19366 research outputs found
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Managing biological invasions in protected areas: Seeking new strategies to achieve global targets
No full textBiodiversity is declining at an unprecedented rate (Pörtner et al. 2021), with negative consequences for ecosystem functions and the services that people derive from natural systems (Isbell et al. 2022). Protected areas are a fundamental component of the response to biodiversity loss (Pulido-Chadid et al. 2023; Langhammer et al. 2024); they are places where expertise and resources can be focused to protect threatened species, conserve landscapes and restore ecosystems (Yang et al. 2021; Mi et al. 2023). Besides the direct benefits to biodiversity, protected areas also serve socio-economic goals by supporting sustainable development, human health and well-being and cultural values (Buckley et al. 2019; Bennett et al. 2021; Lenihan et al. 2021)
A survey of the microbiota of New Zealand hop (Humulus lupulus)
No full textHumulus lupulus (common hop) is a key ingredient for beer brewing, owing to the secondary compounds
that accumulate in the inflorescence. Currently, New Zealand hop growers benefit from conducive climatic
conditions, few pests and diseases, and an innovative breeding programme driven by increased demand
for hop-forward beer. While genetic resources provide the foundations for novel cultivar development,
import of new germplasm is currently bottlenecked by biosecurity regulations aimed at mitigating coimportation of pests and pathogens. Tissue culture (TC) has been recognised as a potential avenue to
mitigate these risks, because of a reduced microbial diversity and its well-defined characteristics. Hops
are easily propagated and provide an excellent model for investigating microbial colonisation and
persistence in TC. However, little is known about the hop microbiome to provide the basis for these
investigations. We conducted a survey of the bacterial and fungal communities from the rhizomes, leaves,
and inflorescences of two New Zealand cultivars using DNA metabarcoding and culturing. Our analysis
revealed bacterial and fungal communities structured by tissue type, with strong partitioning between
above-ground and below-ground compartments. Heterogeneity among samples varied with tissue type
and between bacteria and fungi, suggesting tissue-specific selection is met with different responses by
the two key microbial groups. Within these communities, conserved bacterial genera from the different
plant compartments, including Sphingomonas, Frigoribacterium, Curtobacterium, Varivorax, Luteibacter,
and Streptomyces, were identified as initial candidates for TC recolonisation experiments. Upcoming
experiments will focus on evaluating asymptomatic colonisation and persistence in TC, to better
understand microbial co-importation risk
Do Pinus radiata hybrids represent a solution to forestry's wilding conifer problem?
No full textAfforestation by non-native pines has led to substantial conifer invasions globally, damaging ecosystems and resulting in substantial ongoing control costs. Any further new non-native conifers being introduced to forestry programmes must therefore be assessed from the perspective of spread risk prior to their widespread establishment. Pinus radiata × attenuata is a hybrid taxon that has been trialled for forestry suitability in New Zealand. The taxon performs favourably compared to Pinus radiata at higher elevation sites due to its greater cold tolerance, and as such is now beginning to be planted by the forestry industry at higher elevation sites that are typically unsuitable for P. radiata afforestation. It has been assumed that the likelihood of invasive spread by P. radiata × attenuata from areas of afforestation is low, however this has not been formally assessed. Here, we undertook assessments of cone production, cone opening, seed viability, seed dispersal, seedling establishment, and sapling survival for P. radiata hybrids with P. attenuata. In addition, we undertook analogous assessments of P. radiata to provide a baseline for comparison, given its propensity to establish outside of cultivation. Our results indicate that while cone production and seedling survival are higher for the hybrids than P. radiata at high elevation sites, cone opening requires significantly higher temperatures. On average, only 3.6 % of ripe cones on mature (26-year-old) trees opened on the P. attenuata × radiata trees in field conditions suggesting that the strong cone serotiny may present a barrier to invasion for this taxon. Based on our current data, we suggest that the spread risk from these P. radiata hybrids is likely to be lower than that from P. radiata. Future work should examine the longevity of seed in aerial seed banks and include field surveys to assess for wilding spread from mature P. radiata with attenuata hybrid stands. We emphasise, however, that the high temperatures required to break cone serotiny appears to be the only factor limiting the spread of P. radiata hybrids with P. attenuata. Any back-crossing of these hybrids with P. radiata in future breeding programmes may lower the cone-opening temperatures and remove this barrier to spread. Further, the high temperatures generated by forest fires will lead to more extensive release of seed from the aerial seed banks and should thus be treated as incursion events. The likelihood of such fires is expected to increase in predicted future climate scenarios
Nonkululeko Gobodo: Challenging gender and race inequalities as the first Black woman accountant in South Africa
No full textThis study explores the career journey of the first Indigenous Black woman Chartered Accountant in South Africa, Nonkululeko Gobodo, who qualified in 1987, despite the racism and sexism in that country. We identify the impediments and facilitating factors that shaped her career. This career narrative is constructed using secondary data, followed by an online interaction with Nonkululeko Gobodo and analysis of her personal memoir. Our analysis uses a career crafting model to examine structural and organisational constraints, and the way people develop their careers. Nonkululeko Gobodo crafted a successful professional career despite historic and contemporary gender and race inequalities. A transition from pursuit of personal success to efforts to advance Black women’s careers is a feature of this career narrative. The study extends documentation of inequality in accounting through attention to the operation of sexism and racism in South Africa and Nonkululeko Gobodo’s strategic responses to professional and social closure in accounting
