title: Sequencing the New Zealand dawn chorus: can song playback alter the timing of song initiation?

authors: MacDougall, Mark

subjects: Dawn chorus

abstract: The dawn chorus of songbirds is a behavioural phenomenon occurring prior to sunrise; birds of many different species sing simultaneously at rapid rates. Avian physiology, social behaviours and local environment all influence the onset of dawn song. The influence of social cues on dawn chorus singing is poorly delineated relative to the effect of environmental or physiological factors; in particular, our knowledge of the role of heterospecific cues is limited. In this study, I aimed to determine if New Zealand songbirds would chorus in a distinct order, like those seen in other countries. I investigated whether the timing of song onset relative to sunrise would change as the breeding season progressed. I also assessed if conspecific and heterospecific acoustic cues influence a species’ start time. Finally, I explored the influence of acoustic cues from an early singer, the Tui (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae) and a late singer, the Riroriro (Grey Warbler; Gerygone igata) on start time. I recorded the dawn chorus at nine sites at the Maungatautari reserve between September and November 2016, using arrays of time-synchronised autonomous recording devices. I broadcast different playback stimuli at three arrays per morning; an early singer, a late singer, and noise.  My results suggest that New Zealand dawn choruses follow an order and that the timing of chorus start time changes over time as the breeding season progresses. Tui began singing earliest, and their start time shifted much earlier as the breeding season progressed. Most species joined the chorus in a highly interchangeable order within the same 12 minute window, while Pōpokatea (Whitehead; Mohoua albicilla) sang last. Start time was not found to shift in response to any playback stimuli for any species. The onset of Tui or Riroriro song is unlikely to be used as a cue by either con- or heterospecific neighbours to initiate their own dawn song.

text: Sequencing the New Zealand dawn chorus: can song playback alter the timing of song initiation? The dawn chorus of songbirds is a behavioural phenomenon occurring prior to sunrise; birds of many different species sing simultaneously at rapid rates. Avian physiology, social behaviours and local environment all influence the onset of dawn song. The influence of social cues on dawn chorus singing is poorly delineated relative to the effect of environmental or physiological factors; in particular, our knowledge of the role of heterospecific cues is limited. In this study, I aimed to determine if New Zealand songbirds would chorus in a distinct order, like those seen in other countries. I investigated whether the timing of song onset relative to sunrise would change as the breeding season progressed. I also assessed if conspecific and heterospecific acoustic cues influence a species’ start time. Finally, I explored the influence of acoustic cues from an early singer, the Tui (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae) and a late singer, the Riroriro (Grey Warbler; Gerygone igata) on start time. I recorded the dawn chorus at nine sites at the Maungatautari reserve between September and November 2016, using arrays of time-synchronised autonomous recording devices. I broadcast different playback stimuli at three arrays per morning; an early singer, a late singer, and noise.  My results suggest that New Zealand dawn choruses follow an order and that the timing of chorus start time changes over time as the breeding season progresses. Tui began singing earliest, and their start time shifted much earlier as the breeding season progressed. Most species joined the chorus in a highly interchangeable order within the same 12 minute window, while Pōpokatea (Whitehead; Mohoua albicilla) sang last. Start time was not found to shift in response to any playback stimuli for any species. The onset of Tui or Riroriro song is unlikely to be used as a cue by either con- or heterospecific neighbours to initiate their own dawn song.

year: 2017

title: Assessing New Zealand's spider (Araneae) fauna, using DNA barcoding

authors: Binks, Nigel

subjects: Biodiversity

abstract: The ability to accurately monitor biological diversity is the foundation to most ecological research. However, the morphological identification of spiders, as with many arthropod taxa, is often complicated by phenotypic plasticity and sexual dimorphism. New Zealand’s spider fauna is highly endemic (97% of known species), consisting of an estimated 2,000 species. Given such high diversity, it is critical to seek cost-effective measures of assessing species diversity and distributions, and for the identification of cryptic unidentified taxa. 

The aim of my research was to determine whether the described spider fauna can be effectively delineated from unidentified taxa using DNA barcoding. Overall, I establish a molecular inventory for 100 described species and 71 additional unidentified species of spiders found in New Zealand. Using barcoding I determined there to be 59 native described species and classify 66 of the unidentified species as native, leaving 45 species which were recognised as having international distributions by taxonomic descriptions and/or from comparative DNA sequences from the Barcode of Life Datasystem (www.boldsystems.org). The repository of species presented here represent native species pertaining to 26 families and cosmopolitan species from 17 families of which species from the Araneidae, Linyphiidae and Theridiidae families are the most diversly represented in this study. This foundational inventory was used to assess the presence of spider species around the marginal habitats of 5 Waikato study lakes (Puketi, Rotoiti, Kohahuake, Waiwhakareke and Koraha), in relation to community assemblage variation across lakes, habitat (shoreline vs. pasture) and sampling method. 

