title: Effect of grazing on ship rat density in forest fragments of lowland Waikato, New Zealand

authors: Innes, John G.

subjects: fencing

abstract: Ship rat (Rattus rattus) density was assessed by snap-trapping during summer and autumn in eight indigenous forest fragments (mean 5 ha) in rural landscapes of Waikato, a lowland pastoral farming district of the North Island, New Zealand. Four of the eight were fenced and four grazed. In each set of four, half were connected with hedgerows, gullies or some other vegetative corridor to nearby forest and half were completely isolated. Summer rat density based on the number trapped in the first six nights was higher in fenced (mean 6.5 rats ha–1) than in grazed fragments (mean 0.5 rats ha–1; P = 0.02). Rats were eradicated (no rats caught and no rat footprints recorded for three consecutive nights) from all eight fragments in January–April 2008, but reinvaded within a month; time to eradication averaged 47 nights in fenced and 19 nights in grazed fragments. A second six-night trapping operation in autumn, 1–3 months after eradication, found no effect of fencing (P = 0.73). Connectedness to an adjacent source of immigrants did not influence rat density within a fragment in either season (summer P = 0.25, autumn P = 0.67). An uncalibrated, rapid (one-night) index of ship rat density, using baited tracking tunnels set in a 50 × 50 m grid, showed a promising relationship with the number of rats killed per hectare over the first six nights, up to tracking index values of c. 30% (corresponding to c. 3–5 rats ha–1). The index will enable managers to determine if rat abundance is low enough to achieve conservation benefits. Our results confirm a dilemma for conservation in forest fragments. Fencing protects vegetation, litter and associated ecological processes, but also increases number of ship rats, which destroy seeds, invertebrates and nesting birds. Maximising the biodiversity values of forest fragments therefore requires both fencing and control of ship rats.

text: Effect of grazing on ship rat density in forest fragments of lowland Waikato, New Zealand Ship rat (Rattus rattus) density was assessed by snap-trapping during summer and autumn in eight indigenous forest fragments (mean 5 ha) in rural landscapes of Waikato, a lowland pastoral farming district of the North Island, New Zealand. Four of the eight were fenced and four grazed. In each set of four, half were connected with hedgerows, gullies or some other vegetative corridor to nearby forest and half were completely isolated. Summer rat density based on the number trapped in the first six nights was higher in fenced (mean 6.5 rats ha–1) than in grazed fragments (mean 0.5 rats ha–1; P = 0.02). Rats were eradicated (no rats caught and no rat footprints recorded for three consecutive nights) from all eight fragments in January–April 2008, but reinvaded within a month; time to eradication averaged 47 nights in fenced and 19 nights in grazed fragments. A second six-night trapping operation in autumn, 1–3 months after eradication, found no effect of fencing (P = 0.73). Connectedness to an adjacent source of immigrants did not influence rat density within a fragment in either season (summer P = 0.25, autumn P = 0.67). An uncalibrated, rapid (one-night) index of ship rat density, using baited tracking tunnels set in a 50 × 50 m grid, showed a promising relationship with the number of rats killed per hectare over the first six nights, up to tracking index values of c. 30% (corresponding to c. 3–5 rats ha–1). The index will enable managers to determine if rat abundance is low enough to achieve conservation benefits. Our results confirm a dilemma for conservation in forest fragments. Fencing protects vegetation, litter and associated ecological processes, but also increases number of ship rats, which destroy seeds, invertebrates and nesting birds. Maximising the biodiversity values of forest fragments therefore requires both fencing and control of ship rats.

year: 2010

title: Society Gets the Individual it Deserves: Engaging Learners for the Flat World

authors: Pope, Clive C.

subjects: learning

abstract: Historically the individual and society pendulum has swung back and forth between individuals and conformity and individuals and community. Individuals and society are mutually dependent yet conflicts of interest have shown how one has sometimes flourished at the expense of the other. As the world and society changes, learning must follow so individuals or groups can participate in society. And because participation in society inherently involves learning physical educators and kinesiologists (among others) need to address how we can assist students to be engaged learners who transform experiences into fruitful knowledge, skills, attitudes, values, and beliefs and give meaning to their lives. The paper will situate learning and in particular, student engagement, as a vector for the pervasive change and the associated profound challenges that will be presented to individuals and society this century. Student engagement, particularly at a philosophic level, has essentially been ignored within our field.

text: Society Gets the Individual it Deserves: Engaging Learners for the Flat World Historically the individual and society pendulum has swung back and forth between individuals and conformity and individuals and community. Individuals and society are mutually dependent yet conflicts of interest have shown how one has sometimes flourished at the expense of the other. As the world and society changes, learning must follow so individuals or groups can participate in society. And because participation in society inherently involves learning physical educators and kinesiologists (among others) need to address how we can assist students to be engaged learners who transform experiences into fruitful knowledge, skills, attitudes, values, and beliefs and give meaning to their lives. The paper will situate learning and in particular, student engagement, as a vector for the pervasive change and the associated profound challenges that will be presented to individuals and society this century. Student engagement, particularly at a philosophic level, has essentially been ignored within our field.

year: 2012

title: Te Piringa

authors: Dickson, Matiu

abstract: Māori have an oral tradition, that is, the transfer of knowledge within and between generations, which was carried out orally by way of story-telling or the more formal speech-making. Ngā korero purākau are the stories and whaikōrero is formal talking on the marae or ancestral gathering places of Māori people. The value of public speaking is expressed in the saying: Ko te kōrerote kai a te Rangatira – (The chiefs thrive on talking and debating). This article looks at the transfer of knowledge to the next generation.

text: Te Piringa Māori have an oral tradition, that is, the transfer of knowledge within and between generations, which was carried out orally by way of story-telling or the more formal speech-making. Ngā korero purākau are the stories and whaikōrero is formal talking on the marae or ancestral gathering places of Māori people. The value of public speaking is expressed in the saying: Ko te kōrerote kai a te Rangatira – (The chiefs thrive on talking and debating). This article looks at the transfer of knowledge to the next generation.

year: 2010