title: Dispersal patterns and population connectivity of New Zealand stream insects: Integrating landscape and population genetics

authors: de Araujo Barbosa, Vanessa

subjects: Dispersal

abstract: Increasing anthropogenic habitat fragmentation in riverine ecosystems, in particular the loss of natural riparian vegetation, has profound consequences for dispersal and connectivity of aquatic insects. Aquatic insects depend on dispersal to colonise new sites and expand their ranges, but colonisation is only effective if followed by successful reproduction of the colonising individual within the receiving population. Populations that are connected by dispersal are likely to possess and maintain higher levels of genetic diversity through gene flow, which enhances their long-term viability. Conversely, altered and/or restricted movement of individuals in fragmented landscapes may disrupt the connectivity of populations across habitats, reducing gene flow and decreasing genetic diversity of remnant populations. Thus, the ability to successfully disperse through fragmented and disturbed patches can be a key determinant of the long-term viability of populations.
Genetic markers provide an indirect approach to estimate dispersal potential and infer a species’ gene flow, genetic diversity, and population connectivity. A variety of different genetic markers have been used over the past decades, each with advantages and disadvantages. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is commonly used in aquatic insect research and provides insight into historic dispersal, connectivity and isolation, while nuclear markers identified through next-generation sequencing approaches can reflect changes on a more contemporary time scale. The application of such markers in landscape genetics research further enables quantification of the effects of landscape and environmental features on gene flow, and identification of potential barriers to dispersal. This thesis is a collection of individual research papers that together provide new knowledge of functional connectivity and dispersal patterns of stream insect populations in altered landscapes. The research findings could ultimately assist with conservation and restoration planning.
An overview of the most commonly-used genetic markers, including their main features as applied to studies of aquatic insect dispersal, is provided as a global review in Chapter 2. Traditional markers, such as allozymes and mtDNA, are the most popularly applied and studies assessing the effects of specific landscape features on shaping population connectivity among habitats, especially in fragmented landscapes, are rare. Higher resolution markers (e.g. single nucleotide polymorphisms; SNPs), have recently become available, providing high- throughput genome-wide data at low cost. With their potential to detect finer-scale genetic structure, these markers are expected to become more common in future studies, providing more accurate estimates of contemporary patterns of dispersal. Chapter 3 compares the resolution power of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and genome-wide SNP markers in estimating fine-scale genetic differentiation for three endemic New Zealand aquatic insects. Both markers provided comparable results: a general lack of strong population structure within each species, and fine-scale genetic differentiation among some populations. These results indicated substantial connectivity of the three analysed species within and between proximate streams separated up to 11 km. However, findings were considered preliminary as small sample sizes and limited data quality for the SNP datasets may have compromised their power to uncover genetic structuring. Nevertheless, an important overall finding was that either COI or SNP markers can provide suitable initial estimates of fine-scale population genetic differentiation in stream insects. Finally, Chapter 4 provides a detailed analysis of functional connectivity and dispersal patterns for the three stream insect species at multiple spatial scales, increasing the sample size and geographic coverage of sequenced individuals from Chapter 3. For all three species, clear spatial genetic structure marked by Isolation by Distance (IBD) was only observed at larger spatial scales (among mountain regions separated by ~30 and 170 km), whereas most gene flow occurred locally (up to 11 km). At the local spatial scale, landscape genetic analyses revealed that Isolation by Resistance (IBR) - particularly the influence of land cover - generally provided a better prediction of spatial genetic structure. Species-specific findings further highlighted the potential influence of continuous forest in the riparian zone in enhancing population connectivity and dispersal within the stream channel. Meanwhile, dispersal over pastoral land may be more common when insects must search for suitable habitat that cannot be found locally. These key findings are likely to be fundamental for future colonisation and persistence of these populations. Understanding in-stream and overland dispersal, and how these affect the gene flow of species, is important for successful implementation of stream restoration measures. This research collectively elucidated patterns of population connectivity and dispersal potential in a fragmented landscape that will provide valuable knowledge for conservation efforts aimed at enhancing restoration of stream insect biodiversity.

