title: Developing an inter-university partnership: The importance of relationally-connected leaders

authors: Ferrier-Kerr, Jenny L.

abstract: We have been involved in an inter-university partnership that supports, contributes to, and influences our own and others’ thinking and actions. As we have collaborated on teaching, learning, and research in the field of educational leadership, we recognise that we have developed our own leadership practice and created opportunities for others to do so. The partnership in which academics and students from the University of Central Oklahoma and the University of Waikato have been participating has evolved as a flexible and innovative endeavor over an eighteen month period. In this relatively brief time, we have discovered there are considerable possibilities for the partnership to be developed in a number of ways that will benefit academics, students, and our respective institutions. In this paper, we examine and discuss the findings generated by our initial inquiry as we seek to make sense of our inter university partnership in order to sustain and progress it. Our leadership during the initial phases of the partnership appears to have been a key element in its success. We have found that the presence of a relational connectedness has influenced and enhanced our own leadership practice and subsequently the quality of the partnership. It has enabled us to facilitate the growth of a community of practice and generate academic collaboration.

text: Developing an inter-university partnership: The importance of relationally-connected leaders We have been involved in an inter-university partnership that supports, contributes to, and influences our own and others’ thinking and actions. As we have collaborated on teaching, learning, and research in the field of educational leadership, we recognise that we have developed our own leadership practice and created opportunities for others to do so. The partnership in which academics and students from the University of Central Oklahoma and the University of Waikato have been participating has evolved as a flexible and innovative endeavor over an eighteen month period. In this relatively brief time, we have discovered there are considerable possibilities for the partnership to be developed in a number of ways that will benefit academics, students, and our respective institutions. In this paper, we examine and discuss the findings generated by our initial inquiry as we seek to make sense of our inter university partnership in order to sustain and progress it. Our leadership during the initial phases of the partnership appears to have been a key element in its success. We have found that the presence of a relational connectedness has influenced and enhanced our own leadership practice and subsequently the quality of the partnership. It has enabled us to facilitate the growth of a community of practice and generate academic collaboration.

year: 2014

title: Ecosomatics and communities

authors: Hunter, Victoria

subjects: Community

abstract: Roundtable discussion "Communities" with the LOBA association (Bolewa Sabourin, Puskarini Chellapermal), Laetitia Angot (choreographer, France), Karen Barbour (choreographic artist-researcher, NZ/Aotearoa), Victoria Hunter (choreographic artist-researcher, England). Translator: Léa Bonneau-Deborde.

Ten years after the international conference "Ecosomatics" hosted by the CN D in 2014, and the publication Ecosomatics: Thinking about ecology from the gesture (2019), the Soma & Po group is reactivating a meeting around the future of this term. While the environmental disaster multiplies the levels of precariousness (material, psychological, emotional, network), how do somatic practices participate in a reconfiguration of the ways of inhabiting the earth?

text: Ecosomatics and communities Roundtable discussion "Communities" with the LOBA association (Bolewa Sabourin, Puskarini Chellapermal), Laetitia Angot (choreographer, France), Karen Barbour (choreographic artist-researcher, NZ/Aotearoa), Victoria Hunter (choreographic artist-researcher, England). Translator: Léa Bonneau-Deborde.

Ten years after the international conference "Ecosomatics" hosted by the CN D in 2014, and the publication Ecosomatics: Thinking about ecology from the gesture (2019), the Soma & Po group is reactivating a meeting around the future of this term. While the environmental disaster multiplies the levels of precariousness (material, psychological, emotional, network), how do somatic practices participate in a reconfiguration of the ways of inhabiting the earth?

year: 2024-09-24

title: Evaluating the effects of invasive brown bullhead catfish (Ameiurus nebulosus) on kōura (freshwater crayfish, Paranephrops planifrons) in Lake Rotoiti

authors: Francis, Laura Beverley

subjects: catfish

abstract: Brown bullhead catfish (Ameiurus nebulosus) are opportunistic carnivores native to North America and were first detected in Te Weta Bay, Lake Rotoiti, in March 2016. A cordon was placed across the bay to try and contain catfish, but they had already established populations elsewhere. Spread of catfish in the lake raised concern for resident populations of freshwater crayfish or kōura (Paranephrops planifrons), which are of ecological and cultural significance to Māori. Given the limited knowledge of the potential impacts of catfish on native biota, this thesis aims to evaluate the effects of catfish on kōura in Lake Rotoiti. To do this, Bay of Plenty Regional Council (BOPRC) routine fyke netting data was used to explore species trends and relationships. A habitat survey was also conducted using whakaweku (bracken fern bundles) and fyke nets, to generate data on species’ habitat preferences and kōura metrics (e.g., sizes and sex ratios). In addition to fishing, kōura and catfish stomachs were dissected to determine diet. Potential food items of catfish were also collected for stable isotope analysis to estimate dietary overlap between catfish and kōura, and long-term resource acquisition. 

