title: Using Captain Scott's discovery specimens to unlock the past: has Antarctic cyanobacterial diversity changed over the last 100 years?

authors: Jungblut, Anne D.

subjects: Antarctica

abstract: Evidence of climate-driven environmental change is increasing in Antarctica, and with it comes concern that this will propagate to impacts on biological communities. Recognition and prediction of change needs to incorporate the extent and timescales over which communities vary under extant conditions. However, few observations of Antarctic microbial communities, which dominate inland habitats, allow this. We therefore carried out the first molecular comparison of Cyanobacteria in historic herbarium microbial mats from freshwater ecosystems on Ross Island and the McMurdo Ice Shelf, collected by Captain R.F. Scott's ‘Discovery’ Expedition (1902–1903), with modern samples from those areas. Using 16S rRNA gene surveys, we found that modern and historic cyanobacteria assemblages showed some variation in community structure but were dominated by the same genotypes. Modern communities had a higher richness, including genotypes not found in historic samples, but they had the highest similarity to other cyanobacteria sequences from Antarctica. The results imply slow cyanobacterial 16S rRNA gene genotype turnover and considerable community stability within Antarctic microbial mats. We suggest that this relates to Antarctic freshwater 'organisms requiring a capacity to withstand diverse stresses, and that this could also provide a degree of resistance and resilience to future climatic-driven environmental change in Antarctica.

text: Using Captain Scott's discovery specimens to unlock the past: has Antarctic cyanobacterial diversity changed over the last 100 years? Evidence of climate-driven environmental change is increasing in Antarctica, and with it comes concern that this will propagate to impacts on biological communities. Recognition and prediction of change needs to incorporate the extent and timescales over which communities vary under extant conditions. However, few observations of Antarctic microbial communities, which dominate inland habitats, allow this. We therefore carried out the first molecular comparison of Cyanobacteria in historic herbarium microbial mats from freshwater ecosystems on Ross Island and the McMurdo Ice Shelf, collected by Captain R.F. Scott's ‘Discovery’ Expedition (1902–1903), with modern samples from those areas. Using 16S rRNA gene surveys, we found that modern and historic cyanobacteria assemblages showed some variation in community structure but were dominated by the same genotypes. Modern communities had a higher richness, including genotypes not found in historic samples, but they had the highest similarity to other cyanobacteria sequences from Antarctica. The results imply slow cyanobacterial 16S rRNA gene genotype turnover and considerable community stability within Antarctic microbial mats. We suggest that this relates to Antarctic freshwater 'organisms requiring a capacity to withstand diverse stresses, and that this could also provide a degree of resistance and resilience to future climatic-driven environmental change in Antarctica.

year: 2017

title: Guidebook for ‘Land and Lakes’ field trip, New Zealand Society of Soil Science Biennial Conference, Rotorua

authors: Lowe, David J.

abstract: Welcome to Rotorua. The trip today (28th November, 2006) has twin themes: “Land and soil in the making” and “Land and soil management for cleaner water”. It offers an opportunity for participants to ‘peep behind the scenes’ at the wonderful volcanic landscapes, ash layers, soils, and waters of the Lake Rotorua−Lake Okaro−Lake Rerewhakaaitu areas in the Rotorua region. We hope the trip will be an informative, interesting and enjoyable day out with something for everyone. We will look at the linkages between soils and water and show how science and society are working together to understand and reduce the impacts of municipal, farming and forestry activities on our environment. Multiple layers of tephras, clear examples of buried soil horizons, and three remarkable soil profiles will be seen. Soil and environmental scientists, foresters, tephrochronologists (volcanic ash specialists), and volcanologists will join forces with local farmers and others to give us their perspectives at various stops during the trip.

text: Guidebook for ‘Land and Lakes’ field trip, New Zealand Society of Soil Science Biennial Conference, Rotorua Welcome to Rotorua. The trip today (28th November, 2006) has twin themes: “Land and soil in the making” and “Land and soil management for cleaner water”. It offers an opportunity for participants to ‘peep behind the scenes’ at the wonderful volcanic landscapes, ash layers, soils, and waters of the Lake Rotorua−Lake Okaro−Lake Rerewhakaaitu areas in the Rotorua region. We hope the trip will be an informative, interesting and enjoyable day out with something for everyone. We will look at the linkages between soils and water and show how science and society are working together to understand and reduce the impacts of municipal, farming and forestry activities on our environment. Multiple layers of tephras, clear examples of buried soil horizons, and three remarkable soil profiles will be seen. Soil and environmental scientists, foresters, tephrochronologists (volcanic ash specialists), and volcanologists will join forces with local farmers and others to give us their perspectives at various stops during the trip.

year: 2006-11-01

title: Māori men, relationships, and everyday practices: towards broadening domestic violence research

authors: King, Pita

subjects: Māori

abstract: Relationships are central to the health and wellbeing of Māori (indigenous people of New Zealand). Through processes of colonisation, cultural ways of relatedness embedded within Māori social structures experienced disruption and were reshaped over decades of assimilation. Māori knowledge and everyday practices that assisted in protecting Māori from societal problems, such as domestic violence, began to dwindle. In contemporary New Zealand, Māori are over-represented in domestic violence statistics. Utilising an auto-ethnographic approach and case studies, our research focuses on five Māori men’s experiences within intimate relationships and whānau (extended family) life. A significant feature of this research is that it provides insights into the ways Māori men draw on their cultural ways-of-being to enhance intimate relationships and maintain bonds within whānau and community life to forge new ways-of-being. Such insights have the potential to inform preventative measures against domestic violence within Māori communities.

text: Māori men, relationships, and everyday practices: towards broadening domestic violence research Relationships are central to the health and wellbeing of Māori (indigenous people of New Zealand). Through processes of colonisation, cultural ways of relatedness embedded within Māori social structures experienced disruption and were reshaped over decades of assimilation. Māori knowledge and everyday practices that assisted in protecting Māori from societal problems, such as domestic violence, began to dwindle. In contemporary New Zealand, Māori are over-represented in domestic violence statistics. Utilising an auto-ethnographic approach and case studies, our research focuses on five Māori men’s experiences within intimate relationships and whānau (extended family) life. A significant feature of this research is that it provides insights into the ways Māori men draw on their cultural ways-of-being to enhance intimate relationships and maintain bonds within whānau and community life to forge new ways-of-being. Such insights have the potential to inform preventative measures against domestic violence within Māori communities.

year: 2017