Rats, elevation and implications of climate change
Ship rats are known to be good and climbing trees – but what are they like at climbing mountains? If our climate gets warmer, might…
Al Glen captures predator portraits on camera
Monitoring cryptic animals is one of the big challenges of becoming predator free, according to Auckland-based Landcare Research scientist, Dr Al Glen. “Predators are cryptic,”…
Conservation geneticists want to build a bridge to DOC
Conservation genetics has implications for all sorts of conservation measures. Whether it be choosing the source birds for a translocation to a new sanctuary to…
Stoat research is not for the squeamish
WARNING: [stomach] contents may disturb sensitive readers. When Jamie McAulay opens his mail in the morning he often finds “a lovely, delightful, maggoty mess!” Jamie…
What’s the story with genetic pest management (GPM)?
Breakthrough genetic technologies are likely to play a key role in achieving a predator-free future. But it’s important that we understand what the various technologies…
Wind beneath their wings
New Zealand is the albatross capital of the world, with more than a dozen varieties. So where do they all live and why are so…
Putting the case for ‘bottom up’
Mostly we get rid of introduced predators by, well – killing predators. It works, up to a point. But if you can’t get rid of…
Open Source is key to bringing back the cacophony
Early New Zealand was noisy. Cook and his crew experienced a ‘cacophony of sound’ on their first voyage. It’s that loud, raucous, exuberance which Banks…
Liberation of stoats and weasels – a look back in time
Why did they do it? What possessed New Zealand’s government of the day, its citizens and acclimatisation societies to introduce rabbits and then stoats? It’s…
Icy beginning for Mapua Dawn Chorus
Mapua Dawn Chorus held an open day recently to kick off their backyard trapping. There’s already an extensive trapping network around the nearby Waimea estuary,…
Genetic diversity – what do we know about kea?
Kea numbers are decreasing. Nesting adult females, their eggs and chicks are highly at risk from mammal predators. But are there other, invisible risks too?…
Whiteheads rejoin Bream Head dawn chorus
There’s a new song being sung in the Bream Head dawn chorus and it’s being sung by a 100-strong choir of ‘bush canaries’. In May…
PCE Report – More $$ for conservation, more support for groups
“Nearly 2 million tourists came to New Zealand last year. Few if any came to go shopping,” says Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Dr Jan…
PCE Report – Birds need habitat and lots of it!
Preserving, restoring and creating habitats for our wildlife doesn’t just mean planting trees and saving forests. It’s not just nature reserves and national parks. Braided…
PCE Report – Research priorities and future promise
Developments in genetic science may give us the ultimate predator-free breakthrough one day, but we can’t sit back and wait for that to happen. “If…
