Category: student blog

Tackling feral cats in Aotearoa New Zealand

Feral cats (Felis catus) are among the most proficient and effective hunters in the world. In Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ), their skills are lethal to native species that have evolved without mammalian predators. Feral cats have been linked to significant biodiversity declines across the country. Cats are opportunistic predators that hunt ground-breeding species, like birds, bats, reptiles and even some insects- many of which are endemic.

Fig 1: It looks like siblings fighting over a small bird, a moment that captures the competitive behavior of feral cats (Image by- Gilbert Mercier, Flicker User

The extinctions of six endemic birds are linked to feral cats. Well-known cases include a single cat, Tibble, that caused the extinction of NZ’s only flightless song bird: Lyall’s Wren on Stephens Island. A single cat killed 120 endangered native short-tailed bats in one week on Mt. Ruapehu. Dotterel populations on Stewart Island, Grand and Otago skink populations in southern ANZ are at risk due to feral cats. The list of species pushed to the verge of extinction by cats is long and growing.

Yet despite their impact, feral cats are not currently included in NZ’s Predator Free 2050 campaign. This raises a major question: how is NZ tackling the feral cat problem?

With growing concern for native wildlife, the government has implemented several methods to eradicate or control cats: lethal baiting, trapping, shooting, and fencing. While putting these methods into action is necessary, it’s equally important to ask their effectiveness: Are they actually working? And how can we tell?

Fig 2: Feral cat awareness at Arthur’s Pass Wildlife Trust (Photo credit: Muhammad Waseem (used with permission)).

These were the very questions a group of researchers from Lincoln University set out to explore. Using camera traps, they conducted a study on Hawke’s Bay farmland to test whether trapping and shooting could effectively control feral cat population, and whether the area will be re-invaded over time, to measure the effectiveness of the method.

Forty motion-sensitive cameras stood beside the traps like sentinels, monitoring everything. Cats walked into the view, lured by rabbit meat and ferret scent. The cameras recorded activities before, during, and six months after the control operation. Before the operation 20 cats were detected. 17 feral cats were then removed (shot). The result? An 84% drop in both cat numbers and camera detections.

Aware of the risk of reinvasion, the researchers monitored the site again six months later- and detected only three new cats. The outcome was encouraging and demonstrated how proper methods combined with well-monitored action can make real difference. With the help of camera traps, the research could measure the effectiveness of the control operation and can suggest similar methods in areas facing feral cat issues.

Today, thanks to advanced technology like camera traps, monitoring has become much more efficient and convenient. This allows conservationists to evaluate their methodologies, observe activities remotely, and respond effectively.

How did cats become a serious ecological problem in NZ?

In my home country of Nepal, cats are seen as beloved pet and, traditionally, the guardians of grain stores, not as an ecological threat. As someone new to NZ conservation practice, I initially found the conservation method used in this study confronting. But the more I learned, the more curious I became: how did a country with no native mammalian predators come to see cats as such a serious problem?

Fig 3: Stray cat basking sun on Fairmaid Street, Lincoln (Photo: Author 04/01/2025)

Cats didn’t arrive in NZ until the mid-1800s. Earlier cats had visited along with Captain James Cook. His ship, plagued by rodents, carried cats as a solution to control pests and protect food supplies.

European settlers brought cats as companions. Some escaped or were abandoned, eventually forming a wild population. Ironically, many animals (and even people) arriving by ships ended up becoming invasive. Over time, their arrival became strongly linked with biodiversity loss.

Today the feral cats are officially recognised as invasive predators. They not only kill native wildlife but also spread disease. It is no coincidence that many native birds began to disappear after cats were introduced. In the NZ conservation story, it’s not unusual to say: “To solve one problem often means creating another!”.

Although some early impacts were noticed, such as the extinction of the Stephen Island wren, surprising these events were simply viewed with the mindset as nature improving, where invasive species were seen as improvement rather than threats.

Cats, whether brought to control rodents or to ease the settler’s solitude, may have served a short-term purpose, but over time introducing them proved to be a double-edged sword, causing severe harm to NZ’s native wildlife.

Learning this made me realize that today’s conservation challenges are deeply connected to historical choices!

Moving ahead

While we cannot re-write history, we can certainly learn from it!

Fig 4: Who decided which story to tell? The Great Hall stained-glass window at University of Canterbury made from 4,000 pieces of glass, showing Captain James Cook at number 19 (Photo: author 02/05/2025).

The journey of cats in NZ is a classic reminder of how small actions can have a large ecological impact. The feral cat issue isn’t just about one species nor is it the only invasive challenge NZ faces, it’s about how we approach conservation in a complex and ever-changing environment.

Looking back, we don’t know how much damage to NZ’s biodiversity could have been prevented or reduced if the scale of damage was understood earlier. As the country continues its battle against introduced species to conserve biodiversity through Predator Free 2050 campaign, integrating reliable monitoring tools like camera traps will be crucial in making informed and effective conservation decisions.

The author, Pareena Khadka, is a postgraduate student in the Master of Applied Science at Te Whare Wānaka o Aoraki Lincoln University. This article was written as an assessment for ECOL 608 Research Methods in Ecology.

Paper reference: Nichols, M., Glen, A. S., Ross, J., Gormley, A. M., & Garvey, P. M. (2023). Evaluating the effectiveness of a feral cat control operation using camera traps. New Zealand Journal of Ecology, 47(1), Article 3501. https://dx.doi.org/10.20417/nzjecol.47.3501

December 1, 2025
Our plants are not being poisoned by 1080 possum baits

I’ll admit, before taking the 16 hour flight from Arizona to Christchurch, I didn’t know much about New Zealand besides ‘What We Do in the Shadows’, Karl Urban, and affordable yarn. I was especially excited to get my hands on possum yarn.

Possum yarn is coveted by the knitting community for its lightweightedness and warmth, only surpassed by the fur of arctic foxes and polar bears. And let me say that I absolutely think that the possum yarn was worth every dollar. With just 400 meters (one skein/ball) I was able to knit up a cabled hat, mittens, and still have some left over for some ankle length socks!