text: Dispersal patterns and population connectivity of New Zealand stream insects: Integrating landscape and population genetics Increasing anthropogenic habitat fragmentation in riverine ecosystems, in particular the loss of natural riparian vegetation, has profound consequences for dispersal and connectivity of aquatic insects. Aquatic insects depend on dispersal to colonise new sites and expand their ranges, but colonisation is only effective if followed by successful reproduction of the colonising individual within the receiving population. Populations that are connected by dispersal are likely to possess and maintain higher levels of genetic diversity through gene flow, which enhances their long-term viability. Conversely, altered and/or restricted movement of individuals in fragmented landscapes may disrupt the connectivity of populations across habitats, reducing gene flow and decreasing genetic diversity of remnant populations. Thus, the ability to successfully disperse through fragmented and disturbed patches can be a key determinant of the long-term viability of populations.
Genetic markers provide an indirect approach to estimate dispersal potential and infer a species’ gene flow, genetic diversity, and population connectivity. A variety of different genetic markers have been used over the past decades, each with advantages and disadvantages. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is commonly used in aquatic insect research and provides insight into historic dispersal, connectivity and isolation, while nuclear markers identified through next-generation sequencing approaches can reflect changes on a more contemporary time scale. The application of such markers in landscape genetics research further enables quantification of the effects of landscape and environmental features on gene flow, and identification of potential barriers to dispersal. This thesis is a collection of individual research papers that together provide new knowledge of functional connectivity and dispersal patterns of stream insect populations in altered landscapes. The research findings could ultimately assist with conservation and restoration planning.
An overview of the most commonly-used genetic markers, including their main features as applied to studies of aquatic insect dispersal, is provided as a global review in Chapter 2. Traditional markers, such as allozymes and mtDNA, are the most popularly applied and studies assessing the effects of specific landscape features on shaping population connectivity among habitats, especially in fragmented landscapes, are rare. Higher resolution markers (e.g. single nucleotide polymorphisms; SNPs), have recently become available, providing high- throughput genome-wide data at low cost. With their potential to detect finer-scale genetic structure, these markers are expected to become more common in future studies, providing more accurate estimates of contemporary patterns of dispersal. Chapter 3 compares the resolution power of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and genome-wide SNP markers in estimating fine-scale genetic differentiation for three endemic New Zealand aquatic insects. Both markers provided comparable results: a general lack of strong population structure within each species, and fine-scale genetic differentiation among some populations. These results indicated substantial connectivity of the three analysed species within and between proximate streams separated up to 11 km. However, findings were considered preliminary as small sample sizes and limited data quality for the SNP datasets may have compromised their power to uncover genetic structuring. Nevertheless, an important overall finding was that either COI or SNP markers can provide suitable initial estimates of fine-scale population genetic differentiation in stream insects. Finally, Chapter 4 provides a detailed analysis of functional connectivity and dispersal patterns for the three stream insect species at multiple spatial scales, increasing the sample size and geographic coverage of sequenced individuals from Chapter 3. For all three species, clear spatial genetic structure marked by Isolation by Distance (IBD) was only observed at larger spatial scales (among mountain regions separated by ~30 and 170 km), whereas most gene flow occurred locally (up to 11 km). At the local spatial scale, landscape genetic analyses revealed that Isolation by Resistance (IBR) - particularly the influence of land cover - generally provided a better prediction of spatial genetic structure. Species-specific findings further highlighted the potential influence of continuous forest in the riparian zone in enhancing population connectivity and dispersal within the stream channel. Meanwhile, dispersal over pastoral land may be more common when insects must search for suitable habitat that cannot be found locally. These key findings are likely to be fundamental for future colonisation and persistence of these populations. Understanding in-stream and overland dispersal, and how these affect the gene flow of species, is important for successful implementation of stream restoration measures. This research collectively elucidated patterns of population connectivity and dispersal potential in a fragmented landscape that will provide valuable knowledge for conservation efforts aimed at enhancing restoration of stream insect biodiversity.

