Rate My Professor Jean McKinnon

Dr. Jean McKinnon is a Teaching Fellow in the Department of Marine Science within the Division of Sciences at the University of Otago. She completed her BSc, MSc in 1996 with a thesis titled 'Studies of the age, growth and shell increment patterns in the New Zealand cockle (Austrovenus stutchburyi)', and PhD in 2007 on 'Aspects of the population biology of the southern arrow squid (Nototodarus sloanii) in southern New Zealand waters', all at the University of Otago. Throughout her career at Otago, spanning more than two decades, McKinnon has focused on marine invertebrate biology, particularly cephalopods and molluscs.

Her research interests include cephalopod biology, age and growth of marine invertebrates, plankton ecology, mudflat ecology, and citizen science. McKinnon has co-authored notable publications such as 'Egg laying and embryo development of Octopus huttoni in response to temperature and season' (Marine & Freshwater Research, 2021, with E.M.Y. Donlon and M.D. Lamare), 'Growth and age of the midget octopus, Octopus huttoni' (Aquatic Ecology, 2019, with E.M.Y. Donlon, E.L. Damsteegt, F.A. Higgins, and M.D. Lamare), 'Trace elements in beaks of greater hooked squid Onykia ingens: Opportunities for environmental tracing' (Molluscan Research, 2019, with T.J. Northern and A.M. Smith), and 'Food spectrum of the deepwater squid Moroteuthis ingens (Cephalopoda: Onychoteuthidae) in New Zealand waters' (Polar Biology, 1998, with G.D. Jackson, C. Lalas, and R.J.J. Ardern). She supervised Tyler Northern's MSc thesis on mineralisation and dissolution in warty squid (Onykia ingens) and southern arrow squid (Nototodarus sloanii). McKinnon teaches MARI 112: Marine Biology: The Living Ocean, MARI 202: Ecology and Biology of Marine Invertebrates, MARI 301: Marine Ecology and Ecosystems, MARI 322: Coastal and Shelf Seas Oceanography, and contributes to education at the New Zealand Marine Studies Centre (NZMSC) as an interpreter. Her expertise covers life history and age/growth of molluscs, plankton ecology, mudflat ecology, and citizen science.