title: Connecting, synchronising, and dating with tephras: principles and applications of tephrochronology in Quaternary research

authors: Lowe, David J.

abstract: Tephrochronology is a unique method for linking and dating geological, palaeoecological, palaeoclimatic, or archaeological sequences or events. The method relies firstly on stratigraphy and the law of superposition, which apply in any study that connects or correlates deposits from one place to another. Secondly, it relies on characterising and hence identifying or ‘fingerprinting’ tephra layers using either physical properties evident in the field or those obtained from laboratory analysis, including mineralogical examination by optical microscopy or geochemical analysis of glass shards or crystals (e.g., Fe-Ti oxides, ferromagnesian minerals) using the electron microprobe and other tools. Thirdly, the method is enhanced when a numerical age is obtained for a tephra layer by (1) radiometric methods such as radiocarbon, fission-track, U-series, (U-Th)/He, or Ar/Ar dating, (2) incremental dating methods including dendrochronology or varved sediments or layering in ice cores, or (3) age-equivalent methods such as palaeomagnetism or correlation with marine oxygen isotope stages or palynostratigraphy. Once known, that age can be transferred from one site to the next using stratigraphic methods and by matching compositional characteristics, i.e., comparing ‘fingerprints’ from each layer. Used this way, tephrochronology is an age-equivalent dating method.

text: Connecting, synchronising, and dating with tephras: principles and applications of tephrochronology in Quaternary research Tephrochronology is a unique method for linking and dating geological, palaeoecological, palaeoclimatic, or archaeological sequences or events. The method relies firstly on stratigraphy and the law of superposition, which apply in any study that connects or correlates deposits from one place to another. Secondly, it relies on characterising and hence identifying or ‘fingerprinting’ tephra layers using either physical properties evident in the field or those obtained from laboratory analysis, including mineralogical examination by optical microscopy or geochemical analysis of glass shards or crystals (e.g., Fe-Ti oxides, ferromagnesian minerals) using the electron microprobe and other tools. Thirdly, the method is enhanced when a numerical age is obtained for a tephra layer by (1) radiometric methods such as radiocarbon, fission-track, U-series, (U-Th)/He, or Ar/Ar dating, (2) incremental dating methods including dendrochronology or varved sediments or layering in ice cores, or (3) age-equivalent methods such as palaeomagnetism or correlation with marine oxygen isotope stages or palynostratigraphy. Once known, that age can be transferred from one site to the next using stratigraphic methods and by matching compositional characteristics, i.e., comparing ‘fingerprints’ from each layer. Used this way, tephrochronology is an age-equivalent dating method.

year: 2016

title: Spatio-temporal distribution and diversity of zooplankton in zoo ponds relative to water quality parameters

authors: Fowler, Elizabeth Collette

subjects: Zooplankton, NZ

abstract: Little is known of the distribution and abundance of zooplankton in New Zealand, and the environmental variables that affect their spatial and temporal dynamics. Furthermore, smaller pond habitats have often been overlooked in favour of larger lake systems. To redress this gap, I focused on a series of six shallow interconnected ponds at the Hamilton Zoo. Ponds were sampled twice monthly for twelve months and examined for spatial and temporal variability in water quality parameters ( e.g. chlorophyll a, suspended solids, nutrients and bacteria) relative to the distribution and seasonal dynamics of zooplankton. 

Taxon richness comprised thirty-eight rotifers, five cladocerans, three copepods and one ostracod taxa were identified from the pond system. Considerable spatial variability in zooplankton composition was found among the various ponds. In contrast, there was comparatively little temporal variation in any of the ponds. 

Physical and chemical parameters also showed considerable spatial as well as temporal variability among the ponds. Chlorophyll a was found to be the most important environmental variable determining zooplankton community composition in the ponds. Pond 1 had low chlorophyll a, and low zooplankton species abundance and richness. In contrast, Ponds 2 and 3 had high chlorophyll a levels and had the highest zooplankton species abundance and richness of all the ponds. pH and temperature were also important in determining community composition. 

This study demonstrates the conservation potential of small ponds from a biodiversity perspective. Specifically, the considerable spatial variability in zooplankton composition among ponds may be important for preserving a wide range of taxa on a relatively small spatial scale, particularly when compared to larger lake habitats.

text: Spatio-temporal distribution and diversity of zooplankton in zoo ponds relative to water quality parameters Little is known of the distribution and abundance of zooplankton in New Zealand, and the environmental variables that affect their spatial and temporal dynamics. Furthermore, smaller pond habitats have often been overlooked in favour of larger lake systems. To redress this gap, I focused on a series of six shallow interconnected ponds at the Hamilton Zoo. Ponds were sampled twice monthly for twelve months and examined for spatial and temporal variability in water quality parameters ( e.g. chlorophyll a, suspended solids, nutrients and bacteria) relative to the distribution and seasonal dynamics of zooplankton. 

Taxon richness comprised thirty-eight rotifers, five cladocerans, three copepods and one ostracod taxa were identified from the pond system. Considerable spatial variability in zooplankton composition was found among the various ponds. In contrast, there was comparatively little temporal variation in any of the ponds. 

Physical and chemical parameters also showed considerable spatial as well as temporal variability among the ponds. Chlorophyll a was found to be the most important environmental variable determining zooplankton community composition in the ponds. Pond 1 had low chlorophyll a, and low zooplankton species abundance and richness. In contrast, Ponds 2 and 3 had high chlorophyll a levels and had the highest zooplankton species abundance and richness of all the ponds. pH and temperature were also important in determining community composition. 

