title: Conservation, Market Pressures and the New Zealand Dairy Sector

authors: Morad, Munir

subjects: New Zealand farming

abstract: The New Zealand dairy industry is a highly organised, globally marketed food production system. In order to remain internationally competitive, the industry has had to adjust to flexible price regimes and the need to achieve greater production efficiencies. At the same time, the dairy industry is based on an agricultural system grounded in ecological and social specifics that can be in conflict with business aspirations. This paper outlines some of the environmental implications of modernising New Zealand’s dairy industry, focusing on the Waikato Region, which has traditionally been a major player in the country’s dairy industry. The authors question whether the dairy industry’s growth projections, which are linked to realising greater production efficiencies, are sustainable in the long run.

text: Conservation, Market Pressures and the New Zealand Dairy Sector The New Zealand dairy industry is a highly organised, globally marketed food production system. In order to remain internationally competitive, the industry has had to adjust to flexible price regimes and the need to achieve greater production efficiencies. At the same time, the dairy industry is based on an agricultural system grounded in ecological and social specifics that can be in conflict with business aspirations. This paper outlines some of the environmental implications of modernising New Zealand’s dairy industry, focusing on the Waikato Region, which has traditionally been a major player in the country’s dairy industry. The authors question whether the dairy industry’s growth projections, which are linked to realising greater production efficiencies, are sustainable in the long run.

year: 1999

title: Randomised controlled trial of honey-impregnated dressings for venous leg ulcers

authors: Molan, Peter C.

subjects: biology

abstract: The efficacy of honey as a treatment for venous ulcers has not been evaluated despite widespread interest in its use. The HALT trial aimed to evaluate the safety and  effectiveness of honey in healing venous ulcers.

text: Randomised controlled trial of honey-impregnated dressings for venous leg ulcers The efficacy of honey as a treatment for venous ulcers has not been evaluated despite widespread interest in its use. The HALT trial aimed to evaluate the safety and  effectiveness of honey in healing venous ulcers.

year: 2008

title: Spatial and temporal characteristics of the underwater soundscape around the Motiti Protection Area: Ōtaiti/Astrolabe Reef and Motiti Island

authors: Riegel, Maria Sophie

subjects: Underwater Soundscapes

abstract: Marine ecosystems around the world have been impacted by degradation and loss of biodiversity as a result of human impacts and climate change. The monitoring and management of ecologically significant areas is vital in understanding the effects of habitat degradation on marine ecosystems. Traditional monitoring methods are often expensive, time consuming, labour intensive and invasive. Soundscapes offer a unique opportunity for monitoring habitats in a way that is cost effective, minimally invasive and efficient. The aim of this study was to use passive acoustic monitoring to create a baseline data set using ambient sound data to investigate the spatial and temporal changes in ambient sound pressure levels, and to identify biotic, abiotic and anthropogenic sound sources which make up the marine soundscapes at the Motiti Island and Ōtaiti/Astrolabe Reef. Five diverse and ecologically significant sites in the Motiti Protection Area – at Ōtaiti/Astrolabe Reef and Motiti Island, in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand were selected and monitored over the course of a year. This provided a wide variety of data to show the diel, lunar and seasonal patterns and trends in acoustic biological activity in order to represent the ecosystems accurately. The results showed that all sites showed strong diel patterns, with a sound pressure level increase of ~6-10dB during daylight hours compared to dark hours, and evident peaks during dawn and dusk hours as a result of biological choruses composed largely of sea urchins. There were also strong seasonal trends among the five sites, with Summer having the overall highest sound pressure level compared to Spring, Autumn and Winter, this also had an effect on the peaks in dusk choruses, which were also found to be highest during Summer. Lunar phases were also found to have an impact on the sound pressure levels of all five sites, with increased sound pressure levels during the new moon, compared to sound pressure levels during the full moon. This study created a baseline data set for a culturally, ecologically, and economically valuable area. Passive acoustic monitoring was found to be an incredibly useful tool in understand the ecosystems health and biological condition, and offers an alternative to traditional monitoring which is an effective, minimally invasive, and less labour intensive way of monitoring marine ecosystems.

text: Spatial and temporal characteristics of the underwater soundscape around the Motiti Protection Area: Ōtaiti/Astrolabe Reef and Motiti Island Marine ecosystems around the world have been impacted by degradation and loss of biodiversity as a result of human impacts and climate change. The monitoring and management of ecologically significant areas is vital in understanding the effects of habitat degradation on marine ecosystems. Traditional monitoring methods are often expensive, time consuming, labour intensive and invasive. Soundscapes offer a unique opportunity for monitoring habitats in a way that is cost effective, minimally invasive and efficient. The aim of this study was to use passive acoustic monitoring to create a baseline data set using ambient sound data to investigate the spatial and temporal changes in ambient sound pressure levels, and to identify biotic, abiotic and anthropogenic sound sources which make up the marine soundscapes at the Motiti Island and Ōtaiti/Astrolabe Reef. Five diverse and ecologically significant sites in the Motiti Protection Area – at Ōtaiti/Astrolabe Reef and Motiti Island, in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand were selected and monitored over the course of a year. This provided a wide variety of data to show the diel, lunar and seasonal patterns and trends in acoustic biological activity in order to represent the ecosystems accurately. The results showed that all sites showed strong diel patterns, with a sound pressure level increase of ~6-10dB during daylight hours compared to dark hours, and evident peaks during dawn and dusk hours as a result of biological choruses composed largely of sea urchins. There were also strong seasonal trends among the five sites, with Summer having the overall highest sound pressure level compared to Spring, Autumn and Winter, this also had an effect on the peaks in dusk choruses, which were also found to be highest during Summer. Lunar phases were also found to have an impact on the sound pressure levels of all five sites, with increased sound pressure levels during the new moon, compared to sound pressure levels during the full moon. This study created a baseline data set for a culturally, ecologically, and economically valuable area. Passive acoustic monitoring was found to be an incredibly useful tool in understand the ecosystems health and biological condition, and offers an alternative to traditional monitoring which is an effective, minimally invasive, and less labour intensive way of monitoring marine ecosystems.

year: 2022