Jamie Steer • Dec 24, 2018 •
I wanted to end now on a couple of final reflections and thoughts. First, I implore you as the next generation of ecologists to think critically about the assumptions of your disciplines. Don’t just blindly swallow the positions of your older colleagues, including me (OK, not so much me…). Restoration Ecology, in particular, was developed and propagated mostly by … Read More
Jamie Steer • Dec 21, 2018 •
Here are more comments from my interview with Kim Hill: ‘…each species we lose puts the entire ecosystem at risk of collapse’ ‘Without the species that are adapted to these native environments a whole ecosystem will eventually collapse’ Some people say that our ecosystems are going to collapse under the weight of introductions, that our ecosystems are essentially going … Read More
Jamie Steer • Dec 18, 2018 •
We still very often retain this belief that we can put the bits of our fallen humpty dumpty back together again; that we can restore what we’ve lost. Nature, in this respect, is still often presented as this relatively static puzzle that is waiting for us to make it whole again. Unfortunately what the science of the last 30 … Read More
- Wayne Linklater • Nov 10, 2017 •
This was the theme of today’s panel-public discussion in Old Government Buildings at Victoria University. It was chaired by Kathryn Ryan – host of Radio New Zealand’s Nine-to-noon. Panelists were asked to provide an opening statement that answered the above questions (text box) and described their position. Here is mine. In 2100 people will be an … Read More
Erica Mather • Jul 02, 2016 •
A recent study identifies promising new breeding sites on the Otago Peninsula and the Catlins coast for New Zealand sea lions. Researchers have prioritised the identification and protection of potential breeding habitats for recolonisation along the South Island coast. The subantarctic islands are home to the only three breeding colonies of the New Zealand sea lion (Phocarctos hookeri, … Read More
Waiology • Feb 07, 2013 •
By Bev Clarkson The wetland restoration handbook is available free online at http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/services/biocons/wetlands/.New Zealand wetlands sustain indigenous biota, improve water quality, abate floods, lock up carbon, and provide cultural, recreational, and educational resources. Despite their multiple values, more than 90% of pre-settlement wetlands have been lost. Remaining wetlands are under increasing pressure through … Read More
Waiology • Feb 04, 2013 •
By Daniel Collins The simple answer is, of course, water. But that says little about the natural history of wetlands, or what physical conditions are necessary to maintain, restore or even engineer them. For that, we need to take a closer look at wetland hydrology. Wetlands are tracts of land that are water-logged at least seasonally. They may be spongy … Read More
Waiology • Jan 30, 2013 •
By Shonagh Lindsay The Rotopiko/Serpentine complex, a headwater of the Waikato River at Ohaupo south of Hamilton, is steadily being developed by the National Wetland Trust as the site of New Zealand’s National Wetland Centre, a showcase for wetland education, training and research. To celebrate World Wetlands Day, the Trust will launch work on the National Wetland Centre … Read More
- Wayne Linklater • Dec 11, 2012 •
Elephant in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Reserve, South Africa. Photo credit: Chris Kelly. Frighteningly, resurgent ivory demand threatens elephant with extinction over large areas of their range. It is a world-war for wildlife on a massive scale. Governments, conservation agencies and private landowners are mobilised across Africa and Asia spending enormous amounts of money to … Read More
- Wayne Linklater • Nov 27, 2012 •
Perhaps your Grandmother, like mine upon seeing my striped shirt, advised that “blue and green shouldn’t be seen, without a colour in between”. Fashion though, like the economy and its politics, is never constant – they are always reinventing themselves. Those clashing stripes have ‘gone out’ again but I think blue-green is set to become fashionable in the economies and … Read More