title: A molecular-based assessment tool for characterising New Zealand freshwater zooplankton communities

authors: Watson, Nathan Thomas Noble

abstract: The ability to adequately assess ecosystem health is essential for informed resource management. Freshwater zooplankton respond rapidly to environmental changes in pest fish populations and nutrient loads and can therefore be used to monitor ecosystem health and provide a surrogate for lake biodiversity. The Zooplankton Molecular-Based Assessment (ZooMBA) described here is a technique for assessing zooplankton communities using short fragments of DNA sequences and a recently developed, online database of reference sequences ("DNA barcodes"). Users can collect their own zooplankton samples using standard collection techniques and either pre-process samples or send samples directly to appropriate laboratory facilities for molecular analyses. Resulting data can then be used to provide accurate species inventories, or cumulatively, can be used to compute indices of lake trophic status (e.g. rotifer Trophic Level Index).

text: A molecular-based assessment tool for characterising New Zealand freshwater zooplankton communities The ability to adequately assess ecosystem health is essential for informed resource management. Freshwater zooplankton respond rapidly to environmental changes in pest fish populations and nutrient loads and can therefore be used to monitor ecosystem health and provide a surrogate for lake biodiversity. The Zooplankton Molecular-Based Assessment (ZooMBA) described here is a technique for assessing zooplankton communities using short fragments of DNA sequences and a recently developed, online database of reference sequences ("DNA barcodes"). Users can collect their own zooplankton samples using standard collection techniques and either pre-process samples or send samples directly to appropriate laboratory facilities for molecular analyses. Resulting data can then be used to provide accurate species inventories, or cumulatively, can be used to compute indices of lake trophic status (e.g. rotifer Trophic Level Index).

year: 2014

title: Effects of a caffeine-carbohydrate mouth rinsing on sprinting kinetics and kinematics in fasted athletes

authors: Washif, Jad Adrian

abstract: Carbohydrate mouth rinsing during an intermittent fasting has been reported to be advantageous for endurance performance; however, there appears to be no clear effect on repeated sprints. What has not been investigated previously is the effects of combined caffeine and carbohydrate (CAF-CHO) mouth rinsing on speed-endurance performance commonly performed by track and field athletes during a fasted state.
PURPOSE: To determine the influence of CAF-CHO mouth rinsing on sprinting kinetics and kinematics, as well as subjective exertion during a speed-endurance bout performed in a fasted state. METHOD: In a counterbalanced, single-blind random order design, eleven (n = 11) well-trained National level male sprinters and middledistance runners performed three 15-sec all-out sprints on a Woodway nonmotorized force treadmill, interspersed with 2-min active recovery between sprints. Athletes rinsed 25 ml of CAF-CHO (4g carbohydrate, 5 mg caffeine), or a similarly coloured placebo solution (PLA) prior to warm-up (30-min pre-trial), 1-min pre-trial, and the mid-way of each period of active recovery. On one occasion, no mouth rinse (NMR) was administered. The study was conducted within the second and third quarters of Ramadan, and each session separated by at least 72 hours. RESULTS: At the start of each trial, the rating of perceived exertions (RPE), readiness to train, blood glucose, and lactate concentrations were similar (p > 0.05). A significant primary effect of trial (3 x 15 seconds sprint) was observed for the distance (p = 0.019), revealing a longer average distance achieved in the CAF-CHO compared to PLA trial (69.80 + 3.57 vs. 68.08 + 3.22; p = 0.026; EF: 0.5), and NMR (69.69 + 3.82; p = 0.680; EF: 0.2). The difference between NMR and PLA also approached significance (p = 0.073; ES: 0.5). The CAF-CHO intervention also obtained better results in all other sprint measures such as average velocity, peak acceleration, and peak horizontal force, although these differences were not significant. Post-trial RPE was higher during NMR (7.23 + 1.92) as compared to CAF-CHO (6.54 + 2.15) and PLA (6.38 + 1.94) (p = 0.247).
CONCLUSION: In challenging metabolic conditions, CAF-CHO mouth rinsing might have potential to improve measures of sprint training performance with a positive ergogenic effect on speed endurance performance

