I am an ecological statistician or a statistical ecologist. My work centres on the use and development of statistical methods for ecological applications. Understanding ecological processes and patterns of plants and animals is continuously challenging because of natural temporal and spatial variability. This is why statistics is so important for ecology. We need to quantify, estimate and make rigorous probabilistic statements about these stochastic systems where absolute determinism is simply impossible. A lot of the traditional statistical methods are not, however, capable of handling the quirkiness of underlying biological realities in these systems. So, new and creative statistical approaches and ideas are often required to answer questions. I take an inter-disciplinary approach as an applied statistician and a practicing field ecologist to tackle these issues. Much of the practical work I do is in marine ecology, at the University of Auckland's Leigh Marine Laboratory. I am actively involved in ecological and environmental consulting and also develop computer programs that implement the newest statistical methods and techniques available.
Ecological data require special statistical methods!

PLUS pretty much anything that involves the nexus between ecology (especially marine ecology) and statistics.
There are LOTS of opportunities for POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS to explore one or more of these areas of research.