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  1. ICMP: the good of small things

    Manaaki Whenua is the custodian of almost a third of Aotearoa New Zealand’s Nationally Significant Databases and Collections. These include biological resources such as reference species collections, and are important scientific, cultural and historical public assets.

  2. Using genomics data to unlock precision pest control

    Pest control of invasive mammalian species – rats, mice, stoats, possums, and the rest – is a key priority for Aotearoa New Zealand to prevent further decline of our iconic, endangered native species, and to support the Predator Free 2050 initiative. One limitation of current vertebrate toxins for p...

  3. Ancient DNA provides a fascinating insight into Aotearoa’s rodent history

    Aotearoa has at least 34 species of introduced mammals with established feral populations. For some of these introduced mammals we have reasonable documentation about how and when they arrived because they were deliberately introduced, but for those that snuck their way uninvited to our shores in t...

  4. Hungry mice deplete biodiversity of ecosanctuaries

    If it weren’t for the mice, then caterpillars, spiders, wētā, beetles and even earthworms would be abundant in Aotearoa New Zealand’s ecosanctuaries.

  5. How destructive could myrtle rust be to our trees?

    Aotearoa New Zealand has 37 native Myrtaceae species, including pōhutukawa and rātā, mānuka and kānuka, ramarama and swamp maire, of which 25 are endemic. But there are many other non-native myrtle species in New Zealand, including eucalypts, feijoa, bottlebrushes, lilly pilly, and monkey apple.

  6. Wetland vegetation: the plots thicken

    Manaaki Whenua’s wetland research team is currently working towards a ‘classification’ of wetland vegetation. This will turn hundreds of wetland data plot sheets into sets of recognisable ‘communities’, which can then be linked to soil nutrient gradients.

  7. Landslide victory: using satellite data to spot dammed rivers after the Kaikoura quake

    Just after midnight on 14 November 2016, New Zealand experienced its most powerful and complex seismic event since the 1855 Wairarapa earthquake. Initially centred close to Culverden, north Canterbury, the magnitude 7.8 quake triggered a complicated series of northward-spreading fault ruptures. The ...

  8. Making “un-poplar” decisions: a framework for better tree choices in our hill country

    Around 20% of Aotearoa New Zealand is classed as “hill country” – much of it marginal pastoral agricultural land with low productive potential. Often steep and treeless, hill country is prone to soil erosion and rapid surface runoff after rainfall.

  9. Predator modelling applied to study of COVID health equity

    The COVID-19 pandemic has been disruptive of many science activities over the past 2 years. Fieldwork, conferences, hui, workshops – much work has had to be rescheduled or moved online. However, scientists are lateral thinkers. The pandemic has also brought new and wide-ranging opportunities to appl...

  10. Kauri dieback going to the dogs

    Manaaki Whenua wildlife ecologist Dr Al Glen is working with the Auckland Council and Zach Carter from the University of Auckland to test the ability of trained dogs to sniff out Phytophthora agathidicida, the causative organism of kauri dieback.