year: 2022

title: Doing the damage? An examination of masculinities and men's rugby experiences of pain, fear and pleasure

authors: Pringle, Richard

abstract: Rugby union's prominent and historic link with males, within Aotearoa/New Zealand, has helped constitute it as a key signifier of masculinity. Feminist-inspired research suggests, however, that heavy-contact sports, like rugby, help (re)produce a problematic form of masculinity that marginalises other masculinities, contributes to health problems and facilitates male privilege in society. Despite these points of view, there have been relatively few empirical examinations of relationships between sport, pain and masculinities. This thesis provided such an examination. 
The prime research question, that underpinned this study, was: "How do men's rugby experiences of fear, pain and/or pleasure articulate with discourses of masculinities?" The research approach used to examine this question was based on semi-structured interviews with a purposeful sample of fourteen men, and differed from previous such research in three key ways. Firstly, I interviewed men with abroad range of rugby experiences and did not specifically examine the experiences of elite sportsmen. Secondly, I analysed the men's rugby experiences of pain and injury, as well as their emotional experiences of fear and pleasure. Thirdly, I used Foucauldian theory to analyse the men's interview accounts rather than drawing on the Gramscian inspired concept of masculine hegemony. 
The results suggested that rugby was typically linked to dominating discourses of masculinities, through promoting belief that males should be tough, relatively unemotional, tolerant of pain, competitive and, at times, aggressive. This linkage was particularly influential during the men's school years. At this time, rugby acted as a normalising practice for males, a dividing practice between males and females, and as a producer of pleasure, but also, at times, tension, fear and pain. Rugby's pervasive influence provided a discursive space within which the men negotiated understandings of masculinities and self. However, these negotiations did not result in the simple affirmation and reproduction of dominating discourses of masculinity. In contrast, these negotiation processes were often undertaken with varying degrees of tension. The dominance of rugby in the men's schools, for example, resulted in many of the men experiencing tensions between fears of pain, skill limitations and the knowledge that participation in rugby was normal, and expected, for all males. These tensions encouraged many of these men to quit participation in rugby at a young age and for some, when older, to develop resistant readings of rugby and masculinities. These resistant readings positioned rugby players as uncritical thinkers, weak in character and foolish for risking injury. Yet, the men's relationships with rugby were not only complex and divergent but also, at times, paradoxical: many of the men performed an inconsistent range of practices in relation to rugby that simultaneously disturbed and supported dominating discourses of masculinities. 
Despite nearly all of the interview participants expressing some concerns about aspects of rugby with respect to violence, risk of injury and/or its links to masculinities, the men reported that they rarely disclosed their concerns in public. The dominating discourses of rugby, that positioned rugby as 'our national sport' and as a 'man's game', made it a formidable task to publicly critique rugby. The technologies of domination associated with rugby and masculinities still exerted considerable influence over the adult men. However, many of the men, including some who had been passionate adult rugby players, did exercise power against rugby and dominant masculinities. This resistance was exercised primarily through discouraging others, typically their sons, from playing rugby. Although not revolutionary, this micro-level form of resistance, if repeated on a grander scale, would contribute a challenge to rugby's state of dominance. 
The dominance of rugby provided a discursive space that produced, challenged and resisted dominating discourses of masculinities. My research findings, therefore, support the recognition that sport does not consistently or unambiguously produce culturally dominant conceptions of masculinities. In contrast to researchers who have examined institutionalised heavy-contact team sports through a lens filtered by hegemony theory, my results question the extent to which sports like rugby can be primarily regarded as producers of dominant and problematic masculinities. Although this finding could be regarded as a more optimistic reading of sport/masculinity relationships, my results reveal that concern about rugby's dominant social position within Aotearoa/New Zealand is still warranted.