The feeling of possum yarn is incredibly soft and the natural brown color of the possum fur mixed with merino sheep wool makes for a more muted (in a good way) color palette. However, I recognise that the brushtail possum is a prevalent pest in New Zealand; so much so that drastic measures like Compound 1080 poison baits have been used since the mid-1950’s to control this introduced species.

Common Brushtail Possum by Catching The Eye, 2014 (CC BY-NC)

Compound 1080 for pest control in New Zealand

To put it simply, sodium fluoroacetate (AKA Compound 1080) is a vertebrate pesticide used to control introduced mammal species, such as rats, mice, feral cats, and possums. Without Compound 1080, these species decimate the population of endemic plants and animals only found in New Zealand. The compound is dispersed by aircraft(i.e. helicopters or fixed-wing planes) in either a carrot or cereal bait. 

According to my professors, everyone has an opinion on the use of 1080. While Compound 1080 is great when it works, there are concerns from both the general public and Māori communities. From a public perspective, 1080 does have the real danger of killing people’s cats and dogs if accidentally ingested. As a pet owner myself, this is especially scary because my cat and dog would likely eat the bait before I’d have a chance to recognise what it was. Additionally, the Māori community has concerns about Compound 1080 leaching into the soil and then poisoning plants used for food or medicinal purposes. 

Back in September 2003, a cooperative effort was made in New Zealand by the Ecology Department at Lincoln University, Landscape Research, Lake Waikaremoana Hapu Restoration Trust, and the Tūhoe Tuawhenua Trust to determine if Compound 1080 negatively impacts plant species used by the Ngāi Tūhoe Māori and if not, how to get this information spread among the iwi. To achieve this, a study was conducted on wild-growing pikopiko (AKA hen and chicken fern) and Karamuramu plants in State Forest Block 100, just south of Lake Waikaremoana.

Hen and Chickens Fern – Asplenium bulbiferum by John B, 2016 (CC BY-NC)

Ten individuals of each plant species were chosen and placed underneath wire mesh as protection against herbivory. Of the twenty plants, 3 of each species were exposed to a single Whanganui No. 7 cereal 1080 bait. Samples were taken from the plants throughout the study (days 0, 3, 7, 14, 28, and 56) as well as bait samples at the very beginning and end, to test for potential shift in potency over time.

More than 99% of the 1080 had disappeared from the baits by day 56 and all but one plant sample had no remaining amounts of 1080 within their systems. Of the twenty plants sampled, only one Karamuramu plant retained the toxin; and that was at most 5 parts per billion (ppb) and was completely gone by day 28. 

Foodweb database

Karamuramu plant – Coprosma robusta by eyemac23, 2025 (CC BY-NC)

I don’t know about you, but I’ve never been a huge fan of reading scientific articles. They’re always confusing, too long, and to be honest, a bit dry. Sometimes I wish I could, instead, just scroll through a presentation with all the information presented short and sweetly.

Oh wait, this article did just that and made up not only a comprehensive food web on the interactions of the forest environment with 1080, but also added hyperlinks to it that opens a PowerPoint!(Note: the article did not include the link to the original PowerPoint, only an image of one of the slides.) Each PowerPoint slide focuses on a single plant or animal species impacted by 1080, the intensity of 1080 impact, and additional reference sources. It’s easy to digest and leaves room for more research if one wanted to do so. 

Concerns from the Māori community

In conclusion, I get why using Compound 1080 is necessary against invasive species, like the brushtail possum and it will likely never impact me on a personal level unless it somehow leaches into a batch of yarn or something. However, I also can understand why the Ngāi Tūhoe Māori tribe are still hesitant as 1080 is still a toxin and we may not know the full impacts. While the decision to use Compound 1080 in the Te Urewera area is complicated, in 2016 those from the Ngāi Tūhoe tribe largely oppose aerial drops since it cannot be controlled.

Final thoughts

I think it’s important to note that for a 70 kg person to actually die from consuming 1080 that has remained in a Karamuramu plant, (and even in this example the probability of death is only 50%), they would have to eat 28 tons (28,000 kg) of the stuff. And that’s also if the plant is eaten raw, normally it’s boiled in water as a tea and diluted even more. Personally, after reading this I wouldn’t be too worried about Compound 1080 in my plants but I will still leave the risk assessment up to those in the Māori community on an individual level. 

For now, I will continue to enjoy knitting with the luxurious possum yarn until the pests are eradicated from New Zealand once and for all.

This article was prepared by Master of International Nature Conservation student Marie Frackiewicz as part of the ECOL608 Research Methods in Ecology course.

OGILVIE, S.C., ATARIA, J.M., WAIWAI, J., DOHERTY, J., MILLER, A., ROSS, J.G. and EASON, C.T. (2010), Vertebrate pesticide risk assessment by indigenous communities in New Zealand. Integrative Zoology, 5: 37-43. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-4877.2010.00190.x 

November 19, 2025
The three bird-iteers: all for monitoring and monitoring for all!

My time at Lincoln University has taught me that when it comes to bird monitoring, the most common practice is the 5 minute bird count (5MBC). This method is a simple and effective way of counting birds within a specific area by recording sightings and calls. Much of the time, using 5BMC, it is likely that you will not see the bird you are hearing, which is why being able to identify New Zealand birds just by sound is a very good skill.

Lincoln University legend Jon Sullivan did a study on different bird data collection methods that could also mahi together to build a more accurate picture of birds in an area. The study focused on wider Christchurch, beginning in 2003, and recorded patterns in bird species within the area.

One method that was used was the stationary method , which is pretty much the same as the 5MBC but is extended to 20 minutes. The other method used was the ‘mobile method’, also known as the ‘line-transect method’, where you collect data while moving at a fast pace, perhaps by bike, car, or running.

Now to the fun stuff – birds!!

In Jon’s study there was a focus on three bird species, which I call the three bird-iteers (with apologies to Alexandre Dumas). These are the grey warbler, fantail and the bellbird. These endemic birds are very adaptable to recent changes for forest bird species.