Inequality and development in rural Asia
No full textThis special issue presents seven empirical studies that investigate the complex and multidimensional relationship between inequality and rural development in Asia, with a primary focus on China and Bangladesh. The selected papers examine how different forms of inequality—income, consumption, opportunity, and gender—interact with key drivers of rural transformation, including digitalisation, agricultural modernisation, migration, and administrative reform. Collectively, the studies reveal that while technological innovations such as rural e-commerce and digital finance can reduce inequality among disadvantaged groups, their benefits are not uniformly distributed. Structural inequalities continue to constrain the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices, exacerbate gender disparities in labour reallocation, and reinforce unequal childhood health outcomes. The findings highlight the need for inclusive, context-sensitive policies that address both economic and institutional barriers to equitable development. By offering rich empirical insights and actionable policy implications, this special issue contributes to a deeper understanding of how to foster inclusive growth and sustainable transformation in rural Asi
Jaccard dissimilarity in stochastic community models based on the species-independence assumption
No full textA fundamental problem in ecology is understanding the changes in species composition among sites (i.e. beta-diversity). It is unclear how spatial heterogeneity in species occupancy across sites shapes patterns of beta-diversity. To address this question, we develop probabilistic models that consider two spatial or temporal sites, where presence probabilities vary both among species and between the sites. We derive analytical and approximate formulae for the expectation of pairwise beta-diversity. Using a graphical tool, stochastic incidence plots (SIPs), which depict the presence probabilities in two sites along species labels, we develop a means to conceptualize the heterogeneity in presence probabilities: the steepness or unevenness of SIPs reflects species-level heterogeneity, while the degree of overlap between SIPs indicates site-level heterogeneity. We find that when SIPs completely overlap (i.e. two sites have the same presence probability for each species), flat SIPs - with all species having the same presence probability - maximize the expected beta-diversity. We refer to this prediction as the ‘transfer principle for beta'. Second, using SIPs and the probabilistic method in a two-species scenario, we demonstrate that beta-diversity is lower when SIPs are parallel compared to when they are anti-parallel. We also find that this prediction is consistent with the well-known checkerboard pattern in incidence matrices. Finally, we apply the method to the species distribution models for five woodpecker species in Switzerland, showing that their spatial distributions will change significantly. Overall, this work improves our understanding of how pairwise beta-diversity responds to occupancy heterogeneit
Mental health, well-being and resilience in agricultural areas: a research agenda for the Global North
No full textThis paper offers an overview of research perspectives, gaps, and priorities within the field of mental health and well-being among farming communities in the Global North. Developed by an international working group of scholars with expertise in the mental health and well-being of agricultural and rural communities, it outlines the importance of developing an international research agenda in this subject area by presenting five propositions. Each of the propositions addresses current research gaps and/or highlights potential advancements in investigations into one of the following areas of study: i) who is being researched, ii) what is being researched, iii) geographical gaps in research, iv) informal and formal support systems, and v) methodological approaches and issues. The purpose of this paper is to encourage discussion and present a potential agenda around which new studies might be inspired and developed, as well as to help drive forward more focussed, joined-up research across the Global North to facilitate more effective outcomes for individuals belonging to agricultural communitie
University teachers’ perspectives on student attendance: A challenge to the identity of university teachers before, during and after Covid-19
No full textThis article addresses university teachers’ perspectives, gathered via interviews, on issues involved in their students’ decreasing attendance in formal taught-events, before and during the pandemic, and the implications of this for university teaching in the future. The research was part of a broad enquiry into learning and teaching during the Covid-19 pandemic, conducted in one research-led university in New Zealand by a research team of 19 university academics from multiple departments in this institution. We undertook 11 semi-structured interviews with eight professors, one lecturer and two teaching fellows, anonymous to all but the interviewer. A sub-group (authors of this article) used a general inductive approach to seek an underlying structure of experiences evident in participants’ interviews, in the form of emergent and reoccurring themes in the data. Self-determination theory was used as a theoretical framework for analysis. Themes suggest that university teachers may be stressed about attendance, increasingly uncertain about the links between how they teach and what and how students learn, and feel personally rather than collectively responsible as they address matters that they perceive to be only partially under their control. Researchers concluded that interviewed teachers may be collectively experiencing some form of crisis of confidence relating to their roles, responsibilities and identity as university teachers. Although perceptions of limited autonomy, relatedness and competence all suggest solutions at the institutional level, their combination and link to generic academic identity suggests that Covid-19 may have exposed broader limitations in university teaching as a collegiate, rather than professional, activity
Seed treatment as a delivery mechanism of a beneficial fungal volatile organic compound.
