New Thinking
The past 50 or so years has seen a dramatic change in the volume, and mode, of international trade. Not only has the volume escalated substantially, but around 90% of it is carried by sea, mostly in containers.
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Over 100 science delegates will converge on Auckland and Rotorua next week for a meeting to discuss micro-organisms whose name means “destroyer of plants”. Hosted by Crown Research Institute Scion, Landcare Research and Auckland Regional Council, the Phytophthora conference has attracted global interest, with representatives from 14 different countries due to attend.
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Scientists at Crown Research Institute Scion are trialling a new lighting system to beat off aerial attackers.
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Plant and Food Research scientists are investigating ways to control the destructive varroa mite, a cause of major devastation to honey bees.
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New Zealand scientists may suggest to US crop protection agencies that a slightly kinky approach could help eradicate their light brown apple moth pests.
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Agresearch chief scientist Dr Stephen Goldson says $2.5 million funding for research into advanced sensors for biosecurity will help the country develop its growing reputation in the field.
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A South African moth has been released into New Zealand for the first time. Landcare Research staff have been mass-rearing boneseed leafrollers to do battle against boneseed, a highly invasive coastal plant.
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UK based researcher Dr Scott Johnson has been working with AgResearch for the past six weeks finding out how to combat the clover root weevil in a warmer climate.
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Conifer trees, if sited inappropriately, can go wild and spread in landscapes including the South Island High Country. Landcare Research, Ensis and ECan are developing means of determining which stands of trees pose the greatest weed threat, so as to devise the most effective controls.
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New Science
Since releasing a tiny Irish wasp in an attempt to control clover root weevil, who is winning: the clover or the weevil?
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A new, and definitely unwanted, fanworm species has been found in Lyttleton waters.
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Landcare Research scientists will trial new pest-control methods in Marlborough this spring which may pave the way for a dramatic reduction in 1080-poison use in New Zealand.
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Results from New Zealand's most comprehensive, independent scientific field trial of genetically modified trees support the argument that GM trees are low-risk and can be safely introduced into the environment, with no negative effects on other organisms.
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HortResearch scientists could end a threat to the honey and fruit export industry.
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The three most common notified bacterial diseases in New Zealand - Campylobacter, Salmonella, and E. coli - are a focus for the National Centre for Biosecurity and Infectious Disease at Crown Research Institute ESR.
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Most people turn off the lights to keep creepy critters away. But Scion is turning them on. The Crown Research Institute is trialling yellow lighting systems as a means of repelling insects, research which could reduce the need for methyl bromide treatments at wood processing sites.
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Landcare Research scientists in Auckland have developed DNA techniques to help identify which wildlife killers have been dining out on other species.
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The recent foot & mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in the UK is a reminder of the threat FMD poses to NZ's livestock industry. NIWA staff are ready to respond to a FMD alarm.
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Researchers at HortResearch plan to create special insect scents for use in the biological control of wasps and ants.
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New Value
Biosecurity officials receive over 10,000 reports of suspected new pests and diseases in New Zealand every year.
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A smartphone app has been developed to give the public a new way to report sightings of eucalyptus pests.
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The recent spate of wild fires in the South Island is evidence that the current fire season is one of the worst in recent years.
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Some of the tight scheduling pressures around log exports for ports and log marshalling companies have been eased, thanks to Scion’s forest protection scientists.
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A new state-of-the-art plant pathogen (disease) containment facility marks a significant step forward in New Zealand’s battle against invasive weeds
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Electro-fishing and netting have successfully reduced perch numbers in a conservation safe haven.
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Landcare Research consultants have been advising the British Government how to rid two small Atlantic islands of giant mice, so big they eat albatross chicks.
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But not in Northland, according to AgResearch.
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The risk posed by alien fish to to our freshwater species can now be evaluated, thanks to modelling work by NIWA scientists.
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SARs, avian flu, influenza, economic biosecurity, counter-terrorism around biological and chemical threats, and other threats at microbial level. This takes top people to keep New Zealand safe, and now they have top facilities as ESR opens its new site at Wallaceville, Upper Hutt.
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