Grey Warbler

The grey warbler (Gerygone igata, riroriro) are found throughout New Zealand. They are small, grey/brown with a more pale shade of grey for the face to throat. They weigh approximately 6.5 g (lighter than a mouse) and their diet consists of insects and spiders.

Grey Warbler. Photo CC BY Mikullashbee, Flickr

Fantail/pīwakawaka

Fantails are one of my many favourite bird species, as they love to follow humans around when you are on bush walks. Fantails are able to adapt to environments that have been changed by humans, which is not very common for New Zealand native birds. Fantails (Rhipidura fuliginosa, piwakawaka) are often found in open native bush, exotic plantation forests, orchards and gardens. Their diet consists of insects, especially small species. Fantails are a small bird about the size of a house sparrow, but what makes them so distinctive? Well the answer is in their name…. Yes their tails, like their name suggests they have a long tail that fans out like a well a fan.

Fantail. Photo CC By Chris S, Flickr

Bellbird/ Korimako

Bellbirds(Anthornis melanura, koromiko)are commonly found in the South Island. These birds have a short, curved beak and are green with a slightly forked tail. Bellbirds, similar to Tūī’, have a distinctive song, it is like a high ringing that’s also kind of smooth, and the repeat the same tune. Bellbirds reside throughout native and exotic forest, scrubs and shelter belts of New Zealand. Their diet is nectar from native and exotic plants, although they do consume fruit in late summer and autumn. Also their diet consists of honeydew that’s found on beech trees.

Bellbird. Photo CC By Glenda Rees, Flickr

Back to the study

Jon Sullivan wanted to understand how nature responds to a forever changing world. He collected distribution and abundance information for many species with these three species being the focus. This is where the methods came into play as a standardised method and a repeatable one is needed to accurately tell us if a species is present or not. The methods talked about above were to work alongside each other.

Around 100,000 bird counts were collected. The approach used helped to summarise data that was from one location, a certain time each week, and one daily route. The results showed that this approach was effective and just as effective as the 5 minute bird count. Counting birds while riding your bike along a road was just as effective at estimating and following trends as more traditional methods.

Fantails, grey warblers, and bellbirds (but not to the same extent as the other 2) are majorly restricted to their forest biotopes and native plantings, particularly in spring.

Like any good study, more data are needed to get a better and clearer understanding. This could create a good opportunity at Lincoln University to teach students doing ecology to learn how to use different techniques besides just the 5MBC methods. Then we too can collect decades long information on our favourite birds.

This article was prepared by postgraduate student Caitlan Christmas, Masters of Science in Ecology and Conservation, for an assignment in ECOL608 Research Methods in Ecology.

Sullivan，JJ（2012). Recording birds in real time: a convenient method for frequent bird recording https://researcharchive.lincoln.ac.nz/server/api/core/bitstreams/04dc8df3-2e34-4fe9-96a6-ea8a505ad0cc/content

November 11, 2025
Amaizing distribution: nematode infestations of NZ corn

Are your maize plants growing well in the field? If not,we can often blame plant parasitic nematodes.

There are around 4100 known species of nematodes and they cause a considerable loss of agricultural produce, with estimated global crop damage of $US 358 billion every year.

The life cycle of these plant parasitic nematodes have four stages, and the second-stage juvenile (J2) is the destructive phase. Most nematodes are sedentary inside the host and others survive in the soil.

Written by Sambath in behavior, conservation, front page profile, invasive species, student blog, Uncategorized, zoology, pest management

In the 2021/22 NZ growing season, about 196,000 tonnes of grain and 1,200,00 tonnes of silage were harvested, making maize one of the most cultivable crops in New Zealand. Around 58% of the harvest was grown for livestock feed demand, and the remaining 42% was for food and industrial processors.

Plant parasitic nematodes are common in New Zealand and many horticulture industries have experienced a substantial loss of profits from these destructive plant pests. While maize is one of the most crucial crops in this country reported to be damaged by various species of nematodes, few studies have been conducted here compared to other countries.

So, Nagarathanam Thiruchchelvan, a PhD student at Lincoln University, and his team conducted research to identify and quantify plant parasitic nematode infestations of maize production across New Zealand. Their purpose was to investigate the prevalence and diversity of several genera of plant parasitic nematodes.

Plant parasitic nematode feeding types. Image from Paulo Vieira & Cynthia Gleason

The researchers collected a total of 384 composite soil samples from 25 maize fields located in the North and South Islands, focusing on: Canterbury, Waikato, and Manawatu-Whanganui. Data collection was carried out at various maize growing stages and seasons during 2022.

It was not good news!

The researchers found that at least one genus of plant parasitic nematode was detected in 378 (98%) of the maize samples. Pratylenchus was the most prevalent and widespread genus (91%) followed by Helicotylenchus (38%).

Plant parasitic nematode. Image from Scot Nelson

The plant parasitic nematode population and diversity were higher in Canterbury than in Waikato and Manawatu-Whanganui. Thiru and his team believed that the inconsistent distribution was caused by different climate and geography conditions between the two regions. For example, the South Island is more diverse in soil physiochemical proportions than the North Island.

Thiru also observed that soil orders, a soil classification system, affected the proliferation of plant parasitic nematode populations, with brown and pallic soil types promoting nematode reproduction, especially for Pratylenchus. Pallic soils refer to a soil type having pale, fragile topsoil and compacted subsurface. For the brown soil, its topsoil is dark grey-brown, and the subsoil is tan or yellowish-brown.

The lowest number of plant parasitic nematodes was detected in organic soil. Organic-rich soils favor a wide range of beneficial fungi, bacteria, and nematode survival. These microorganisms can suppress the proliferation of plant parasitic nematodes by either feeding on eggs or predating invasive nematodes.

The study further indicated that the population and diversity of plant parasitic nematodes increased alongside distinguishing developmental stages of maize. Most nematodes were reported from the harvesting stage, while the least were from the seedling stage.