text: Effects of a caffeine-carbohydrate mouth rinsing on sprinting kinetics and kinematics in fasted athletes Carbohydrate mouth rinsing during an intermittent fasting has been reported to be advantageous for endurance performance; however, there appears to be no clear effect on repeated sprints. What has not been investigated previously is the effects of combined caffeine and carbohydrate (CAF-CHO) mouth rinsing on speed-endurance performance commonly performed by track and field athletes during a fasted state.
PURPOSE: To determine the influence of CAF-CHO mouth rinsing on sprinting kinetics and kinematics, as well as subjective exertion during a speed-endurance bout performed in a fasted state. METHOD: In a counterbalanced, single-blind random order design, eleven (n = 11) well-trained National level male sprinters and middledistance runners performed three 15-sec all-out sprints on a Woodway nonmotorized force treadmill, interspersed with 2-min active recovery between sprints. Athletes rinsed 25 ml of CAF-CHO (4g carbohydrate, 5 mg caffeine), or a similarly coloured placebo solution (PLA) prior to warm-up (30-min pre-trial), 1-min pre-trial, and the mid-way of each period of active recovery. On one occasion, no mouth rinse (NMR) was administered. The study was conducted within the second and third quarters of Ramadan, and each session separated by at least 72 hours. RESULTS: At the start of each trial, the rating of perceived exertions (RPE), readiness to train, blood glucose, and lactate concentrations were similar (p > 0.05). A significant primary effect of trial (3 x 15 seconds sprint) was observed for the distance (p = 0.019), revealing a longer average distance achieved in the CAF-CHO compared to PLA trial (69.80 + 3.57 vs. 68.08 + 3.22; p = 0.026; EF: 0.5), and NMR (69.69 + 3.82; p = 0.680; EF: 0.2). The difference between NMR and PLA also approached significance (p = 0.073; ES: 0.5). The CAF-CHO intervention also obtained better results in all other sprint measures such as average velocity, peak acceleration, and peak horizontal force, although these differences were not significant. Post-trial RPE was higher during NMR (7.23 + 1.92) as compared to CAF-CHO (6.54 + 2.15) and PLA (6.38 + 1.94) (p = 0.247).
CONCLUSION: In challenging metabolic conditions, CAF-CHO mouth rinsing might have potential to improve measures of sprint training performance with a positive ergogenic effect on speed endurance performance

year: 2018

title: Ungentlemanly warfare: The impact of irregular warfare on military strategy in the New Zealand Wars

