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Mark Piper, interim CEO for the Bioeconomy Science Institute

Chief Executive appointed for new Bioeconomy Science Institute

Mark Piper has been appointed as the inaugural Chief Executive of the new amalgamated Crown Research Institute (CRI), the New Zealand Ins...

House sparrows (tiu) are among three introduced species showing moderate short-term declines nationally. Photo credit: Manaaki Whenua/Jill Lancaster

How have our garden birds been tracking since 2014?

Things are looking up for the tauhou (silvereye), according to the results from the 2024 State of New Zealand Garden Birds | Te Āhua o ng...

Catcam

Herding cats – the science of deterrence

Aotearoa New Zealand has among the highest per capita ownership of domestic cats in the world, with an estimated 1.2 million nationwide. ...

Zane McGrath, Senior Technician at Manaaki Whenua (left), and the Vanuatu Biosecurity team conducting foliage assessment survey at the pico beetle release site in Efate.

Here, there and everywhere: Vanuatu welcomes the beetles

Another milestone for Pacific weed biocontrol was passed in November 2024, with Vanuatu receiving the pico beetle to tackle the spread of...

  1. Psyllid answer: a new biocontrol weapon for Tuvalu

    In April last year, Tuvalu released its first-ever natural enemy on the atoll of Funafuti to control their number one weed, Leucaena leucocephala (tamalini). A sap-sucking psyllid feeds on the new leaf tips of Leucaena, stunting plant growth. The psyllid is known as a major pest of Leucaena in agrof...

  2. A new partnership building capability in the Pacific

    Climate change poses an existential threat to food production, food and nutrition security, biodiversity, livelihoods, and economic resilience in Pacific Island Countries (PICs). Reduced economic resilience and food insecurity also poses risks to domestic security and social stability.

  3. Preserving the Desert Road: the battle against invasive legumes

    The Central North Island Desert Road tussock-lands are special, containing unique landscapes and ecosystems with cultural significance. Yet this special environment faces a persistent threat from invasive species such as broom, gorse, and yellow tree lupin. These fast-spreading plants displace nativ...

  4. Are birds always on the menu for rats in New Zealand’s beech forests?

    A recently published study has shown that native birds are always on the menu for invasive rats in New Zealand’s beech forests, regardless of how much other food might be available. The study delved into the DNA inside rat stomachs and showed that one in five rats in a remote Fiordland forest had be...

  5. The summer the Southern Alps turned red

    When snow on the Southern Alps turned from white to red in the summer of 2019/20, ash from Australia’s bushfires was blamed. But researchers studying the event now say the real culprit was desert dust storms that sent massive amounts of red dust across the Tasman Sea. These storms are likely to occu...

  6. Where the wild things are

    In 2002, landscape ecologist Dr Eric Sanderson and colleagues at the Wildlife Conservation Society Institute and Columbia University, New York, wrote an influential paper introducing the Human Footprint Map, a global measure of human pressures on the environment. One of the original aims of the pape...

  7. Endless possibilities for fungi specimens returned from Kew

    The excitement in the containment room was palpable as a trove of 654 specimens of fungi were welcomed home. Manaaki Whenua staff from the New Zealand Fungarium – Te Kohinga Hekaheka o Aotearoa held a welcoming ceremony for the specimens, recognising the journey they had been on and their return hom...

  8. Ancient poo proves moa were key dispersers of colourful truffle-like fungi

    In a curious case of finding something unexpected whilst looking for something else, Manaaki Whenua’s palaeoecologists have discovered that ancient moa were fond of fungi, particularly colourful truffle-like species that mimic fruit. This discovery, in turn, has helped to advance our understanding o...

  9. News in brief

    Xylella fastidiosa (Xf) is one of the most important plant biosecurity threats to New Zealand. It affects more than 500 plant species, including economically important agricultural crops such as grapevines, summerfruit, citrus and olive, but it is not currently known to be present in New Zealand. As...

  10. Celebrating our achievements

    The annual Science New Zealand Awards celebrate the people whose research and innovation makes real-world differences. The theme of this year’s awards was ‘Impacts for Aotearoa New Zealand’, recognising the research driving innovation and tangible outcomes that benefit New Zealanders.
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