Root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne enterolobii). Image from Jeffrey W

Thiru and his team noticed that rotating maize with other crops played a significant role in reducing the incidence and prevalence of plant parasitic nematodes in the field. These other crops included ryegrass, pasture, wheat, white clover, potato, peas, and winter crops. One maize field located in Canterbury was detected with a high significant intensity of 3000 nematode root lesions per kg of roots as a result of non-rotation practice.

Thiru concluded that there was a requirement for a deeper understanding of dispersal, feeding characters, and life cycle of plant parasitic nematodes, in particular, root-lesion nematode (Pratylenchus) in maize fields across New Zealand. Specific pest management approaches are needed to control the prevalence and abundance of targeted nematodes impairing maize production in both islands.

These article was prepared by Sambath Seng, a Master of Science student in the Department of Pest Management and Conservation at Lincoln University.

Thiruchchelvan, N., Kularathna, M., Moukarzel, R., Casonato, S., & Condron, L. M. (2024). Prevalence and abundance of plant-parasitic nematodes in New Zealand maize fields: effects of territory, soil orders, crop stage, and sampling time. New Zealand Journal of Zoology, 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1080/03014223.2024.2424900

November 6, 2025
Silent hunters on the wetland edge: urban cats and nature conservation

The dark side of the cat

Cats doing what cats do.
Photo by Robert | Visual Diary | Berlin on Unsplash

In the autumn evening, a cat lies on the fence, with focused eyes and slightly wagging tail, this patient hunter is quietly locking onto a target and preparing to attack.

Cats are the standard feature in almost neighbourhoods in New Zealand. They are elegant, lazy, affectionate, and sometimes unpredictable. Some of them are pretty welcomed , moving freely around neighbourhoods everyday, accepting feeding and petting.

Behind these soft furs and friendlypurring, there is an ancient, untamed instinct hidden – hunting. Hunting is not just about hunger. Most cats were are well-fed—some are even fed multiple times a day. Yet, the urge to stalk, chase, and kill remains.

Travis Wetland: A natural island in the city

Wetlands, green spaces, and bushes are the last shelter for local plants and animals. These “ecological islands” are often located right next to the communities where we live.

Travis Wetland is a freshwater ecological oasis, located on the edge of Christchurch. Surrounded by residential areas, roads, and commercial development, it remains a vital refuge for more than 53 species of birds and many native invertebrates.

Living around this wetland, there are hundreds of free-moving domestic cats living. They can walk through the grass without permission, quietly enter the ecological core area, and become hunters of these small lives.

A Patient Hunter
Photo by Kristin O Karlsen on Unsplash

Silent pressure & hidden trail

It is easy for people to imagine a cat lazily lying in the sun by a windowsill, but what about the other side of their life when they step out the door?

Over the course of a year, 21 pet cats living near Travis Wetland were installed with GPS collars as part of a study by Lincoln University and the Christchurch City Council. The research, led in part by Shelley Morgan and Adrian Paterson, revealed some surprising results.

Researchers did not capture many cats with prey in their mouths (although more than a few did bring their prey back to their home). But there were other situations: cats were often visiting the edge of the ecological core of the wetland, where native birds, lizards and insects breed.

Fantail(Rhipidura fuliginosa)
Photo by Callum Hill on Unsplash

The cat threat does not necessarily come from killing, sometimes, just “attending” is enough. Birds may abandon their nests if they sense a nearby predator. Lizards may interrupt their mating if they feel targeted. In nature, energy is precious, and fear itself is also consumes energy.

More than half of the monitored cats entered Travis wetland at least once. Some of them went more than 200 metres into the wetland while their owners sleeping, crossing habitats and breeding areas for rare native lizards, insects and ground-nesting birds.

More than half of the monitored cats entered Travis Wetland at least once. Some of them went more than 200 metres into the wetland while their owners sleeping, crossing habitats and breeding areas for rare native lizards, insects and ground-nesting birds.

But not every cat causes the same amount of harm.The study found that younger cats—those under six years old—were more active and risky. They travelled further, spent longer inside the wetland, and brought home more prey. Some even swam across water to reach nesting islands. In contrast, older cats tended to stay near home and moved less.

A small number of energetic cats were doing most of the damage. Researchers called them “super-predators”. This suggests that cat behaviour and age both matter. While most cats seem harmless, a few individuals can quietly cause serious impacts to local wildlife.

This means the cat you see curled up by the fireplace in the afternoon may be walking the narrow line between urban life and ecological harm at night. It’s not the cat’s fault, and it’s not your fault, but it’s keep happening.

Cat by the Window
Photo by Aleksandar Popovski on Unsplash

Night walkers & tiny bells

Cats are typical “crepuscular” animals, that is, they are most active in the dawn and dusk. This explains why you see cats running around the living room at 10 pm or staring at the wall at 5 am. They don’t listen to a clock, they listen to the call of instinct.

Sunset and just after is also the time when many cats go out for their “night patrols”. According to the data from the study’s cat GPS tracking, cats move more frequently and walk farther at night. Some cats hardly go out during the day, only sneaking through the garden and visiting the fields after dark.

So, what can we do to reduce the impact of out furry friends? Some owners hang small bells on their cats’ collars, hoping that the sound will alert potential prey and give them time to escape. This method seems simple and effective, but the effect actually varies from species to species.

There is a study by University of Otago have shown that bells have a certain deterrent effect on birds and the study by Geiger shown that have little effect on lizards or insects because they are not sensitive to sound. Also some smart cats can even learn to “walk silently” – so that the bell doesn’t ring at all.

Nightwalker Cat
Photo by amir esfahanian on Unsplash

So, while bells may help a little, they are not a panacea. As with everything in this story, the answers are never simple.

Draw a ceasefire zone

Some solutions are simple, and others need some creativity.

In some parts of New Zealand, there is talk of creating a cat-isolation buffer zones — areas around nature reserves where cats are either required to be kept indoors full-time, or where cats are banned or a curfew(Wellington City Council. 2024) is imposed on cats near reserves (although curfews seem not work for protecting birds or lizards)

This idea is not to punish cat owners but to protect the most vulnerable parts of the ecosystem. Because may be the problem is that house cats may be found curled up in warm blankets, purring softly, eyes half-closed, and when just hours earlier, those paws may have landed a fatal blow on a small bird, or pinned a native skink to the ground.