No full textThe fungal volatile organic compound 6-pentyl-2H-pyran-2-one (6-PP), produced by Trichoderma spp., can enhance plant growth and resilience to abiotic and biotic stresses. Using commercially synthesised 6-PP offers a controlled, consistent and scalable alternative to live Trichoderma application. The application of 6-PP to seed is one possible delivery mechanism, but its effect on seed germination and emergence is unknown.
This study assessed the effect of five rates of 6-PP (from 75 to 350 mM) on the germination of seeds of five agricultural or forestry species: Lolium perenne (perennial ryegrass), Bromus willdenowii (prairie grass), Triticum aestivum (wheat), Brassica napus (forage rape) and Pinus radiata (radiata pine). In addition, the 75 mM rate was tested on the seeds of four native New Zealand tree species: Coprosma robusta (karamū), Plagianthus regius (ribbonwood/manatu), Sophora prostrata (kōwhai) and Pittosporum tenuifolium (black matipo/kohuhu).
Application at 75, 114 and 228 mM did not affect the germination of prairie grass, wheat and radiata pine. However, the germination of perennial ryegrass was significantly reduced at the 228 mM rate, and prairie grass and radiata pine at the 350 mM rate, due to the production of abnormal seedlings (stunted roots) and/or dead seeds. Germination of karamu, kōwhai and ribbonwood/manutu seeds was not affected by the 75mM rate, while black matipo/kohuhu germination was significantly increased by 164%.
In five field crops of wheat and perennial ryegrass, the emergence of seeds treated with 75 mM of 6-PP was either significantly increased or did not differ from the control. Seed treatment is therefore a promising delivery method for 6-PP. Further research is needed to refine application rates, determine compatibility with agrichemicals and evaluate the storage potential of the treated seed
A rising tide of green: Unpacking predictors of New Zealand consumers’ willingness to drink, pay a price premium, and promote micro-algae-based beverages
No full textIn Australasian countries such as New Zealand, algae consumption is gaining in popularity within consumer markets. Beverages containing macro-algae, like kelp, and those containing micro-algae, such as spirulina, are considered novel products. While consumer preferences for algae-based products are well explored, less attention has been given to beverages, despite their importance for consumers, specifically those interested in health and well-being. The present study is dedicated to this research gap and investigates the key factors driving and hindering New Zealand consumers’ willingness to drink, pay a price premium, and spread word of mouth about micro-algae-based beverages, such as tea, smoothies, and cuppa soups. Theoretically, the present study is grounded in a seminal Australasian driver and barrier model of seaweed consumption. The current research design both confirms and extends the consumer behaviours previously examined. An online consumer study was distributed and collected via an opt-in panel provider, resulting in 437 responses. Consumers mirroring the NZ population in age, gender, and household income were the target sample, and descriptive statistics and a quantitative analysis via a partial least squares structural analysis served as the methodological foundation for the study. Food neophilia and involvement with algae were significant drivers for all three behavioural intentions investigated. Food neophobia was a significant inhibitor to the willingness to drink but not significantly related to the willingness to pay a price premium or spread word of mouth. Consumer perceptions of product attributes were a significant driver of New Zealand consumers’ willingness to spread word of mouth. The study provides best practice recommendations for marketers in Australasian beverage industries. In terms of its theoretical merit, two aspects stand out. Micro-algae beverages are an emerging beverage product category in Australasian markets, requiring wider exploration
and complementary consumer research dedicated to algae-based food items. The focus on food neophobia and neophilia is original, as it helps to understand the barriers and drivers essential to beverages. In contrast to food items, beverages cannot hide novel ingredients such as micro-algae, making them simultaneously more appealing to food neophilic consumers and extremely challenging to food neophobic consumers