Curriculum Vitae
Brian Lee Paavo
Center for Excellence in STEM Education / Dept. of Biological Sciences
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA, USA
Phone: +01-805-756-2875
Email: [email protected]
Education
2007
1997
PhD, University of Otago, Department of Marine Science;
Macrofauna and meiofauna of soft-sediments
BSc, University of Hawai’i Manoa; Zoology Major (invertebrate ecology focus);
Technical Theatre Minor (lighting/scenic design)
Wastewater Treatment Program, Northern Michigan University, U.S.A.
1991–93
Work Experience
2014 – Present
2013 – Present
2011 – 2014
2008 – 2010
2004 – 2014
2001 – 2002
1997 – 2001
1993 – 1997
STAR (STEM Teacher and Researcher) Program Director, Cal Poly San Luis
Obispo, CA, USA
Decision-maker (EEZ and Extended Continental Shelf), New Zealand
Environmental Protection Authority, Wellington, NZ
Theatre Studies Programme, Department of Music, University of Otago,
Dunedin, NZ
Teaching Fellow, Department of Marine Science, University of Otago,
Dunedin, NZ
Director, Benthic Science Limited, Dunedin, NZ
Marine Environment Researcher, Water Resources Research Center,
Honolulu, HI, USA
Instructor & Curriculum Developer, Guided Discoveries, Inc., Claremont,
CA, USA
Research Technician, macrofaunal 'Wormlab' group, University of Hawai'i
Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, USA
Research Experience
2011
AO Mapping: Benthic observations and environmental assessment including
macrofaunal community, sediment texture, sidescan sonar (675kHz), and
benthic still and video studies of continental shelf site 'A0' proposed to receive
7.2 million m3 of dredged harbor sediments.
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2013
GoPro Hack: Design, construction, and online publication of GoPro modifications for real-time underwater monitoring of pole-cam video and audio from
small vessels for the purposes of monitoring dolphin populations in Milford
Sound, NZ.
2010
Underwater Stereovideography: Design and manufacture of 'Dory,' a moored
stereo-video package for unattended monitoring of baitfish aggregations in
waters up to 100 m deep off the Akaroa Peninsula, NZ
2009
Rocky Shore Habitats in Lower Otago Harbour: Benthic SCUBA line transect
and subtidal photoquadrats of mobile invertebrates and macroalgae adjacent
to the primary shipping channel
2008
Triops: Design and manufacture of 'Triops' a towed or drop still-photo survey
system with real-time oblique (anaglyphic) benthic videos cameras and lighting for operations in waters up to 50 m deep.
2002–2007
Ph.D. Thesis: Soft-sediment benthos of Aramoana and Blueskin Bay (Otago,
New Zealand) and effects of dredge-spoil disposal. PhD thesis, University of
Otago Dept. of Marine Science, 498 p.
2006–2008
BioTally: Researched, developed, and produced a novel lab productivity tool,
BioTally, used to efficiently enumerate hierarchically categorised lab units
(biological, geological, etc.) with direct entry into a postgreSQL database
through a JAVA front-end which also served as a reference literature and media browser. Units were sold in three countries for lab and shipboard operations.
2002–2014
SPI-Scan®: Researched, developed, and manufactured a novel, affordable
sediment profile imaging system (SPI-Scan). To date, six systems have been
sold in three countries. Users include government, private, and academic institutions working on marine environmental monitoring including generating
one Ph.D. Thesis (U. Auckland) based, in part, on this instrument for monitoring benthic geochemical processes. The instrumentation specifics have been
released into the public domain, but SPI-Scan is a registered trademark I hold.
2009
Chorus Telecommunications Cable: Impacts of heavy-equipment operations
on sand-flat communities in Waitati; prediction of impacts and post-activity
monitoring of macrofaunal community disturbances with intertidal communications cable burial operations.
2006
New Zeeps: Deep-sea marine expedition (23 days at sea) 'New Zeeps' in coordination with NIWA, WHOI, and SOEST mapping and examining benthic
communities and processes adjacent to methane seeps off the east coast of NZ
in water depths of 800-1400 m including meiofaunal, macrofaunal, and volatile gas sampling, fixation, and curation.
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2004–2007
Miscellaneous Undergraduate Research Projects: Supervised and assisted in
six international undergraduate research projects generated from my doctoral
work.
2005
Benthic structures and associated macrofauna of Lower Otago Harbour, Dunedin, New Zealand: Benthic habitat classification combining image and macrofaunal community analyses.
2003
Bluff Outfall: Nearshore subtidal macrofaunal communities on an exposed
coast near the Bluff municipal sewerage outfall (Invercargill City Council)
1997
Historic Dredge Spoil Disposal Site Assessment: Environmental Impacts of
Dredge Spoil from Pearl Harbor, Honolulu, Hawai’i. Macrofaunal and sedimentological analyses prepared for the US Army Corps of Engineers
1996
Cage Mariculture: Macrofaunal community impacts of phased offshore mariculture of Polydactylus sexfilis (Hawai’i state government)
2009
Seafood Marine Area Discharge Assessment: Sediment Profile Imagery analysis and reporting for Sitka Sound Seafoods
Academic Achievements
2008
Co-developed a new course, MARI 202 – Marine Invertebrates – consisting of
23 lectures and 13 (4 hr) practical lab sessions for 40-60 undergraduates, Department of Marine Science, University of Otago, Dunedin, NZ
2008
Co-developed a new course, MARI 302 – Biology and Behaviour of Marine
Vertebrates – consisting of 23 lectures and 13 (4 hr) practical lab sessions for
40-60 undergraduates , Department of Marine Science, University of Otago,
Dunedin, NZ
2011
Developed a new 3-week module for THEA 356 – Design for Theatre – consisting of theory lectures and practical exercises in theatrical CAD for lighting
and sets.