text: Doing the damage? An examination of masculinities and men's rugby experiences of pain, fear and pleasure Rugby union's prominent and historic link with males, within Aotearoa/New Zealand, has helped constitute it as a key signifier of masculinity. Feminist-inspired research suggests, however, that heavy-contact sports, like rugby, help (re)produce a problematic form of masculinity that marginalises other masculinities, contributes to health problems and facilitates male privilege in society. Despite these points of view, there have been relatively few empirical examinations of relationships between sport, pain and masculinities. This thesis provided such an examination. 
The prime research question, that underpinned this study, was: "How do men's rugby experiences of fear, pain and/or pleasure articulate with discourses of masculinities?" The research approach used to examine this question was based on semi-structured interviews with a purposeful sample of fourteen men, and differed from previous such research in three key ways. Firstly, I interviewed men with abroad range of rugby experiences and did not specifically examine the experiences of elite sportsmen. Secondly, I analysed the men's rugby experiences of pain and injury, as well as their emotional experiences of fear and pleasure. Thirdly, I used Foucauldian theory to analyse the men's interview accounts rather than drawing on the Gramscian inspired concept of masculine hegemony. 
The results suggested that rugby was typically linked to dominating discourses of masculinities, through promoting belief that males should be tough, relatively unemotional, tolerant of pain, competitive and, at times, aggressive. This linkage was particularly influential during the men's school years. At this time, rugby acted as a normalising practice for males, a dividing practice between males and females, and as a producer of pleasure, but also, at times, tension, fear and pain. Rugby's pervasive influence provided a discursive space within which the men negotiated understandings of masculinities and self. However, these negotiations did not result in the simple affirmation and reproduction of dominating discourses of masculinity. In contrast, these negotiation processes were often undertaken with varying degrees of tension. The dominance of rugby in the men's schools, for example, resulted in many of the men experiencing tensions between fears of pain, skill limitations and the knowledge that participation in rugby was normal, and expected, for all males. These tensions encouraged many of these men to quit participation in rugby at a young age and for some, when older, to develop resistant readings of rugby and masculinities. These resistant readings positioned rugby players as uncritical thinkers, weak in character and foolish for risking injury. Yet, the men's relationships with rugby were not only complex and divergent but also, at times, paradoxical: many of the men performed an inconsistent range of practices in relation to rugby that simultaneously disturbed and supported dominating discourses of masculinities. 
Despite nearly all of the interview participants expressing some concerns about aspects of rugby with respect to violence, risk of injury and/or its links to masculinities, the men reported that they rarely disclosed their concerns in public. The dominating discourses of rugby, that positioned rugby as 'our national sport' and as a 'man's game', made it a formidable task to publicly critique rugby. The technologies of domination associated with rugby and masculinities still exerted considerable influence over the adult men. However, many of the men, including some who had been passionate adult rugby players, did exercise power against rugby and dominant masculinities. This resistance was exercised primarily through discouraging others, typically their sons, from playing rugby. Although not revolutionary, this micro-level form of resistance, if repeated on a grander scale, would contribute a challenge to rugby's state of dominance. 
The dominance of rugby provided a discursive space that produced, challenged and resisted dominating discourses of masculinities. My research findings, therefore, support the recognition that sport does not consistently or unambiguously produce culturally dominant conceptions of masculinities. In contrast to researchers who have examined institutionalised heavy-contact team sports through a lens filtered by hegemony theory, my results question the extent to which sports like rugby can be primarily regarded as producers of dominant and problematic masculinities. Although this finding could be regarded as a more optimistic reading of sport/masculinity relationships, my results reveal that concern about rugby's dominant social position within Aotearoa/New Zealand is still warranted.

year: 2003

title: Hapū data sovereignty: Tips for getting started

authors: Clark, Vanessa

abstract: This brief is a part of a series, produced for the Tikanga in Technology (TiNT) research programme, that provides a hapū perspective on data sovereignty, data governance, and data privacy. The purpose is to provide practical advice for individuals, whānau, marae and hapū who are embarking on their own hapū data sovereignty kaupapa, with a particular focus on whakapapa data.

text: Hapū data sovereignty: Tips for getting started This brief is a part of a series, produced for the Tikanga in Technology (TiNT) research programme, that provides a hapū perspective on data sovereignty, data governance, and data privacy. The purpose is to provide practical advice for individuals, whānau, marae and hapū who are embarking on their own hapū data sovereignty kaupapa, with a particular focus on whakapapa data.

year: 2025-02-11