title: High diversity and local endemism in Aotearoa New Zealand's groundwater crustacean fauna

authors: Fenwick, Graham D.

subjects: Science & Technology

abstract: We used DNA barcoding to assess the diversity and distribution of New Zealand's groundwater amphipods and isopods (Crustacea) and to determine whether biodiversity and endemism within tectonically active New Zealand are similar to those of more tectonically stable continents. Sixty-five wells were sampled in seven aquifers across four regions within the North and South islands of New Zealand, and resident invertebrates were morphologically identified and then assessed using sequencing of the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome c oxidase subunit one (COI) gene. Invertebrates were found in 54 wells. Of the 228 individual amphipods and isopods found in 36 of the wells, 154 individuals were successfully sequenced for COI (68% success rate) from 25 wells, with at least one well in each aquifer containing sequenced individuals. Of the 45 putative species identified using Barcode Index Numbers (BINs), 30 BINs (78% of all taxa and 83% of amphipods) were previously unrecorded. Substantial morphologically cryptic, species-level diversity was revealed, particularly within the amphipod Family Paraleptamphopidae. Similarly, one isopod taxon morphologically identified as Cruregens fontanus was assigned to five well-separated BINs based on COI sequences. Endemism appeared high, with all taxa regionally endemic; 87% of species were restricted to one aquifer and more than 50% restricted to one well. Non-saturated species accumulation curves indicated that, while additional sampling may increase the range of some currently identified taxa, additional range-restricted taxa are also likely to be discovered. Patterns of diversity and short-range endemism were similar to those found elsewhere, including locations which are more tectonically stable. The predominance of local endemism within New Zealand's groundwater fauna suggests that land-use activities and groundwater extraction require careful evaluation to minimize threats to groundwater biodiversity.

text: High diversity and local endemism in Aotearoa New Zealand's groundwater crustacean fauna We used DNA barcoding to assess the diversity and distribution of New Zealand's groundwater amphipods and isopods (Crustacea) and to determine whether biodiversity and endemism within tectonically active New Zealand are similar to those of more tectonically stable continents. Sixty-five wells were sampled in seven aquifers across four regions within the North and South islands of New Zealand, and resident invertebrates were morphologically identified and then assessed using sequencing of the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome c oxidase subunit one (COI) gene. Invertebrates were found in 54 wells. Of the 228 individual amphipods and isopods found in 36 of the wells, 154 individuals were successfully sequenced for COI (68% success rate) from 25 wells, with at least one well in each aquifer containing sequenced individuals. Of the 45 putative species identified using Barcode Index Numbers (BINs), 30 BINs (78% of all taxa and 83% of amphipods) were previously unrecorded. Substantial morphologically cryptic, species-level diversity was revealed, particularly within the amphipod Family Paraleptamphopidae. Similarly, one isopod taxon morphologically identified as Cruregens fontanus was assigned to five well-separated BINs based on COI sequences. Endemism appeared high, with all taxa regionally endemic; 87% of species were restricted to one aquifer and more than 50% restricted to one well. Non-saturated species accumulation curves indicated that, while additional sampling may increase the range of some currently identified taxa, additional range-restricted taxa are also likely to be discovered. Patterns of diversity and short-range endemism were similar to those found elsewhere, including locations which are more tectonically stable. The predominance of local endemism within New Zealand's groundwater fauna suggests that land-use activities and groundwater extraction require careful evaluation to minimize threats to groundwater biodiversity.

year: 2021

title: The Defence of Ethnic Identity in Malaysia

authors: Jones-Leaning, Melanie

subjects: Societal security identity

abstract: The changing dynamics of interstate conflict in the post-Cold War environment led scholars to debate the relevance of established security theory. While traditionalists maintained that the state-centric theory should retain its primacy, others argued for a security agenda, not only broadened or widened to include other sectors, but one deepened or extended to include the individual and larger societal groupings as referent objects of security. In the 1990s, the Copenhagen Peace Research Institute developed a reformulated and expanded security agenda which recognized five dimensions of security – political, military, economic, environmental and societal. Societal security has been defined as the defence of identity with identity accepted as the way in which communities think about themselves and the manner in which individuals identify themselves as members of a particular community. The Institute’s research on societal security was further expanded by Paul Roe in his 2005 study on ethnic conflict in the Balkan states. The determination of successive Malaysian governments to inculcate Islamic values throughout its infrastructure and society was borne from the inter-communal violence in May 1969, a civil reaction to the unexpected election results. The loss of parliamentary majority, for so long the domain of the Malays, confirmed a significant shift in political power and the increasingly influential role of the non-Malay voice in the political process. The inter-ethnic hostility resulted in a Federation-wide state of emergency and the suspension of parliamentary democracy for 20 months during which time the country was led by the National Operations Council under the leadership of Tun Abdul Razak. The National Operations Council and subsequent administrations progressively introduced policy to restore Malay political supremacy and redress societal imbalance. Despite the obvious success of Malaysia’s social transformation, research has indicated that policy introduced to lessen the economic and social inequality of the Malays has, in effect, led to a polarising of ethnicities. Political historians and analysts are mindful that increasing ethnic tension along with tacit ethnic segregation are salient reminders of the violence of the 1969 ethnic riots. With the theoretical framework on societal security provided by the CPRI, this thesis proposes to analyse the impact of the post-1969 political paradigm on Malaysian society with particular focus on inter-societal relations.

