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ecosystem

Tackling weeds to safeguard native ecosystems

Article

Tackling weeds to safeguard native ecosystems

The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment report Space invaders: A review of how New Zealand manages weeds that threaten native ...

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Ecosystems

Article

Ecosystems

What is an ecosystem?

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Tupuārangi – land-based ecosystems

Article

Tupuārangi – land-based ecosystems

Tupuārangi is a whetū in the Matariki cluster. It is connected to food and growth above the ground and has ...

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Honeydew ecosystem

Article

Honeydew ecosystem

The southern beech forests of New Zealand are home to a unique resource – honeydew – delicious to birds, fungi ...

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Ecosystem tipping points and stressors

Article

Ecosystem tipping points and stressors

Simply defined, a tipping point is the point when a number of changes or incidents become significant enough to cause ...

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Raupō plant (long slender leaves with seedheads) in the wild

Article

Could raupō help restore wetlands?

New research details the history of raupō from the time before people arrived in Aotearoa. It shows this resilient, opportunistic plant – and taonga species – ...

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Plastic pollution and marine microbes

Article

Plastic pollution and marine microbes

Plastic and microplastic pollution of oceans is a wicked problem. Using bioinformatics and statistical analysis, scientist Victor Gambarini looked to correlate marine microbes that could degrade ...

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Restoring Te Auaunga – Oakley Creek

Article

Restoring Te Auaunga – Oakley Creek

We rely on the natural world for recreation, building social connections and supporting our mental and spiritual health. Our land 2024 is an environmental report produced ...

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<i>Our land 2024 </i>

Article

Our land 2024

The land and ecosystems of Aotearoa New Zealand are globally unique and nationally significant. Our connections to and relationship with the land are a defining characteristic ...

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Sharks and rays facing extinction

Article

Sharks and rays facing extinction

Overfishing is the primary threat to deep-water sharks and rays. Research has found that their long lifespans and slow reproduction rates make these species as vulnerable ...

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Climate change and impacts on biodiversity

Article

Climate change and impacts on biodiversity

Aotearoa New Zealand is home to an amazing diversity of living things, many of which are endemic – only found here. Nowhere else on the planet ...

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Fall armyworm larvae and moth

Article

Improving Aotearoa New Zealand’s biosecurity detection

This article has been republished from The Conversation under Creative Commons licence CC BY-ND 4.0 and is written by Dr Angela (Ang) McGaughran, Senior Lecturer in ...

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Case study: Tetracycline antibiotics in the environment

Article

Case study: Tetracycline antibiotics in the environment

Antibiotic medicines have been an important development for human health, and they’re credited with improving the average human lifespan. While important for human and animal health, ...

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Case study: Zinc in the environment

Article

Case study: Zinc in the environment

We use chemicals every day, and they’re all around us. We know different chemicals come in different forms and that they will behave differently in different ...

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Chemical contaminants in the environment

Article

Chemical contaminants in the environment

Did you know there are over 30,000 chemicals approved for use across Aotearoa New Zealand? Who approves and regulates the use of these chemicals? How do ...

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Weeds – threats to native ecosystems

Article

Weeds – threats to native ecosystems

We all know about the threats that predators like possums, rats and stoats pose to New Zealand's native ecosystems, but did you know different exotic weeds ...

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<i>Our freshwater 2023</i>

Article

Our freshwater 2023

Ki uta ki tai – from the mountains to the sea – acknowledges the journey that water makes from the atmosphere to the mountains and across ...

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Lakes380 – writers’ insight

Article

Lakes380 – writers’ insight

As content developers for a science education website, we always operate with the nature of science hovering in the background. The Science Learning Hub was a ...

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Environmental DNA

Article

Environmental DNA

All living things shed genetic material like hair, scales, skin and faeces into their local environment. This is known as environmental DNA (eDNA). For example, an ...

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Indigenous perspectives – giants of the forests

Article

Indigenous perspectives – giants of the forests

Trees are a magnificent wonder of nature – giants of the forest. Tāne Mahuta is a giant kauri (Agathis australis). At 51.5 metres tall, it is ...

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The Majestic Samaúma – art meets science

Article

The Majestic Samaúma – art meets science

Art can help students understand the world around them. It can take many forms such as sculpture, paint, sound, abstract, light, real life, models, digital formats ...

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How did ancient moa survive the ice age – and what can they teach us about modern climate change?

Article

How did ancient moa survive the ice age – and what can they teach us about modern climate change?

One of New Zealand’s iconic moa species was almost wiped out during the last ice age according to recently published research. DNA from ancient eastern moa ...

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How the Ice Ages spurred the evolution of New Zealand’s weird and wiry native plants

Article

How the Ice Ages spurred the evolution of New Zealand’s weird and wiry native plants

The most controversial feature of the New Zealand flora is the plethora of small-leaved trees and shrubs with wiry interlaced branches. This article has been republished ...

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Mahinga kai

Article

Mahinga kai

Mahika/mahinga kai is a highly significant concept for Māori. It encompasses the values and protection of natural resources and is specific to iwi and their rohe. ...

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Waitī – freshwater environments

Article

Waitī – freshwater environments

Waitī is a whetū in the Matariki cluster. It is the star connected to freshwater: springs, streams, rivers, lakes, wetlands and the plants and animals that ...

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Tupuānuku – land and soil

Article

Tupuānuku – land and soil

Tupuānuku is a whetū in the Matariki cluster. It is the star connected to anything associated within the soil, including cultivated and uncultivated foods grown in ...

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Learning from the Tangata Whenua

Article

Learning from the Tangata Whenua

This Connected article is based on an interview by Susan Paris with environmental scientist Dr James Ataria (Rongomaiwahine, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Tūwharetoa). James’s work focuses on ...

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