Over summer, instead of sitting in a cosy office chair, she is more often to be found in a wave-slapped inflatable boat.
Instead of watching a shimmering parade of numbers on an office computer screen, she is often peering over the side of a boat and counting dolphins.
''It's a bit like `accounting' for dolphins,'' she says.
''I work out how many individuals are added to the population, how many die each year and whether the net result is a population increase or decrease.''
Over the summer months when many other people are taking holiday breaks, Prof Slooten and her partner, fellow Otago University professor and dolphin specialist Steve Dawson, of the Otago marine science department, have for decades been working hard, in a small boat somewhere off the New Zealand coast, counting dolphins.
New Zealand's endemic Hector's dolphins are among the world's smallest and rarest dolphins, growing to a length of only about 1.5m.
The ''accounting'' figures for these cetaceans, related to whales and porpoises, make grim reading.
The main, and ''endangered'', subspecies of Hector's dolphin is found off the South Island coast, where fewer than 8000 are left, down sharply from 30,000 in the 1970s.
The other ''critically endangered'' subspecies, Maui's dolphin, is found off the west coast of the North Island, where only about 50 remain.
Prof Slooten, of the Otago zoology department, says New Zealand has done a ''superb job'' of marketing itself internationally as an environmentally responsible country, but when it comes to Maui's dolphins, the reality is ''sadly'' different.
She warns that Maui's dolphins, which are found only in New Zealand, are ''teetering on the brink of extinction''.
''If half-measures are taken, or we waste another five years to act, it could be too late.
''It's not [quite] too late. For example, there is no indication of inbreeding.
''But the dolphins are still being killed, unnecessarily, in fishing nets.
''I'm sure most people, in New Zealand and elsewhere, would be appalled to know that both commercial and `recreational' fishers use fishing methods that are well known to be lethal to dolphins.''
Ironically, most of the fishing methods that can be used are ''dolphin safe'', she says.
All that is needed is to switch from fishing nets to ''selective, sustainable fishing methods in the habitat of Maui's and Hector's dolphins''.
Failing to do more to protect New Zealand's endemic dolphins can ultimately damage our ''clean green'' international image, Prof Slooten says.`Obvious solution'Research shows Maui's and Hector's dolphins dive to depths of up to 100m.
The ''obvious solution'' to protect them is fishing methods in waters shallower than 100m need to change rapidly.
Since 2012, the International Whaling Commission has made several ''increasingly firm'' recommendations to protect Maui's dolphins.
The Government has taken some action, but has not implemented key recommendations, she says. Prof Slooten was born in the Netherlands, where she also completed her primary and high school education.
Her life was changed, by ''pure chance'', when she took a holiday job at a marineland in Harderwijk, 50km east of the Dutch capital, Amsterdam, in her last year at high school.
''My first job was at a marineland with captive dolphins.
''The best part of the job was to get into the 8m-deep tank with a basket of fish and feed the dolphins.
''I loved the dolphins, seals, walruses and other animals in the marineland and decided to study biology.''
A couple of years later, in 1977, Prof Slooten emigrated to New Zealand, later gained BSc in biology at Auckland University, and in her PhD studies, she ''got back to the dolphins''.
Even when not working, she is seldom far from water, enjoying activities such as sailing, kayaking, diving and walking.
She has published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles in scientific journals and supervised 47 graduate students, including 18 PhD students.
The work of Profs Slooten and Dawson has gained attention and respect well beyond their immediate scientific circles.
In 2004, they received the Royal Society of New Zealand's Sir Charles Fleming Award for ''outstanding contribution to conservation science''.
Working togetherProf Slooten said her professional and personal relationship with her partner, Prof Dawson, had proved ''really important''.
''From time to time, one of us will get despondent about the slow progress and the ongoing toll of dead dolphins. ... there is always someone on hand to provide encouragement.''
Prof Slooten says there is a ''win-win solution'' in which neither dolphins nor the fishing industry would be losers.
The sooner the transition is made from ''non-selective, `bulk' fishing methods such as gill nets and trawl nets'' to ''selective, sustainable fishing methods'', including fish traps, hook-and-line methods, the better for both, she says.
Despite the big challenges facing New Zealand's small dolphins, she remains ''optimistic''.
''If we act now, and do the right thing, we can turn things around and set a course for a sustainable future.''
SNAPSHOT
Name and age: Liz (Elisabeth) Slooten (56).
Occupation: Zoology professor at University of Otago.
Qualifications: PhD, Canterbury University, 1990.
Work history: Lecturer at Otago since 1990, other roles, including director of environmental science. Proudest achievement: Protection measures for Maui's and Hector's dolphins.
What is your research about? I do fieldwork for a couple of months every year gathering data on dolphin populations, survival rates and reproductive rates. I analyse population viability, to determine if the human impact on Maui's and Hector's dolphins is sustainable.
Why is it important? These dolphins are found only in New Zealand. We have a responsibility to ensure they survive and future generations can enjoy them.
Most interesting aspect of your research? The fieldwork, and the ''Eureka'' moments during data analysis when everything suddenly makes sense.
In what way is it unique? The dolphins are unique. Prof Slooten and her partner, Prof Steve Dawson, of the Otago marine science department, have been studying Hector's and Maui's dolphins more than 30 years, since 1984.