Free-roaming cats in New Zealand are subject to different local management depending on their relationship with humans (such as companion cats, stray cats, and wild cats), but there is currently a lack of unified national laws(Sumner, C. L. 2022).

Threatened-Nationally Critical Skink: Alborn Skinks(Oligosoma albornense)
Photo by James Reardon

Some newly built areas even state in the purchase agreement that cats are not allowed to roam freely, and sometimes even completely prohibit cats(Preston, N. 2023).

To some people, such regulations may sounds really extreme. But to naturalists, it is a way of respecting boundaries, a quiet commitment to leave even a small area and keep distance for the creatures that have lived here long before we came here.

We would much rather have this scenario: ‘In the autumn evening, a cat looks out of a window at a fence, with focused eyes and slightly wagging tail, this patient hunter is quietly locking onto a target that it would love to attack. Frustrated, it curls up and goes back to sleep.’

This article was prepared by Master of Pest Management postgraduate student Linfeng Yu as part of the ECOL608 Research Methods in Ecology course.

Research paper: Morgan, S. A., Hansen, C. M., Ross, J. G., Hickling, G. J., Ogilvie, S. C., & Paterson, A. M. (2009). Urban cat (Felis catus) movement and predation activity associated with a wetland reserve in New Zealand. Wildlife Research, 36(7), 574–580. https://doi.org/10.1071/WR09023

References

Geiger, M., Kistler, C., Mattmann, P., Jenni, L., Hegglin, D., & Bontadina, F. (2022). Colorful Collar-Covers and Bells Reduce Wildlife Predation by Domestic Cats in a Continental European Setting. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2022.850442

Housing development near Auckland imposes cat ban to protect wildlife. (n.d.). 1News. Retrieved 5 May 2025, from https://www.1news.co.nz/2021/08/11/housing-development-near-auckland-imposes-cat-ban-to-protect-wildlife/

Preston, N. (2023, July 1). No cats allowed: Growing number of new neighbourhoods banning pets. Oneroof. https://www.oneroof.co.nz/news/no-cats-allowed-growing-number-of-new-neighbourhoods-banning-pets-43855

Responsible cat ownership. (2024, October 17). Wellington City Council. https://wellington.govt.nz/dogs-and-other-animals/cats/responsible-cat-ownership

Sumner, C. L., Walker, J. K., & Dale, A. R. (2022). The Implications of Policies on the Welfare of Free-Roaming Cats in New Zealand. Animals, 12(3), Article 3. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12030237

October 22, 2025
Burning branches — flammability and shoot architecture

In mid-February 2017, at about ten at night, I walked out to the street outside my south-Christchurch home and took a photo of the hills to the south-east. A large vegetation fire was stretched across the hills, which were lit black and orange, with strips of flames and glowing smoke. The blaze was at least 4 km away, but the blackness flattened the scene, and the fire and smoke seemed above me almost, and growing. You could almost believe the hills themselves would burn down.

The Port Hills fire approaches the city. Image by Joe Potter Butler.

I took that photo on the fourth day of the 2017 Port Hills fire. It took more than 60 further days for the fire to be fully extinguished. A life was lost, 1600 ha of land was burned, and nine houses were destroyed. Like many people in Christchurch, I was left wondering, why did it burn so fiercely and for so long? Why did this ridge burn, but not that gully? Why did some trees recover, and send out new shoots, while others perished?

Along with floods, earthquakes, and other things, fires like the 2017 Port Hills fire are described as “natural disasters”, but how natural was this fire really? Prior to human settlement — which began around 800 years ago — fire in Aotearoa was rare. NZ was mostly covered in relatively moist, old growth forest. Because of this history, few New Zealand plants are fire-adapted. However, in Aotearoa and globally, wildfires are becoming more damaging and more frequent, threatening life, property, and ecosystems.

Understanding what plant species burn, how they burn, and why, is crucial to understanding and managing fire risk across the modern Aotearoa landscape. A recent paper sought to investigate these questions and was led by Azhar Alam, with Sarah V. Wyse, Hannah L. Buckley, George L. W. Perry, Xinglei Cui, Jon J. Sullivan, Dylan W. Schwilk, and Timothy J. Curran.

Most studies have assessed flammability (how easily they burn) of plant species by looking at leaf flammability in isolation. Azhar felt that there were limitations to this approach; that on its own leaf flammability didn’t fully capture how a fire really behaves when burning a plant in the real world.

The authors preferred to assess shoot flammability. “Shoot” here means the young branch and branchlets of a plant, and all the leaves that are attached. The authors felt that — compared to just leaves — shoot flammability would better describe how a plant ignites and burns, and, in particular, better captures canopy flammability.

This is important. Canopy flammability strongly influences how easily a fire moves from tree to tree or shrub to shrub. If we want to understand — and even predict! — how a fire might move through a stand of pines, gorse or kānuka, compared to a stand of old growth native forest.

Aftermath on the Port Hills. Image from Adrian Paterson.

Rather than just burning the shoots of a bunch of plants and recording the relative flammability of the species, the authors were interested in recording the effect of shoot architecture on flammability. “Architecture” here means how many branches and how tightly branched the twigs and leaves of a shoot are. For example, Kapuka has a few, large leaves with little branching, whereas korokio has many, small leaves and lots of thin, interlacing branchlets.

The authors collected six shoots each from 65 plant species that you commonly find in Aotearoa forests and gardens, including 35 indigenous species.

For each shoot, a number of leaf and shoot architecture traits were recorded. It was these traits that the authors predicted would show a strong relationship to flammability. The leaf traits recorded were:

size of the leaves (total area),

thickness of the leaves,

leaf surface for each gram of leaf mass,

dryness of the leaves.

