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Tagged rat. Image: Morgan Coleman

Rats with chips: how microchipped rats are helping scientists to protect our native birds

Some of the highest rat densities ever measured on the New Zealand mainland are being recorded in a study run by Manaaki Whenua – Landcar...

Hieracium with a wasp gall

Hieracium Biocontrol – 20 Years on

Hieracium ([Hieracium] and [Pilosella] species) or hawkweeds, are perennial herbs in the plant family Asteraceae that have dandelion-like...

Seona (right) and Amber (left) searching for potential agents

A Few Steps Closer With Nassella Tussock

Just less than a year ago we revived efforts to search for effective fungal biocontrol agents for nassella tussock, and we are pleased to...

A heavily defoliated buddleia bush in Northland. Inset: Buddleia weevil larvae and damage

Buddleia Be Gone!

Buddleia (Buddleja davidii) is native to China and is a serious weed in plantation forests, natural habitats and riparian areas in New Ze...

  1. Three for the Price of One in Chile

    Chantal Probst, our plant pathology technician, and Randall Milne (Environment Southland), travelled to Chile in November last year to collect starter cultures of the Darwin’s barberry rust (Puccinia berberidis-darwinii) and pampas floral smut (Ustilago quitensis). As is often the case, to maximise ...

  2. Who’s Who in Biological Control of Weeds?

    Alligator weed beetle
    (Agasicles hygrophila)
    Foliage feeder, common, often provides excellent control on static water bodies.
    Alligator weed beetle
    (Disonycha argentinensis)
    Foliage feeder, released widely in the early 1980s, failed to establish.
    Alligator weed moth
    (Macrorrhinia endonephele)
    ...

  3. Spring Activities

    Most biocontrol agents become active during spring, making it a busy time of year to check release sites and move agents around.

  4. Tale of the Scotch Thistle Gall Fly

    Scotch thistle (Cirsium vulgare) is one of the most common thistle weeds in New Zealand, being present in all regions of the country in a diversity of habitats. The weed is a prolific seed producer, with an average of 200 seeds per seedhead, and individual plants can produce over 50,000 seeds. Scotc...

  5. Further reading & agents released table

    Gavin Loxton (left) and Lindsay Smith (right) at a Canterbury hieracium biocontrol site

    Further reading Clarkson B, Paynter Q, Winks C, Bartlam S, Watts C, Thornburrow D 2019. Best-practice guidelines for managing Tradescantia threats to native biodiversity. A research collaboration between BioHeri...

  6. Slowing down enabled connection with nature

    Slowing down during lockdown enabled connection with nature.

    Many people noted that slowing down renewed their sense of connection with nature, seeing, hearing and feeling nature more intensely both at home and in their local areas. Connecting with nature generated a sense of calm, brought joy and...

  7. Caring for and with nature during rāhui was at times quite challenging

    Social scientist Alison Greenaway discovered that people who have a sense of kaitiakitanga or guardianship expressed great responsibility for the whenua (land), and for the environment during lockdown.

  8. People have high hopes that post COVID-19 NZ will be more connected

    When asked about their hopes for the post-COVID future of Aotearoa New Zealand typically people wanted nature to get more attention and better care.

  9. The forgotten fauna: introduced seed predators are no surrogate for extinct seed-eating animals on islands

    Whenever humans have reached islands, animal species on those islands have been exposed to a raft of new pressures, such as habitat loss and invasive species. As a result, many animals have gone extinct – the dodo of Mauritius being one the most well-known examples. Less well-known is that the extin...

  10. Major update of S-map Online soil data

    S-map Online, a tool developed and updated by Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research, provides the best available soil survey data for New Zealand.

    The latest update to S-map is a significant nationwide update. A major focus is the update to the soil hydrology information. This is an outcome of an MBIE...
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