authors: Foy, Rhys

subjects: New Zealand Wars

abstract: ‘Ungentlemanly Warfare’ examines the impact of irregular warfare on strategic thinking in the New Zealand Wars (1845–1872). Britain entered the period as an eighteenth-century force reliant on European methods of war. In contrast, Māori were an experienced bushfighting force depleted on manpower but experiencing a period of military innovation. This interaction led to an important exchange of strategic ideology and methods.  
This thesis tracks how Māori, British, and colonial forces developed and exchanged irregular warfare practices across three regions and time periods. The Northern War exposed the shortcomings of conventional military conduct. Māori leadership altered their strategic approach and pursued a strategy of elastic offence. In contrast, British leadership persisted with their ineffective conventional means of warfare. In the Waikato War, British strategy was influenced by the success of colonial irregulars. British strategic and operational methods changed with the inclusion of multi-echelon warfare and the indirect approach. Kīngitanga leadership improved their combat capacity through guerrilla warfare, decentralised command, and a grand strategy of elastic offence. The Taranaki and West Coast campaigns highlighted the relationship between the use of irregular warfare and military success in New Zealand. Both sides experienced success and failure across numerous conflicts, the defining factor being the active use of irregular warfare. These case studies reveal the significance of irregular warfare strategies and tactics to military success in colonial New Zealand. They also reveal opportunities and challenges to military adaptation in Māori, British, and colonial martial cultures of the nineteenth century. 
 ‘Ungentlemanly Warfare’ provides a unique approach to the examination of the New Zealand Wars conflict. It is an operational history that draws upon methods and aspects of the ‘war and society’ approach to military history, especially the use of Māori scholarship, evidence, and theory. The thesis’ chapters consider strategic and tactical decision-making across the numerous conflicts within the period. To do so, I provide close readings of primary evidence, including military communication and reports, early histories, and first-person accounts, to identify the roles of irregular warfare and strategic adaptions in the New Zealand Wars. 
	‘Ungentlemanly Warfare’ analyses the impact of irregular warfare on the strategic thinking of military leaders within the New Zealand Wars. I argue that irregular warfare strategies and tactics played a significantly larger role in the outcome of events than previously acknowledged. This study illustrates the importance of guerrilla warfare and the strategy of elastic offence to Māori strategy. In contrast, it highlights the evolution of British military thinking from conventional conservatism to a multi-echelon force led by irregular warfare units and tactics. ‘Ungentlemanly Warfare’ argues that irregular warfare was central to military conflicts in nineteenth-century New Zealand.

text: Ungentlemanly warfare: The impact of irregular warfare on military strategy in the New Zealand Wars ‘Ungentlemanly Warfare’ examines the impact of irregular warfare on strategic thinking in the New Zealand Wars (1845–1872). Britain entered the period as an eighteenth-century force reliant on European methods of war. In contrast, Māori were an experienced bushfighting force depleted on manpower but experiencing a period of military innovation. This interaction led to an important exchange of strategic ideology and methods.  
This thesis tracks how Māori, British, and colonial forces developed and exchanged irregular warfare practices across three regions and time periods. The Northern War exposed the shortcomings of conventional military conduct. Māori leadership altered their strategic approach and pursued a strategy of elastic offence. In contrast, British leadership persisted with their ineffective conventional means of warfare. In the Waikato War, British strategy was influenced by the success of colonial irregulars. British strategic and operational methods changed with the inclusion of multi-echelon warfare and the indirect approach. Kīngitanga leadership improved their combat capacity through guerrilla warfare, decentralised command, and a grand strategy of elastic offence. The Taranaki and West Coast campaigns highlighted the relationship between the use of irregular warfare and military success in New Zealand. Both sides experienced success and failure across numerous conflicts, the defining factor being the active use of irregular warfare. These case studies reveal the significance of irregular warfare strategies and tactics to military success in colonial New Zealand. They also reveal opportunities and challenges to military adaptation in Māori, British, and colonial martial cultures of the nineteenth century. 
 ‘Ungentlemanly Warfare’ provides a unique approach to the examination of the New Zealand Wars conflict. It is an operational history that draws upon methods and aspects of the ‘war and society’ approach to military history, especially the use of Māori scholarship, evidence, and theory. The thesis’ chapters consider strategic and tactical decision-making across the numerous conflicts within the period. To do so, I provide close readings of primary evidence, including military communication and reports, early histories, and first-person accounts, to identify the roles of irregular warfare and strategic adaptions in the New Zealand Wars. 
	‘Ungentlemanly Warfare’ analyses the impact of irregular warfare on the strategic thinking of military leaders within the New Zealand Wars. I argue that irregular warfare strategies and tactics played a significantly larger role in the outcome of events than previously acknowledged. This study illustrates the importance of guerrilla warfare and the strategy of elastic offence to Māori strategy. In contrast, it highlights the evolution of British military thinking from conventional conservatism to a multi-echelon force led by irregular warfare units and tactics. ‘Ungentlemanly Warfare’ argues that irregular warfare was central to military conflicts in nineteenth-century New Zealand.

year: 2023