The shoot architecture traits recorded were:

“branchiness” of the shoots (measured both as how many “main” branches each shoot has, and also how many branches the shoot has when you count all the branches the main branches have, all the branches those branches have, and all the branches those branches have and so on,

“twiggyness” of the shoots (measured by twig mass per given volume of shoot),

proportion of flammable mass (fuel) there is in a given volume of shoot,

The shoots were all burned on a “plant barbecue” and their flammability was recorded.

But what exactly is flammability? And how do you measure it? There are four key factors that determine flammability of plant shoots:

How quickly do shoots ignite? Ignitability.

How much heat do they release once alight? Combustibility.

How long do they burn for? Sustainability.

How much of each shoot is consumed by the fire? Consumability.

The results of these burning tests were clear. All shoot architecture traits and leaf traits were strongly related to shoot flammability.

Among the shoot architecture traits, greater “branchiness” was shown to increase a shoot’s ignitability, consumability, and maximum temperature, while a greater amount of flammable mass (fuel) for a given volume of shoot was shown to increase a shoot’s fire sustainability and consumability.

Fire glow on the Port Hills. Image by Adrian Paterson.

Of the leaf traits, leaf dryness was key. In fact, leaf dryness increased all aspects of flammability more than any shoot architecture or leaf trait. Leaf thickness decreased flammability across the board.

While leaf architecture traits were not as significant as leaf dryness in affecting shoot flammability, they were still significant. Demonstrating their importance is crucial for improving the management of fires and fire risk. Plant traits are already used in fire behaviour models to predict what fires will do.

Including shoot architecture traits in these models has the potential to improve their power and precision. Understanding what a fire is likely to do gives us the power to change what it will do by planting low-flammability tree species to create fire breaks, or buffering properties with lawn or pavement. This knowledge will save property, ecosystems, and even lives.

If you drove through Arthur’s Pass, in the South Island this summer gone (2024-25), you probably drove past the charred and blackened beech trees and snow tussocks near Castle Hill; evidence of a fire that burned through 1,000 hectares of scrub, grassland and forest last December. This is a scene we can expect to see more and more in Aotearoa in the coming decades. Improving our ability to anticipate and manage fires and fire behaviour will only grow in importance as we move further into our new climate future.

This article was prepared by Master of Science student Joe Potter-Butler as part of the ECOL608 Research Methods in Ecology course.

October 15, 2025
Cat conundrum: Conservation, cameras, and capricious companions

You are probably well aware of the feral cat issues here in Aotearoa New Zealand and the detrimental impact that cats are causing in our unique whenua (land). However, if you are new here, let me get you up to speed. The popularity of these adorable companions –1,134,000 companion cats and 196,000 strays, to be accurate – has come with a tremendous cost to native wildlife in Aotearoa New Zealand.

With over a decade of experience in the veterinary industry, I’ve witnessed animal welfare concerns from both perspectives. I’ve seen the devastating impact cats can have on native wildlife, as well as the suffering of unwell, neglected feral cats. This dual perspective made becoming a cat owner myself all the more meaningful, thanks to a foster failure named Professor (pictured below), who quickly stole my heart. After adopting him, it was an easy decision to create a comfortable indoor life for him. Knowing the toll that cats can take on wildlife populations and thinking about his health and safety, it was an obvious decision for me to keep him as an indoor cat. But unfortunately, 196,000 cats in Aotearoa New Zealand do not have the cushy indoor lifestyle that Professor has become accustomed to.

Learn about what the experts have to say on cat management here: https://predatorfreenz.org/stories/animal-welfare-agencies-views-on-cat-management/

Professor the foster failure. Original image by Chloe Mc Menamin.

Now what does the science say about monitoring cats that don’t have a cushy indoor lifestyle? In 2019 a team of scientists at Lincoln University carried out a study to better understand just that. They deployed a camera detection system across two pastoral sites in the Hawke’s Bay region. One system was placed systematically (on a grid) and the other strategically (placement where the researchers believed cat activity would be the highest). Their goal was to compare which camera trap placements would be the most effective method for monitoring feral cat populations. While feral cats are notoriously difficult to detect due to their low densities and cryptic behaviours, these researchers did get some interesting results!

During a telephone interview, with primary author Dr. Margaret Nichols (Maggie), Maggie cheerfully shared how she began to question the use of her time after processing countless images of hedgehogs enjoying the smell and feel of the ferret pheromones used to lure in the cats. Then things took a surreal turn when she found herself pondering reality itself—prompted by turkeys performing what looked suspiciously like synchronised dances.

But, dear reader, that wasn’t the only captivating creature caught on camera. No! The top-featured animal was… you guessed it… a sheep! Yes, you read that correctly. A single sheep nearly drove Maggie to madness after it camped out in front of one of her cameras for four entire days, triggering over 500,000 images. Poor Maggie! I’d be pulling the wool from my jumper too if I had to process that many sheep shots. Surprisingly, cats turned out to be the least detected animals of all—truly showcasing their cryptic behaviour and highlighting just how important this research was to carry out.

Against all odds Maggie and her colleagues persevered – through the thousands of sheep, hedgehogs and dancing turkey’s images to reveal a striking discovery. Camera traps placed at the forest margins detected more cats compared to those in mixed scrub or open farmland. Specifically, at forest margin an average of 3 cats were detected per night at Site 1 (Toronui Station made up of a mixture of open farmland and native forest) and 1.7 cats at Site 2 (Cape to City ecological restoration area). This compelling pattern suggests that strategic placement of cameras in these areas is likely to maximise cat detection. Hats off to Maggie and the team, what a cool discovery.

Hedgehog self-anointing after contact with the pheromone. Image source Research Gate (Garvey., nd)

Well, there you have it reader – strategic camera placement at forest margins in the Hawke’s Bay area is the most effective way to monitor feral cats, but this is just the beginning of cat monitoring research in Aotearoa New Zealand. If you are like me and feeling inspired by Maggie and her colleagues’ findings, you might also be wondering where to even start tackling the feral cat population in your local area.