The combined morphological and molecular approach to identification used here has demonstrated community composition assessments of spiders are viable. Furthermore, the study of these community assemblages revealed a greater diversity of habitat specialists among shoreline samples from lakes Kohahuake, Koraha and Waiwhakareke where greater vegetative heterogeneity along the shoreline provides a greater range of niches for spiders to occupy. This compiled species inventory indicates that New Zealand’s diverse Araneae fauna has been infiltrated by species with international distributions. Further, not all species are easily recognisable due to dissimilarities in their morphological appearance, or because they remain to be genetically identified, and therefore the extent of non-native species infiltration into New Zealand ecosystems is unclear. This lack of knowledge highlights an important area for future biosurveillance work. Lake ecosystems were selected for this study because a variety of spider species prey upon adult aquatic invertebrates as they emerge from the aquatic realm and into the terrestrial. 

Methods which provide complementary data for ranking lake ecosystems is a priority for biodiversity management in the Waikato region due to habitat fragmentation primarily associated with deforestation and subsequent conversion to pastoral habitat. Land use practices affect the distribution and dispersal of many native species and connected expanses of pasture provide opportunities for exotic species to infiltrate established food-webs associated with ecosystems of significant natural character. In conclusion, this molecular inventory provides a key foundation for a COI barcode library for New Zealand’s most commonly-encountered spiders and validates the ability of this identification method to discern between male, female and juvenile specimen from described and unrecognised species with native or international distributions.

text: Assessing New Zealand's spider (Araneae) fauna, using DNA barcoding The ability to accurately monitor biological diversity is the foundation to most ecological research. However, the morphological identification of spiders, as with many arthropod taxa, is often complicated by phenotypic plasticity and sexual dimorphism. New Zealand’s spider fauna is highly endemic (97% of known species), consisting of an estimated 2,000 species. Given such high diversity, it is critical to seek cost-effective measures of assessing species diversity and distributions, and for the identification of cryptic unidentified taxa. 

The aim of my research was to determine whether the described spider fauna can be effectively delineated from unidentified taxa using DNA barcoding. Overall, I establish a molecular inventory for 100 described species and 71 additional unidentified species of spiders found in New Zealand. Using barcoding I determined there to be 59 native described species and classify 66 of the unidentified species as native, leaving 45 species which were recognised as having international distributions by taxonomic descriptions and/or from comparative DNA sequences from the Barcode of Life Datasystem (www.boldsystems.org). The repository of species presented here represent native species pertaining to 26 families and cosmopolitan species from 17 families of which species from the Araneidae, Linyphiidae and Theridiidae families are the most diversly represented in this study. This foundational inventory was used to assess the presence of spider species around the marginal habitats of 5 Waikato study lakes (Puketi, Rotoiti, Kohahuake, Waiwhakareke and Koraha), in relation to community assemblage variation across lakes, habitat (shoreline vs. pasture) and sampling method. 

The combined morphological and molecular approach to identification used here has demonstrated community composition assessments of spiders are viable. Furthermore, the study of these community assemblages revealed a greater diversity of habitat specialists among shoreline samples from lakes Kohahuake, Koraha and Waiwhakareke where greater vegetative heterogeneity along the shoreline provides a greater range of niches for spiders to occupy. This compiled species inventory indicates that New Zealand’s diverse Araneae fauna has been infiltrated by species with international distributions. Further, not all species are easily recognisable due to dissimilarities in their morphological appearance, or because they remain to be genetically identified, and therefore the extent of non-native species infiltration into New Zealand ecosystems is unclear. This lack of knowledge highlights an important area for future biosurveillance work. Lake ecosystems were selected for this study because a variety of spider species prey upon adult aquatic invertebrates as they emerge from the aquatic realm and into the terrestrial. 

Methods which provide complementary data for ranking lake ecosystems is a priority for biodiversity management in the Waikato region due to habitat fragmentation primarily associated with deforestation and subsequent conversion to pastoral habitat. Land use practices affect the distribution and dispersal of many native species and connected expanses of pasture provide opportunities for exotic species to infiltrate established food-webs associated with ecosystems of significant natural character. In conclusion, this molecular inventory provides a key foundation for a COI barcode library for New Zealand’s most commonly-encountered spiders and validates the ability of this identification method to discern between male, female and juvenile specimen from described and unrecognised species with native or international distributions.

