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2020 News

  1. Biosecurity Bonanza

    Manaaki Whenua’s annual one-day Biosecurity Bonanza is an established part of New Zealand’s biosecurity research conference calendar, normally attracting around 100 stakeholders and research partners.

  2. DNA sequencing for better identification of fungi

    It is an exciting time to be a fungal taxonomist (someone who specialises in the identification and classification of fungi) according to Dr Peter Johnston, one of Manaaki Whenua’s experts in the discipline.

  3. Moving New Zealand beyond myrtle rust

    Myrtle rust is a disease caused by an invasive pathogen that infects iconic native New Zealand trees in the Myrtaceae family. Spread by the windborne fungus [Austropuccinia psidii], myrtle rust affects many economically and culturally important species such as pōhutukawa, mānuka, kanuka and rata, le...

  4. Taking refuge from an invasive pathogen

    Researchers have identified areas, known as ‘refugia’ by ecologists, where Myrtaceae may be able to ride out the threat of myrtle rust.

  5. Biocontrol – slow and steady wins the race

    As is well known, invasive non-native plant species are a threat to New Zealand’s native biodiversity and ecosystems – and the list of invaders is long. Herbicides are widely used in the management of invasive plants, but they have non-target effects on native plants in treated areas and are expensi...

  6. More biocontrol agents in the pipeline

    Just before lockdown in early 2020, Zane McGrath of Manaaki Whenua travelled to Uruguay to collect specimens of [Anastrepha australis] (the moth plant pod fly), a prospective biocontrol agent for the invasive moth plant [Araujia hortorum] (also known as [Araujia sericifera]).

  7. Rats with chips: how radio-collared 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 at Lake Alabaster in Fiordland, as part of the 5-year ‘More Birds in the Bush’ MBIE Endeavour research programme. The study, carried out in collaboration with DOC, is showi...

  8. Are we winning against wildings?

    Invasion by wilding pines is arguably New Zealand’s most serious and intractable weed problem. Wildings have profound impacts on our treasured landscapes and native plants, ecosystem services, economy, and cultural values.

  9. Celebrating our achievements

    Bruce Warburton has been appointed a member of the Game Animal Council by Hon Eugenie Sage, Minister of Conservation. The Council was established to represent the interests of the hunting sector and improve the management of hunting resources while contributing to positive conservation outcomes. The...

  10. Getting offset, not offside, about native forests

    September 2020 saw the publication of Native Forests: Resetting the Balance, a report by the Aotearoa Circle that explores ways in which we can accelerate the regeneration of native biodiversity at scale while optimising the use of New Zealand’s land assets.