title: Otolith microchemistry of koi carp in the Waikato region, New Zealand: a tool for identifying recruitment locations

authors: Blair, Jennifer Marie

subjects: Cyprinus carpio

abstract: We assessed differences in the otolith microchemistry of koi carp, a colour variant of the invasive common carp Cyprinus carpio, at various locations in the Waikato region of New Zealand. Although koi carp are abundant here, little is known about where and in what habitats they breed. We investigated the feasibility of determining the natal habitats of adult koi carp (in the Waikato River, selected tributaries, and riverine lakes in the catchment) using otolith elemental signatures and employing laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Differences in elemental concentrations in water among the sites indicated that variation in otolith microchemistry was likely. Ratios of manganese (Mn), rubidium (Rb), strontium (Sr), and barium (Ba) to calcium (Ca) in otolith edges differed significantly among the sites, and Sr:Ca in the water and otoliths was positively correlated. A discriminant function analysis using Rb, Sr, and Ba accurately classified the otolith edge signatures of koi carp from some locations, but the otolith signatures of koi carp caught from adjacent locations were often indistinguishable. This suggests that our results could have been confounded by either (1) recent movement of koi carp or (2) a lack of differences in water chemistry among sites. Taken together, these results demonstrate that otolith microchemistry can be used to test retrospectively for koi carp migration between sites on a broad scale in the Waikato region, but fine-scale movements may not be detectable.

text: Otolith microchemistry of koi carp in the Waikato region, New Zealand: a tool for identifying recruitment locations We assessed differences in the otolith microchemistry of koi carp, a colour variant of the invasive common carp Cyprinus carpio, at various locations in the Waikato region of New Zealand. Although koi carp are abundant here, little is known about where and in what habitats they breed. We investigated the feasibility of determining the natal habitats of adult koi carp (in the Waikato River, selected tributaries, and riverine lakes in the catchment) using otolith elemental signatures and employing laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Differences in elemental concentrations in water among the sites indicated that variation in otolith microchemistry was likely. Ratios of manganese (Mn), rubidium (Rb), strontium (Sr), and barium (Ba) to calcium (Ca) in otolith edges differed significantly among the sites, and Sr:Ca in the water and otoliths was positively correlated. A discriminant function analysis using Rb, Sr, and Ba accurately classified the otolith edge signatures of koi carp from some locations, but the otolith signatures of koi carp caught from adjacent locations were often indistinguishable. This suggests that our results could have been confounded by either (1) recent movement of koi carp or (2) a lack of differences in water chemistry among sites. Taken together, these results demonstrate that otolith microchemistry can be used to test retrospectively for koi carp migration between sites on a broad scale in the Waikato region, but fine-scale movements may not be detectable.

year: 2012

title: Waiorongomai Township

authors: Hart, Philip

abstract: When gold was discovered at Waiorongomai, a settlement was quickly established, to the delight of the Thames High School Governors, who anticipated a good return from their swampy farmland. Shops, hotels, and a school were erected, but the growth soon tailed off, and apart from brief mining revivals the settlement declined steadily until totally vanishing in the twentieth century: so much for its hopes of being larger than Te Aroha.
Typically, residents struggled with poor access, poor roads, and poor footpaths – although they did have one of the first telephone lines in New Zealand. There were regular complaints that the school board neglected the settlement, and for a time there was much debate about whether to join Te Aroha in a new borough. During the nineteenth century, pigs in particular were complained about, and in the next century noxious weeds spread across abandoned residence and business sites. When this happened, local farmers sought to acquire these sections, but as a few miners insisted that mining would revive, some were retained for the anticipated miners (who never came). 
During its existence, residents enjoyed quite an active social life, with sports, meetings, ‘rinking’, dances, and concerts and other entertainments in the public hall. Locals organized most of these activities, but occasional visitors provided some – and as Te Aroha was so close it was easy to attend entertainments there. But by the early twentieth century this social life faded away as the settlement did.

text: Waiorongomai Township When gold was discovered at Waiorongomai, a settlement was quickly established, to the delight of the Thames High School Governors, who anticipated a good return from their swampy farmland. Shops, hotels, and a school were erected, but the growth soon tailed off, and apart from brief mining revivals the settlement declined steadily until totally vanishing in the twentieth century: so much for its hopes of being larger than Te Aroha.
Typically, residents struggled with poor access, poor roads, and poor footpaths – although they did have one of the first telephone lines in New Zealand. There were regular complaints that the school board neglected the settlement, and for a time there was much debate about whether to join Te Aroha in a new borough. During the nineteenth century, pigs in particular were complained about, and in the next century noxious weeds spread across abandoned residence and business sites. When this happened, local farmers sought to acquire these sections, but as a few miners insisted that mining would revive, some were retained for the anticipated miners (who never came). 
During its existence, residents enjoyed quite an active social life, with sports, meetings, ‘rinking’, dances, and concerts and other entertainments in the public hall. Locals organized most of these activities, but occasional visitors provided some – and as Te Aroha was so close it was easy to attend entertainments there. But by the early twentieth century this social life faded away as the settlement did.

year: 2016

title: Bilingual Education in Aotearoa/New Zealand

authors: Hill, Richard Kenneth

subjects: Maori medium

abstract: Bilingual education in the context of New Zealand is now over 30 years old. The two largest linguistic minority groups involved in this type of education – the Indigenous Māori and Pasifika peoples of Samoan, Tongan, Cook Islands and Niuean and Tokelauan backgrounds – have made many gains but have struggled in a national context where minority languages have low status. Māori bilingual programs are well established and have made a significant contribution towards reducing Māori language shift that in the 1970s looked to be beyond regeneration. Pasifika bilingual education by contrast is not widely available and not well resourced by the New Zealand government. Both forms continue to need support and a renewed focus at local and national levels.

This chapter provides an overview of past development of Māori and Pasifika bilingual education and present progress. For Māori, the issues relate primarily to how to boost language regeneration, particularly between the generations. Gaining greater support for immersion programs and further strengthening bilingual education pedagogies, particularly relating to achieving biliteracy objectives, are key. In the context of Pasifika, extending government and local support would not only safeguard the languages but has the potential to counteract long-established patterns of low Pasifika student achievement in mainstream/English-medium schooling contexts. Finally, the future of both forms of bilingual education can be safeguarded if they are encompassed within a national languages policy that ensures minority language development in the predominantly English monolingual national context of New Zealand.

text: Bilingual Education in Aotearoa/New Zealand Bilingual education in the context of New Zealand is now over 30 years old. The two largest linguistic minority groups involved in this type of education – the Indigenous Māori and Pasifika peoples of Samoan, Tongan, Cook Islands and Niuean and Tokelauan backgrounds – have made many gains but have struggled in a national context where minority languages have low status. Māori bilingual programs are well established and have made a significant contribution towards reducing Māori language shift that in the 1970s looked to be beyond regeneration. Pasifika bilingual education by contrast is not widely available and not well resourced by the New Zealand government. Both forms continue to need support and a renewed focus at local and national levels.

This chapter provides an overview of past development of Māori and Pasifika bilingual education and present progress. For Māori, the issues relate primarily to how to boost language regeneration, particularly between the generations. Gaining greater support for immersion programs and further strengthening bilingual education pedagogies, particularly relating to achieving biliteracy objectives, are key. In the context of Pasifika, extending government and local support would not only safeguard the languages but has the potential to counteract long-established patterns of low Pasifika student achievement in mainstream/English-medium schooling contexts. Finally, the future of both forms of bilingual education can be safeguarded if they are encompassed within a national languages policy that ensures minority language development in the predominantly English monolingual national context of New Zealand.

year: 2017