Routine BOPRC fyke netting results indicated that kōura catch per unit effort (CPUE) has declined in Lake Rotoiti, with mean catch rates dropping from 10.6 kōura net-1 night-1 in 2016 to 4.2 kōura net-1 night-1 in 2018. Over the same period, catfish CPUE has increased in the lake, with the highest catch rates in Te Weta Bay, where mean catch rates have increased from 1.1 catfish net-1 night-1 in 2016 to 63.7 catfish net-1 night-1 in 2018. Catfish catch rates were negatively associated with catch rates of kōura (r = −0.180). Mean catfish density also had a significant effect on kōura catch rates, with significantly more kōura being caught at sites without catfish. The negative association between catfish and kōura could be due to catfish eating or competing with kōura, or their differing habitat preferences. Catfish were positively associated with sites that are weedy or muddy and kōura were negatively associated with muddy habitats and were positively associated with rocky habitats. Whakaweku set at shallow depths <1 m in the lake littoral zone were ineffective at catching kōura during the habitat survey. 

Catfish diet consisted largely of chironomid larvae (Chironomidae), detritus, common bullies (Gobiomorphus cotidianus), and to a lesser extent kōura. Kōura were found in 12% of large catfish (>200 mm fork length; FL) stomachs analysed and contributed 5% volumetrically to large catfish diet. Unfortunately, the contribution of kōura to catfish diet could not be established using stable isotopes because isotopic signatures of kōura and bullies were too close to differentiate. Kōura diet consisted primarily of animal remains (common bullies and invertebrates) and detritus. Stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen revealed that diets of kōura and catfish overlapped, with kōura sharing more of their diet with catfish than vice versa, likely reflecting catfish’s broad diet. This study suggests that catfish are responsible for the recent decline in kōura CPUE in Lake Rotoiti and that catfish are directly and indirectly affecting kōura through predation and competition for shared food resources.

text: Evaluating the effects of invasive brown bullhead catfish (Ameiurus nebulosus) on kōura (freshwater crayfish, Paranephrops planifrons) in Lake Rotoiti Brown bullhead catfish (Ameiurus nebulosus) are opportunistic carnivores native to North America and were first detected in Te Weta Bay, Lake Rotoiti, in March 2016. A cordon was placed across the bay to try and contain catfish, but they had already established populations elsewhere. Spread of catfish in the lake raised concern for resident populations of freshwater crayfish or kōura (Paranephrops planifrons), which are of ecological and cultural significance to Māori. Given the limited knowledge of the potential impacts of catfish on native biota, this thesis aims to evaluate the effects of catfish on kōura in Lake Rotoiti. To do this, Bay of Plenty Regional Council (BOPRC) routine fyke netting data was used to explore species trends and relationships. A habitat survey was also conducted using whakaweku (bracken fern bundles) and fyke nets, to generate data on species’ habitat preferences and kōura metrics (e.g., sizes and sex ratios). In addition to fishing, kōura and catfish stomachs were dissected to determine diet. Potential food items of catfish were also collected for stable isotope analysis to estimate dietary overlap between catfish and kōura, and long-term resource acquisition. 

Routine BOPRC fyke netting results indicated that kōura catch per unit effort (CPUE) has declined in Lake Rotoiti, with mean catch rates dropping from 10.6 kōura net-1 night-1 in 2016 to 4.2 kōura net-1 night-1 in 2018. Over the same period, catfish CPUE has increased in the lake, with the highest catch rates in Te Weta Bay, where mean catch rates have increased from 1.1 catfish net-1 night-1 in 2016 to 63.7 catfish net-1 night-1 in 2018. Catfish catch rates were negatively associated with catch rates of kōura (r = −0.180). Mean catfish density also had a significant effect on kōura catch rates, with significantly more kōura being caught at sites without catfish. The negative association between catfish and kōura could be due to catfish eating or competing with kōura, or their differing habitat preferences. Catfish were positively associated with sites that are weedy or muddy and kōura were negatively associated with muddy habitats and were positively associated with rocky habitats. Whakaweku set at shallow depths <1 m in the lake littoral zone were ineffective at catching kōura during the habitat survey. 

Catfish diet consisted largely of chironomid larvae (Chironomidae), detritus, common bullies (Gobiomorphus cotidianus), and to a lesser extent kōura. Kōura were found in 12% of large catfish (>200 mm fork length; FL) stomachs analysed and contributed 5% volumetrically to large catfish diet. Unfortunately, the contribution of kōura to catfish diet could not be established using stable isotopes because isotopic signatures of kōura and bullies were too close to differentiate. Kōura diet consisted primarily of animal remains (common bullies and invertebrates) and detritus. Stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen revealed that diets of kōura and catfish overlapped, with kōura sharing more of their diet with catfish than vice versa, likely reflecting catfish’s broad diet. This study suggests that catfish are responsible for the recent decline in kōura CPUE in Lake Rotoiti and that catfish are directly and indirectly affecting kōura through predation and competition for shared food resources.

year: 2019