While science and data are fascinating, the telephone interview with Maggie wisely reminded me that the best part of her research experience were the organisations and the people involved along the way, particularly the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council , Predator Free South Westland, and Lincoln University. She reported that working with various stakeholders made the project not only successful but also deeply rewarding. She also noted that all research projects take more time than you think and to never underestimate the possibility of processing 500,000 sheep photos when doing camera monitoring!

Image of feral cat caught on camera during study. Orginal image provided by Dr. Margaret Nichols

What a great reminder that in life it’s not just about success or how long things take; it’s about the experiences and friendships you make along the way. Thank you, Maggie, for sharing that wisdom.

This article was prepared by Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Science student Chloe McMenamin as part of the ECOL608 Research Methods in Ecology course.

Now reader it is over to you, want to learn more about how you can help? Check out the The National Cat Management Strategy Group, or if you want to learn more about feral cats here in Aotearoa New Zealand check out what the Department of Conservation has to say.

Read full study here:
Nichols, M., Ross, J., Glen, A. S., & Paterson, A. M. (2019). An evaluation of systematic versus strategically-placed camera traps for monitoring feral cats in New Zealand. Animals, 9(9), 687. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9090687

Image refernce:

Garvey, P,M. (nd). FigS3: Hedgehog self-anointing after contact with the pheromone/kairomone vial [Supplemental material]. ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311713979_FigS3_Hedgehog_self-anointing_after_contact_with_the_pheromone_kairomone_vial

October 7, 2025
The munchy mountain mystery of the lost bark beetle!

Have you ever bitten into a slice of bread, only to find out that it’s gone mouldy? Yuck! But what causes mould, and how does it spread? This was a mystery solved by scientists in the 1800s.

Fungal branches. CC BY-SA 4.0 Rafał Szczerski

Mould in bread is caused by a fungus (fungi for multiple). Fungi are made of many tiny branches that grow into a huge maze. These branches reach out to find food from the environment around them; the branches spread from a central point to search for food at the edges. As resources run low, the middle of the fungus dies, creating an expanding ring of live branches. There are many types of fungi out there, and mould is one type that we try to avoid when we store our fruit, vegetables, and bread. When scientists discovered fungi, they solved one mystery, but there are new questions to be answered.

One mystery involves a type of insect that loves to eat fungi: beetles! Specifically, beetles in the group called Brontini. These little guys eat fungi when they are larvae (baby beetles before they’ve become adults). Usually, the these larvae eat fungi under the bark of trees, but recently a special Brontini beetle was found. This beetle, called Protodendrophagus antipodes by scientists, lives up in the mountains of New Zealand, above the treeline in the alpine zone. Protodendrophagus antipodes is a long name, so we’ll call them Anti.

Anti (Protodendrophagus antipodes) larva. Photo credit: John Marris.

Anti are special for more than one reason. First, they live way up in the cold alpine area, which is a harsh environment to live in. The freezing temperatures and dry environment even stop trees from growing there! Second, every other species of Brontini beetle feeds on fungi under tree bark. Confusingly, the area where Anti lives doesn’t have these fungi. Since it’s too high up the mountain for trees to grow, there’s no fungi under tree bark for the beetles to munch on. And so, one group of enthusiastic scientists decided to figure out what these little guys eat. Let’s meet our investigators!

Our team is made up of three skilled diet detectives: John Marris (“The Mastermind”) – the strategic leader who knows the ins and outs of beetles; David Hawke (“The Brains”) – a science whiz with a flair for chemistry; and David Glenny (“The Sidekick”) – your friendly neighbourhood plant expert. Together, the team solved the mini mystery in the mountains: where is the food for Anti?

Lichen on rock. CC BY 4.0 Caleb Catto

In 2018, the team went into the Southern Alps on an exciting trip to examine the scene and gather more evidence. They found two very important clues. First, there were lots of lichens in the areas where the beetles live. Second, sometimes the beetles lived where there wasn’t anything else to eat. I bet you can guess what our prime menu suspect is!

You’ve probably seen lichens around, though you may not have known what they were. Lichens grow on trees and rocks, but they’re not just one species; lichens are an example of a “symbiotic relationship”. This is when two organisms work together to boost each other’s chance of survival. In this case, the organisms work so closely together that the lichen itself is actually made up of both species! The body of the lichen is a strong skeleton built from fungus. Inside that skeleton live algae, plant-like organisms that can use the sun to make food. In this way, the fungus keeps the algae safe, and the algae feed the fungus. Win win! Cha-ching!

Spores from a fungus. CC BY 4.0 Aurora Storlazzi

Since lichens are made up of fungi, this seemed like a pretty good place for our detectives to start. Every good private eye needs evidence to make their case. Thankfully, our clever detectives saw a way to test their theory: the stomach contents of the beetles! They collected some Anti as “evidence” and looked at the food in their stomachs. Inside they found spores that came from a lichen fungus.

“What is a spore?” you may ask. Remember that maze of branches that make up a fungus? Well, sometimes the branches can’t find enough food for the fungus to eat. If that happens, the fungus has a new strategy to survive: spores! These are little circular pieces of fungus that can spread to new areas and find the fungus a better home.

CC BY 4.0 Luis Prado

But their work wasn’t done yet: the detectives found more than just lichen spores in their beetle stomachs. They also found a whole bunch of mystery food which they couldn’t identify. The scientists needed to confirm that lichens really are the only food eaten by Anti. So, the scientists put their thinking hats on and decided to find a new way to solve this puzzle. They chose to use an approach called the “stable isotope test”.

An isotope is a special form of elements, such as nitrogen and carbon, and organisms at the bottom of the food chain absorb them from the environment. If an animal eats something, then the isotopes of the animal should be pretty similar to its food.To solve this mystery, the scientists tested the isotopes of Anti and all of the potential foods in the area. A good detective looks at all the possible solutions, so they tested the soil, the mosses, the lichens, the tiny mountain plants, and even a type of spider.

At last, the detective work was done. Their test showed just what we’re all thinking: the Anti beetle really does eat lichen. The link was so clear that David Hawke called it a “textbook example” of the test in action. The scientists were very excited because lichen-eating is pretty rare for beetles.

