Biosystematics
Introduction
The Biosystematics Team brings together over 40 science staff researching New Zealand's most diverse groups of life on land and in freshwater. Research addresses our native and introduced plants, insects and other arthropods, fungi, and plant-associated bacteria, to describe New Zealand's biodiversity and species interrelationships and to make that information readily accessible. Currently, less than 50% of New Zealand's estimated total biodiversity in these groups has been recorded. Research is supported by Landcare Research's five national and international collections of these organisms, along with specialised databases and libraries. The biological collections also hold voucher specimens that authenticate biological studies in diverse branches of science. Biosystematists link with colleagues in ecology, conservation, genetics, weed and pest control, plant pathology, bioprospecting, and biosecurity to provide authoritative names and specimen-linked information integral to the applied sciences. Increasingly, species identification and determination of species relationships involves DNA analyses in addition to morphological and biochemical approaches. Holdings of the national collections are a key source of DNA for these studies.
Research themes
Primary contact: Peter Buchanan
|
Primary contact: Jerry Cooper
|
Primary contact: Thomas Buckley
|
Primary contact: Ilse Breitwieser
|
Fungal Biosystematics
Global Biodiversity Informatics
Invertebrate Biosystematics
Plant BiosystematicsResearch collaborations
While most staff in the team are located at Auckland and Lincoln, we work both locally and nationally in collaborations with Māori, education agencies, and the wider community. We also work internationally to assist developing nations to establish infrastructure and knowledge systems for biosystematics, biosecurity, and quarantine. Long-standing collaborations have been developed with New Zealand and overseas researchers, and we welcome further collaborations. Revenue for this research comes from the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology (FRST), biosecurity and conservation agencies, collaborating research agencies, industry, and international funding bodies.
Tools & Services
-
Interactive keys to plants
Interactive keys are a tool to assist users to identify plant material. Outcomes were traditionally limited by dichotomous keys. By using interactive keys users can start at any point and there are usually illustrations to assist decision making. Interactive keys can be designed to cope with common misinterpretations and still allow users to reach a correct result. -
Keys to Russula and Lactarius species in New Zealand
An interactive Lucid 3.4 key to New Zealand macrofungi in the genera Russula and Lactarius. -
NZAC Biological Control Voucher Collection
List of the voucher specimens representing natural enemies imported into New Zealand to control various arthropod and weed pests. Arranged by target organism. -
Virtual identification guide to NZ Carabidae genera
This identification guide provides a Lucid Phoenix interactive key to New Zealand ground–beetle genera
Science leader
 | Peter Buchanan Email  |
Landcare Research | |
Phone: +64 9 574 4100 |