Recipients

Recent recipients

Professor Rochelle Constantine ONZM, of Waipapa Taumata Rau – the University of Auckland, has been awarded the 2025 Fleming Medal for pioneering research and collaborations that have driven sustainable solutions to protect endangered marine species and their habitats.

A marine ecologist and conservation biologist, Rochelle has led multidisciplinary teams studying endangered marine species – whales and dolphins in particular.

Rochelle studies large marine animals, including their behaviour, movement, ecology, and population dynamics. She uses novel technology including high-resolution tags, satellite telemetry, drones, and machine learning tools to understand multi-species marine communities.

She communicates her evidence widely to guide research-informed decision making to protect taonga species locally and internationally.

Data from her research on Bryde’s whale has informed the decision to reduce speed for ships traveling through the Hauraki Gulf, which has reduced mortality for these critically endangered whales. Rochelle has led research on the world’s rarest marine dolphin, the Māui dolphin, which has helped to protect this iconic species from overfishing and to understand their chance of recovery.

Rochelle advises international bodies on how to protect marine mammals in the Southern and Pacific Oceans.

The 2022 Charles Fleming Award for Environmental Achievement has been awarded to Professor Ann Brower, University of Canterbury, for pioneering interdisciplinary research that challenged the foundations of high country tenure review, and catalysed legislative reform to improve the conservation of New Zealand’s unique landscapes and biodiversity.

Loss of habitat is an ongoing threat to native biodiversity. Almost singlehandedly, Ann discovered that a quiet administrative process (tenure review of Crown leasehold land), over large land areas, was delivering negative biodiversity outcomes at high cost to the taxpayer. Few academics can say their work has protected 5% of New Zealand's landmass.

Ann's legacy of science-led legislative change will protect the ecological integrity of the South Island high country. Using economics, law, politics, and ecology, her research helps combat species loss globally and locally, improving mechanisms for evaluating and protecting habitats.
 

The 2019 Charles Fleming Award for Environmental Achievement has been awarded to Professor David Towns from Auckland University of Technology.

In the course of his nearly 40 years working in New Zealand environmental science, David has contributed to three fields: ecology and taxonomy of freshwater mayflies; conservation of rare reptiles; and the restoration of island ecosystems. The latter in particular has led to collaborations with iwi and community groups.  

David Towns' talk: Secret lives on seabird islands

Previous recipients