Brisbane, 1 July 2000.
Organiser, 3rd Griffith University Ecology Research Student Conference, 15 August 1998.
Organiser, scientific program, Ornithological Society of New Zealand annual conference, June 1996.

Awards

Best talk, Griffith University Ecology and Evolution Postgraduate Symposium, July 2000 (judged by Professor Stuart Pimm, Columbia University, USA).
Best talk, University of Queensland Zoological and Entomological Postgraduate Student Conference, August 1999.
A.T. Edgar Junior Award, Ornithological Society of New Zealand, 1985.

Scientific peer reviewing

2006-2007 – Associate editor, Ibis

Journals refereed for by year
2007 - Journal of Avian Biology
2006 – Behavioral Ecology, Emu, Journal of Field Ornithology
2005 – Ardea, Emu, Functional Ecology, Journal of Avian Biology, Oecologia, Proceedings: Biological Sciences, Stilt, Zoology
2004 – Emu, Ibis, Journal of Avian Biology
2003 – Ardea, Journal of Avian Biology
2002 – Ardea, Condor, Journal of Experimental Biology
2001 – The Stilt
2000 – Journal of Avian Biology, Notornis
1999 – Ardea, Ibis, Journal of Avian Biology

Scientific talks (international talks in bold)

June 2006 Movements of Arctic-breeding waders in New Zealand: what’s new after year two? Ornithological Society of New Zealand Scientific Day, Wellington.
Feb 2006 To beg, borrow and steal: the art of doing research on the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. Western Hemisphere Shorebird Science Meeting, Boulder, Colorado, USA.
Dec 2005 Monitoring shorebird numbers during migration at Saemangeum, South Korea: documenting or averting a crisis? Australasian Shorebird Conference, Nelson, New Zealand.
Dec 2005 Setting the scene: research along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. Opening adress, Australasian Shorebird Conference, Nelson, New Zealand.
Dec 2005 Migration of Great Knots and Red Knots from Northwest Australia: how do Red Knots reach the breeding grounds in time? Australasian Ornithological Conference, Blenheim, New Zealand.
Nov 2005 Research along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway: challenges, opportunities and successes. Keynote address, Avian Disease and the Migration of Birds Conference (Shorebird Migration symposium). Waterbird Society Annual Conference, Taiwan.
June 2005 Movements of Arctic-breeding waders in New Zealand: the first year’s results. Ornithological Society of New Zealand Scientific Day, Hamilton.
Apr 2005 Quantitative survey of the intertidal benthos of Farewell Spit, Golden Bay. Ecoquest Foundation, Firth of Thames.
Apr 2005 Knowns and unknowns in the migration of Eastern Bar-tailed Godwits. Ecoquest Foundation, Firth of Thames.
Dec 2004 Knowns and unknowns in the migration of Eastern Bar-tailed Godwits. Invited speaker, 2004 International Symposium on Migratory Birds, Gunsan, Korea.
Oct 2004 Current research on Bar-tailed Godwits. Miranda Naturalists’ Trust open day, Miranda.
Nov 2003 Adaptations for endurance exercise in migratory birds. Plenary lecture, Nutritional Society of Australia, Hobart, Australia.
June 2003 Body size, fat loads and flight ranges of Bar-tailed Godwits before northward migration from New Zealand. Ornithological Society of New Zealand Scientific Day, Wanganui.
June 2003 Late migratory departures of Red Knots from North-west Australia. Ornithological Society of New Zealand Scientific Day, Wanganui.
Apr 2003 Do body condition and plumage during fuelling predict northwards departure dates of Great Knots (Calidris tenuirostris) from North-west Australia? Department of Ecology, Massey University.
Feb 2003 Using ARTS to determine departure dates of Great Knots on migration . European Science Foundation funded workshop on automated radio telemetry systems, Texel, The Netherlands.
Oct 2002 Top predators of exposed seabeds: shorebirds of the Wadden Sea. NEBROC (Netherlands-Bremen Oceanographic Course) course, Texel, The Netherlands.
July 2001 Body condition during fuelling does not affect departure date in Great Knots (Scolopacidae) departing from tropical Australian non-breeding quarters for East Asian spring stopover sites. Ecology and Evolution Postgraduate Symposium Day, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia.
July 2000 Long-distance migration necessitates a flexible lifestyle in Great Knots. Symposium on Physiological Correlates of Avian life Histories, Southern Hemisphere Ornithological Congress, Brisbane, Australia.
Oct 1999 Physiology and energetics of migration. Invited lecture at Queensland Wader Study Group course: Introduction to Waders. Brisbane, Australia.
Oct 1999 Differential organ reduction during bird migration. Ecology and Evolution Postgraduate Symposium Day, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia.
Aug 1999 Differential organ reduction during bird migration. Zoological and Entomological Postgraduate Students Conference, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
June 1999 Differential organ reduction during bird migration. Australasian Wader Studies Group conference, Phillip Island, Victoria, Melbourne.
Jan 1998 Body composition and migration of Great Knots. University of Groningen, The Netherlands.
Apr 1997 Shorebird migration: preparation and execution. Griffith University Ecology seminar series, Brisbane, Australia.
May 1996 Untitled address to Miranda Naturalists Trust AGM. Miranda, Firth of Thames.
Mar 1996 Wader ecology and migration: flexibility as a lifestyle. Ecology Department seminar series, Massey University.
Feb 1996 Coastal waterbird studies in Ghana, West Africa. Massey University Ecology Department Postgraduate Research Discussion Group.
Nov 1995 Tales from the tundra. Birds and conservation in the Russian arctic. Slideshow given to Ornithological Society of New Zealand regional meetings in Auckland, South Auckland, Waikato and Manawatu.
Oct 1995 Tales from the tundra. Birds and conservation in the Russian arctic. Ecology Department seminar series, Massey University.
May 1995 Seasonal and long-term trends of birds at the Manawatu River estuary. Manawatu Branch, Ornithological Society of New Zealand.
Sept 1994 Birds and benthos on a New Zealand sandflat. Internal symposium series, Netherlands Institute for Sea Research.
Aug 1994 To what degree will differing community assemblages of intertidal invertebrates at different sites affect our ability to successfully reach meaningful global conclusions?: knots and oystercatchers on Farewell Spit, New Zealand. Round table discussion on "What represents the harvestable prey for different kinds of intertidal bird predators in different parts of the world?", 20th International Ornithological Congress, Vienna, Austria.
May 1994 Seasonal and long-term trends of birds at the Manawatu River estuary. Scientific day, OSNZ annual conference, Nelson.
May 1994 The migration of Arctic waders in New Zealand: Red Knot. Scientific day, OSNZ annual conference, Nelson.
Feb 1994 The ecology of waders around the world, including Farewell Spit. Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society annual camp, Collingwood, Golden Bay.
Apr 1993 The ecology of waders on Farewell Spit. Massey-Victoria student colloquium, Massey University.
Aug 1992 Seabird restoration in Maine. Ecology Department seminar series, Massey University.
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