Genetic profiling reveals source of invaders
Genetic profiling sounds like something from a crime thriller, but it is a modern scientific technique that can be used to better understand the dispersal…
Prof Carolyn King is enthusiastic supporter of community efforts
Professor Carolyn (Kim) King has spent a lifetime studying New Zealand’s introduced mammalian predators and is recognised as an international expert on mustelids. She’s worked…
Measuring biodiversity outcomes
A huge effort has gone into controlling possums across New Zealand for a number of years, particularly with respect to TB eradication efforts, but what…
NZ tracking technology goes global
In the small urban satellite town of Mosgiel, just down the motorway from Dunedin, you’ll find the home base of a GPS system called ‘TracMap’.…
Bird by-kill – what research reveals
If you find a dead bird in an area after a toxin operation it’s an easy leap to say “the poison did it”. But was…
Public attitudes to pest control – what does NZ really think?
Those with the most passionate and strongly held views tend to have the loudest voices in public forums – but do they represent what most…
Old water reserve becomes ‘ark to the future’
In Nelson they’re building an ark to the future. The Brook Waimarama Sanctuary is at the site of a long-abandoned water reserve – a huge…
Catching rats – getting the basics right
This is not about an amazing scientific breakthrough in new toxins or lures. It doesn’t reveal a science-fiction-like technological invention or genetic modification to wipe…
Whakatane groups unite to help kiwi
Whakatane, Eastern Bay of Plenty – it’s the Kiwi Capital of the World! According to the town’s official website, kiwi (the feathered sort), can be…
Book: Bringing back the birdsong
With intensive pest control, the Doaks have witnessed a dramatic recovery of the native flora and fauna. In ‘their coastal slice’ the natural world has…
Pest-free future under the microscope
In a paper just published online (and not available in print until 2017), some of New Zealand’s top conservation scientists review the prospects for control…
Conservation Card Game
Cloak Of Protection – the New Zealand conservation card game by Kakariki Games. To save our birds, you need to trade, draw & play to…
Rat plague threatens wetlands birds at Harbourview
Unbeknown to most Aucklanders, fernbirds and banded rails are living only 9km from their city centre. But Jeremy Painting has discovered that rats in ‘plague’ proportions are…
Rats – are they gastropod gourmets?
Rats are quick and nimble. Snails… not so much. So our native snails are very much at the mercy of introduced rats, should rats choose…
Milson Scouts take up the PF challenge
The Milson Scout troop of Palmerston North has taken up the challenge. After an inspiring talk a couple of weeks ago by Horizons Regional Councillor,…