1999–2001
Developed curriculum at resident science camp facilities serving >25k students annually including marine ecology, island ecology, physical oceanography, sea technology, invertebrate zoology, holography, remote sensing, robotics, light and optics, and microgravity simulations among others.
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Publications and Abstracts
Paavo, BL (in press) Review of the Invasive Polychaete Identifier online tool, in Proceedings of the
11th International Polychaete Conference, Sydney, 2013, eds. Robin Wilson, Pat Hutchings, and
Chris Glasby, Memoirs of Museum Victoria.
Paavo, BL, Ham D, Gorlitz S, Probert PK (2012) How does tidal submersion time affect
macroinvertebrate community patterns on a temperate sheltered sandflat? Marine and Freshwater
Research, 63: 68–77.
Neuhaus B, Higgins RP, Paavo BL (2011) Chapter 10: Phylum Kinorhyncha (mud dragons).
Dennis P. Gordon (ed.) in New Zealand Inventory of BioDiversity Volume 2, Chaetognatha,
Ecdysozoa, and Ichnofossils, Canterbury University Press, Christchurch, New Zealand, 544 p.
Paavo BL, Jonker R, Probert PK, Thrush S (2011) Macrofaunal community patterns of adjacent
coastal sediments with wave-reflecting or wave-dissipating characteristics. Journal of Coastal
Research, 27(3): 515–528.
Probert PK, Glasby CJ, Grove SL, Paavo BL (2009) Bathyal polychaete assemblages in the region of
the Subtropical Front, Chatham Rise, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Marine and
Freshwater Research, 43: 1121–1135.
Paavo B, Ziegelmeyer A, Lavric E, Probert PK (2008) Morphometric correlations and body mass
regressions for Armandia maculata, Aglaophamus macroura (Polychaeta), and Zethalia zelandica
(Gastropoda). New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 42: 85–91.
Paavo B (2007) Soft-sediment benthos of Aramoana and Blueskin Bay (Otago, New Zealand) and
effects of dredge-spoil disposal. PhD thesis, University of Otago Dept. of Marine Science, 498 p.
Probert PK, Paavo B (2004) Polychaetes. CD-ROM Review. New Zealand Journal of Marine and
Freshwater Research, 38:753–754.
Bailey-Brock JH, Paavo B, Barrett BM, Dreyer J (2002) Polychaetes associated with a tropical ocean
outfall; synthesis of a biomonitoring program off O'ahu, Hawai'i.Pacific Science, 56(4):459–479.
Bailey-Brock JH, Paavo B, Barrett BM, Dreyer J (2001) Changes in pollution indicators at the Sand
Island Sewage Outfall. OCEANS 2001 MTS/IEEE Proceedings.
Paavo BL, Bailey-Brock JH, Akesson B (2000) Life history and description of a new species of
Ophryotrocha (Polychaeta, Dorvilleidae) associated with the sewage outfalls of O'ahu, Hawai'i.
Sarsia, 85(3):251–264.
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Paavo BL, (1998) Morphology and life history of an undescribed Ophryotrocha species (Polychaeta:
Dorvilleidae) and its possible role as an indicator of organic enrichment.Pacific Science,
52(2):191.
Selected Research Presentations
Oral: 10th International Polychaete Conference (IPC) Polychaete community patterns of adjacent
sediments with wave-reflecting or wave-dissipating characteristics. Lecce, Italy, 2010.
Poster: IPC Polychaete distribution patterns in relation to superficial habitat structure. Lecce, Italy,
2010.
Oral: New Zealand Marine Sciences Society (NZMSS) Conference. Benthic habitats of Otago
Harbour. Christchurch, 2008
Poster: NZMSS BioTally: a biological solution you can count on. Christchurch, 2008.
Poster: International Polychaete Conference. SPI-Scan: Affordable Sediment Profile Imagery. U.
Maine, Portland, U.S.A., 2007.
Oral: Sediment Profile Imagery Conference. Convergent evolution: the NZ SPI-Scan system. Martin
Ryan Marine Institute, U. of Ireland, Galway, Ireland, 2006
Oral: NZMSS. Dispersive dredge spoil disposal in New Zealand. Nelson 2006.
Oral: NZMSS. Effects of dredge spoil disposal on macrofauna of wave-dominated soft-sediments.
Wellington 2005.
Oral: Albert Tester Memorial Symposium. Morphology and life history of an
undescribed species of Ophryotrocha (Polychaeta: Dorvilleidae). U. Hawai’i, Honolulu, Hawai’i,
U.S.A., 1996.
Grants and Awards Received
2014
Chevron Foundation (Co-PI), $23,942
2014
S.D Bechtel Jr Foundation (Co-PI), $10,261
2014
National Marine Sanctuary Foundation (Co-PI), $5,712
2014
Howard Hughes Medical Institute (Co-PI), $1,460
2010
City of Dunedin Marketing Mini-Award, $1000 value (in services)
2007
City of Dunedin Economic Development Unit Award, $13,000
2005
Escalator Product Development Award, $11,000
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Service and Professional Memberships
• Otago Harbour Dredging Consent Working Group Member (2005-2012)
• Expert Witness (NZ RMA & EEZ/ECS Environmental Hearings)
• Dunedin Makerspace Board (2010-2014)
• New Zealand Skeptical Society (2010–present)
• New Zealand Marine Sciences Society (2004–present, Membership Secretary 2004–2007,
Web manager 2005–2009)
• Coastal Education & Research Foundation (2010–2013)
• International Polychaetology Association (2007– present)
• Macandrew Bay Yacht Club (2007–2013)
• Peninsula Arts Appreciation Council (1989-1992, Interim Director 1993)
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