year: 2018

title: Social marketing in Aotearoa New Zealand: Analysing its evolution to  inform, improve, and justify its future

authors: Antric, Tim

subjects: Social marketing

abstract: Plotting the evolution and experience of social marketing in Aotearoa New Zealand, this thesis charts a creative landscape of productive future research directions in the field.
Starting with the question, “What can the social marketing discipline learn from the unique experience of social marketers in Aotearoa New Zealand?”, the research draws from appreciative inquiry interviews with 20 experienced social marketers and reviews of relevant government documents and published commentaries. Analysis of the findings sparked three substantive papers included in this thesis by publication: two of these have already been published, and one is currently being revised for resubmission. Presented in chapters four to six, the three papers analyse the growth and decline of social marketing in Aotearoa New Zealand; the overlapping functions of social marketing and public relations; and the incorporation of indigenous communities’ values into social marketing.
1.	The growth and decline of social marketing
In an original developmental framework for social marketing in Aotearoa New Zealand, the first of the three papers tracks four phases through four different governments as follows: (1) Foundation (1984-1990); (2) Establishment (1990-1999); (3) Growth (1999-2008); and (4) Decline (2008-2017).  The research found that political support is key to enabling ongoing social marketing contributions to social change and argues for the development of an evidence base for effective communication to political decision-makers to attract such support.
2.	Public relations, reputation and social marketing 
In identifying the strong interdisciplinary nature of social marketing in Aotearoa New Zealand, the second paper focuses on the intersections of public relations, marketing, advertising and health promotion. It illustrates how local definitions of, and practices within, social marketing draw from different disciplines. 
Social marketing has also been shaped by the nation’s founding document, Te Tiriti o Waitangi (The Treaty of Waitangi). The Crown’s revised principles of Te Tiriti offer further opportunity to improve social marketing through indigenous autonomy, partnership, active protection, equity and options.
3.	Decolonising social marketing through an indigenous lens
The third paper tackles the question: can social marketing address health inequity between Māori and non-Maori? It deals with this question in the context of the international shift in social marketing away from a focus on individual change to a focus on societal and social change. The paper’s findings support an ongoing critical analysis of social marketing from an indigenous worldview.
Conclusions
Overall, the thesis looks at the impact of political ideologies on the function of social marketing and makes novel suggestions on how social marketing academics and practitioners can attract political support. It calls for increasing interdisciplinarity to engage effectively with contemporary issues and encourages social marketers to search for “soul” in organisations. 
The thesis also identifies indigenous Māori culture as a potential inspiration for social marketers to improve their interactions with indigenous people in Aotearoa New Zealand as well as across the globe. It recommends that future social marketing interventions not only be informed by indigenous worldviews but also be led by indigenous communities involved from the planning stages.

text: Social marketing in Aotearoa New Zealand: Analysing its evolution to  inform, improve, and justify its future Plotting the evolution and experience of social marketing in Aotearoa New Zealand, this thesis charts a creative landscape of productive future research directions in the field.
Starting with the question, “What can the social marketing discipline learn from the unique experience of social marketers in Aotearoa New Zealand?”, the research draws from appreciative inquiry interviews with 20 experienced social marketers and reviews of relevant government documents and published commentaries. Analysis of the findings sparked three substantive papers included in this thesis by publication: two of these have already been published, and one is currently being revised for resubmission. Presented in chapters four to six, the three papers analyse the growth and decline of social marketing in Aotearoa New Zealand; the overlapping functions of social marketing and public relations; and the incorporation of indigenous communities’ values into social marketing.
1.	The growth and decline of social marketing
In an original developmental framework for social marketing in Aotearoa New Zealand, the first of the three papers tracks four phases through four different governments as follows: (1) Foundation (1984-1990); (2) Establishment (1990-1999); (3) Growth (1999-2008); and (4) Decline (2008-2017).  The research found that political support is key to enabling ongoing social marketing contributions to social change and argues for the development of an evidence base for effective communication to political decision-makers to attract such support.
2.	Public relations, reputation and social marketing 
In identifying the strong interdisciplinary nature of social marketing in Aotearoa New Zealand, the second paper focuses on the intersections of public relations, marketing, advertising and health promotion. It illustrates how local definitions of, and practices within, social marketing draw from different disciplines. 
Social marketing has also been shaped by the nation’s founding document, Te Tiriti o Waitangi (The Treaty of Waitangi). The Crown’s revised principles of Te Tiriti offer further opportunity to improve social marketing through indigenous autonomy, partnership, active protection, equity and options.
3.	Decolonising social marketing through an indigenous lens
The third paper tackles the question: can social marketing address health inequity between Māori and non-Maori? It deals with this question in the context of the international shift in social marketing away from a focus on individual change to a focus on societal and social change. The paper’s findings support an ongoing critical analysis of social marketing from an indigenous worldview.
Conclusions
Overall, the thesis looks at the impact of political ideologies on the function of social marketing and makes novel suggestions on how social marketing academics and practitioners can attract political support. It calls for increasing interdisciplinarity to engage effectively with contemporary issues and encourages social marketers to search for “soul” in organisations. 
The thesis also identifies indigenous Māori culture as a potential inspiration for social marketers to improve their interactions with indigenous people in Aotearoa New Zealand as well as across the globe. It recommends that future social marketing interventions not only be informed by indigenous worldviews but also be led by indigenous communities involved from the planning stages.

year: 2021