text: The Defence of Ethnic Identity in Malaysia The changing dynamics of interstate conflict in the post-Cold War environment led scholars to debate the relevance of established security theory. While traditionalists maintained that the state-centric theory should retain its primacy, others argued for a security agenda, not only broadened or widened to include other sectors, but one deepened or extended to include the individual and larger societal groupings as referent objects of security. In the 1990s, the Copenhagen Peace Research Institute developed a reformulated and expanded security agenda which recognized five dimensions of security – political, military, economic, environmental and societal. Societal security has been defined as the defence of identity with identity accepted as the way in which communities think about themselves and the manner in which individuals identify themselves as members of a particular community. The Institute’s research on societal security was further expanded by Paul Roe in his 2005 study on ethnic conflict in the Balkan states. The determination of successive Malaysian governments to inculcate Islamic values throughout its infrastructure and society was borne from the inter-communal violence in May 1969, a civil reaction to the unexpected election results. The loss of parliamentary majority, for so long the domain of the Malays, confirmed a significant shift in political power and the increasingly influential role of the non-Malay voice in the political process. The inter-ethnic hostility resulted in a Federation-wide state of emergency and the suspension of parliamentary democracy for 20 months during which time the country was led by the National Operations Council under the leadership of Tun Abdul Razak. The National Operations Council and subsequent administrations progressively introduced policy to restore Malay political supremacy and redress societal imbalance. Despite the obvious success of Malaysia’s social transformation, research has indicated that policy introduced to lessen the economic and social inequality of the Malays has, in effect, led to a polarising of ethnicities. Political historians and analysts are mindful that increasing ethnic tension along with tacit ethnic segregation are salient reminders of the violence of the 1969 ethnic riots. With the theoretical framework on societal security provided by the CPRI, this thesis proposes to analyse the impact of the post-1969 political paradigm on Malaysian society with particular focus on inter-societal relations.

year: 2010

title: Survivance as narrative identity: Voices from a Ngāti Tiipa oral history project

authors: Kukutai, Tahu

subjects: oral history

abstract: For Indigenous peoples, and Mäori specifically, storytelling and oral history are crucial to the survival of our collective identities, culture and language. Retold across generations, our stories are often explicit and interwoven narratives of personal and collective memories. Drawing on Native American scholar Gerald Vizenor’s (2009) concept of “survivance stories”, this article explores a set of three oral history narratives of kaumätua from Ngäti Tiipa, one of the 33 iwi and hapü of the Waikato-Tainui confederation. Our analysis reveals how enduring connections to the river and land, the retention of whänau practices and the intergenerational transmission of tüpuna names have shaped contemporary expressions of Ngäti Tiipa identity and belonging. We explore how these testimonies reveal survivance as a repeated theme that has its own nuanced interpretation in individual and collective tribal oral stories.

text: Survivance as narrative identity: Voices from a Ngāti Tiipa oral history project For Indigenous peoples, and Mäori specifically, storytelling and oral history are crucial to the survival of our collective identities, culture and language. Retold across generations, our stories are often explicit and interwoven narratives of personal and collective memories. Drawing on Native American scholar Gerald Vizenor’s (2009) concept of “survivance stories”, this article explores a set of three oral history narratives of kaumätua from Ngäti Tiipa, one of the 33 iwi and hapü of the Waikato-Tainui confederation. Our analysis reveals how enduring connections to the river and land, the retention of whänau practices and the intergenerational transmission of tüpuna names have shaped contemporary expressions of Ngäti Tiipa identity and belonging. We explore how these testimonies reveal survivance as a repeated theme that has its own nuanced interpretation in individual and collective tribal oral stories.

year: 2020