Rate My Professor Grant Duffy

Dr. Grant Duffy is a Research Fellow in the Department of Marine Science within the Sciences Division at the University of Otago. He also serves as Business Development Manager in the University’s Research and Enterprise office, with a focus on environment, energy, manufacturing, data, and technology ecosystems. Holding a PhD, Duffy specializes in ecology, integrating field, laboratory, and computational approaches to study physiological responses to environmental change. His research interests include thermal physiology, microclimates, species distribution modeling, invasive species threats—particularly in Antarctica—and impacts of climate change and urbanization on biodiversity across marine and terrestrial realms. Duffy supervises PhD students in marine science and zoology on topics such as ecological assessments and novel methodologies. As an Associate Investigator for the Securing Antarctica’s Environment Future programme, he contributes to monitoring Antarctic biodiversity and adaptation to environmental shifts.

Duffy has authored over 57 peer-reviewed publications, accumulating more than 1,900 citations. His influential works address critical ecological challenges, including "Emerging long-term trends and interdecadal cycles in Antarctic polynyas" (PNAS, 2024), which identified expanding ice-free coastal areas and interdecadal cycles, receiving extensive media coverage; "Kelp holdfast microclimates buffer invertebrate inhabitants from extreme temperatures" (2024); "Sensitivity of insectivorous bat foraging guilds to urbanization and implications for sustainable development" (2024); "Ice-free area expansion compounds the non-native species threat to Antarctic terrestrial biodiversity" (2019); "Barriers to globally invasive species are weakening across the Antarctic" (2017); "Microclimate-based macrophysiology: Implications for insects in a warming world" (2015); and "Thermal physiology and urbanization: Perspectives on exit, entry and transformation rules" (2015). These contributions advance understanding of physiological limits, invasion risks, urban resilience, and polar ecosystem dynamics, informing conservation and policy.