This study demonstrates the conservation potential of small ponds from a biodiversity perspective. Specifically, the considerable spatial variability in zooplankton composition among ponds may be important for preserving a wide range of taxa on a relatively small spatial scale, particularly when compared to larger lake habitats.

year: 2006

title: Introduction and dedication to Matiu Dickson

authors: Te Aho, Linda

subjects: Dickson, Matiu

abstract: This edition of the Waikato Law Review is dedicated to our dear friend and colleague, Matiu Dickson, and we thank Judge Craig Coxhead for his wonderful tribute to Matiu. The morning of the 7th of April 2016 will forever be imprinted in our minds and hearts. Matiu passed away that morning having just delivered the final speech in the opening ceremony for our new Law Building here at Waikato University. It was said at his tangi that this was a high price to be paid for such a building. A price that we would never have chosen to pay. That price brings an obligation to honour and respect the legacy that Matiu has left us, his commitment to the Faculty’s founding goals and, in particular, the promotion of a bicultural legal education for Māori and non-Māori alike; that tikanga is recognised as the first law of Aotearoa New Zealand and continues to form a central part of our curriculum. Matiu personified the bicultural mission of Te Piringa Faculty of Law; that, through its curriculum, research activities and its structures, the Faculty would be the forefront of the development of a bicultural legal philosophy. Matiu worked hard to ensure this mission remained a stated goal of the Faculty and to give it meaning over his 20 year tenure. He constantly worked to infuse it into the structures and processes of this Law Faculty. He worked and campaigned for years, and successfully so, to make sure the name gifted to the Faculty by Dame Te Atairangikaahu at its founding, “Te Piringa”, became our Faculty’s officially recognised name. He was passionate about the use of te reo Māori in assessment. He encouraged and facilitated the use of te reo Māori mooting. It was our colleague, Ani Mikaere, who, during her time here as a legal academic, first publicly articulated tikanga Māori as the first law of Aotearoa. Through the years, Matiu and our academic colleagues, including Stephanie Milroy, Craig Coxhead, Caren Fox (all now Māori Land Court judges), Leah Whiu, Harata Paterson, Nan Seuffert, Ruth Bush, Wayne Rumbles, Robert Joseph, Valmaine Toki and ourselves, reaffirmed tikanga as the first law of Aotearoa in our teaching and research. Years later, the article “Lex Aotearoa: An Heroic Attempt to Map the Māori Dimension in Modern New Zealand Law” by Justice Joseph Williams2 developed the idea further and is currently the leading piece on the weaving of tikanga and Anglo-New Zealand law.3 Matiu Dickson was an expert in tikanga, the first law of Aotearoa. He lived it every day. He created and taught courses on it and made sure it was integrated throughout the curriculum. In Matiu’s honour, it is entirely appropriate that there are a number of contributions in this Review that have a Māori or Indigenous theme, and we hope future issues will likewise assure such a balance.

text: Introduction and dedication to Matiu Dickson This edition of the Waikato Law Review is dedicated to our dear friend and colleague, Matiu Dickson, and we thank Judge Craig Coxhead for his wonderful tribute to Matiu. The morning of the 7th of April 2016 will forever be imprinted in our minds and hearts. Matiu passed away that morning having just delivered the final speech in the opening ceremony for our new Law Building here at Waikato University. It was said at his tangi that this was a high price to be paid for such a building. A price that we would never have chosen to pay. That price brings an obligation to honour and respect the legacy that Matiu has left us, his commitment to the Faculty’s founding goals and, in particular, the promotion of a bicultural legal education for Māori and non-Māori alike; that tikanga is recognised as the first law of Aotearoa New Zealand and continues to form a central part of our curriculum. Matiu personified the bicultural mission of Te Piringa Faculty of Law; that, through its curriculum, research activities and its structures, the Faculty would be the forefront of the development of a bicultural legal philosophy. Matiu worked hard to ensure this mission remained a stated goal of the Faculty and to give it meaning over his 20 year tenure. He constantly worked to infuse it into the structures and processes of this Law Faculty. He worked and campaigned for years, and successfully so, to make sure the name gifted to the Faculty by Dame Te Atairangikaahu at its founding, “Te Piringa”, became our Faculty’s officially recognised name. He was passionate about the use of te reo Māori in assessment. He encouraged and facilitated the use of te reo Māori mooting. It was our colleague, Ani Mikaere, who, during her time here as a legal academic, first publicly articulated tikanga Māori as the first law of Aotearoa. Through the years, Matiu and our academic colleagues, including Stephanie Milroy, Craig Coxhead, Caren Fox (all now Māori Land Court judges), Leah Whiu, Harata Paterson, Nan Seuffert, Ruth Bush, Wayne Rumbles, Robert Joseph, Valmaine Toki and ourselves, reaffirmed tikanga as the first law of Aotearoa in our teaching and research. Years later, the article “Lex Aotearoa: An Heroic Attempt to Map the Māori Dimension in Modern New Zealand Law” by Justice Joseph Williams2 developed the idea further and is currently the leading piece on the weaving of tikanga and Anglo-New Zealand law.3 Matiu Dickson was an expert in tikanga, the first law of Aotearoa. He lived it every day. He created and taught courses on it and made sure it was integrated throughout the curriculum. In Matiu’s honour, it is entirely appropriate that there are a number of contributions in this Review that have a Māori or Indigenous theme, and we hope future issues will likewise assure such a balance.

year: 2016