After all their investigation, the detectives could finally declare: “case closed!” Now we have a new mystery: how do these beetles survive in the extreme cold of the alpine zone?

This article was prepared by Master of Science student Heidi Allan as part of the ECOL608 Research Methods in Ecology course.

September 22, 2025
To bait, or not to bait…: wētā foraging and brodifacoum

I am lucky that my parents live right down the road from the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary. This 690 hectare fenced sanctuary is home to many native species and is about to be home to 40 spotted kiwis (Exciting!!!!). Within this Sanctuary there are “wētā hotels” that offers a haven for wētā, although I have also seen a giant leopard slug in there as well. I often visit the Sanctuary, it has a lot of history and diversity. Sanctuaries offer a safe space for vulnerable native species away from large predators. The surrounding predator-proof fence keeps the bad things out and the good things in. Unfortunately, the rest of New Zealand isn’t exactly pest free, with a lot of our native species being hunted down every day by introduced pests.

Predator Free 2050 is an exciting goal that is only 25 years away. With our unique flora and fauna, why wouldn’t we want our beautiful country to be predator free? Predator Free 2050 has a focus on removing several pest species (rats, mustelids and possums). Pest Free Banks Peninsula (PFBP) is a local project focused on protecting our beautiful coast, islands and land within Banks Peninsula. PFBP has several methods and tools to eradicate and monitor pests. A common toxin used by PFBP is brodifacoum.

A Tree Weta (Image from Avenue , 2010, CC BY S.A 3.0)

There are concerns about whether toxins, specifically brodifacoum, is killing our native species. These tasty but deadly treats are targeted at mammalian pests, but native invertebrates have also been munching away at the cereal baits that contain the toxin when they come across it. Brodifacoum-laced baits became a popular pest control toxin in the 1990s.

Quail Island is an island found near Lyttelton. The original vegetation was believed to be a broadleaf-podocarp forest, a rare forest type seen only in small areas around New Zealand. Since 1998 volunteers have been working at restoring the native ecology of the island by regularly planting native trees and targeting pests with toxins. Evidence of native birds breeding would be a good indication that restoration efforts are working and that pest control can make Quail Island a place where native species can flourish.

Two tree wētā spotted in a wētā hotel at the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary (Photo taken by Author: Kayla Valentine)

Brodifacoum bait has been used on Quail Island. It is highly effective at reducing mammalian pests. Its purpose on Quail Island was to stop reintroduction of rodents. Due to Quail Island being close to the mainland, mammalian pest are able to cross over at low tide. This slow invasion prevents Quail Island from being completely predator free.

On Quail Island the brodifacoum baits were found to have been nibbled by wētā and other invertebrates! This discovery flustered scientists. How many other native invertebrates have yet to be identified for consuming the bait?

This discovery led to increasing concern for our wētā species, many endangered or threatened. How many have died due to our toxic baits?

A monitoring tool showing possible wētā trails within the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary (Photo taken by Author: Kayla Valentine)

Studies focused on invertebrate consumption of baits have primarily used baits containing 1080. The studies that involve brodifacoum have also only focused on short-term effects (14-21 days) and one-off consumption of the bait. These hungry invertebrates are likely going for more than one course of their bait snack.

Mike Bowie and James Ross wanted to determine whether wētā were regularly consuming these forbidden snacks and whether they would survive when they did. They tested in the field and did a laboratory experiment too. The laboratory experiment consisted of wētā being fed either baits with or without brodifacoum and then monitored for 60 days for insect mortality. The field test involved monitoring traps around Quail Island for invertebrate activity.

Unfortunately, the wētā were hungry. For the field test they found that wētā and invertebrates would line up and wait their turn to eat! The wētā had distinct bite patterns when eating the bait, compared to pests such as mice. Wētā bite marks were easy to identify. In the laboratory test there was no significant difference in mortality of wētā (50% survived that were fed bait, 71% survived that were fed the control ). Mike and James determined more research was needed to be done in order for results to be more conclusive.

Quail Island from the Peninsula at low tide. (Image from Greg Hewgill, 2006, CC BY 2.0, Flickr)

So, what does that tell us exactly? The baiting methods we use to get rid of the bad things are also attracting the good things! Our native species are eating the toxins we are using to remove the pests that are eating our native species! We need to find a compromise, a less risky option for our often overlooked native invertebrates.

Brodifacoum is also a risk to birds’ species! If a bird eats an invertebrate that has eaten brodifacoum, they will be affected by the poison as well. Joanne Hoare and Kelly Hare agree with this and suggest using non-toxic or less toxic methods for pests to protect native species. There seems to be a common theme with studies done on brodifacoum… its toxic for every species! There are several concerns, not just about birds and wētā consuming the bait but many other invertebrates and species consuming it as well.

So, to bait or not to bait? Mike Bowie and James Ross showed that although there were no significant differences in mortality through the laboratory test, the wētā were eating the bait in the field test and laboratory test. I believe that in order to protect our native species, a less toxic baiting method should be considered. This will reduce long-term harm to species such as wētā. All though brodifacoum is highly successful at getting rid of pests, it can also harm other species. If there are other methods that reduce that risk, we should start with those methods then move to toxic baits as a last resort option on ecologically sensitive areas, such as Quail Island.

The author, Kayla Valentine, is a postgraduate student in the Postgraduate Diploma of Science at Te Whare Wānaka o Aoraki Lincoln University. This article was written as an assessment for ECOL 608 Research Methods in Ecology.

September 17, 2025
The genetic mystery behind “clonal” plants
Hey plant lovers! Let me share something incredible with you about the plant world. Some clever plants have discovered a super cool way to multiply without needing seeds or pollen from other plants. It is called apomixis. Think of it as nature’s way of letting plants create mini-me versions of themselves. These amazing plants can thrive and spread their families far and wide, even when life throws them some challenges.

Want to meet one of these botanical wonders? Say hello to Pilosella, which includes the common hawkweed. These remarkable plants are not just special because of their unique family-growing style, they also teach us lessons about how plants adapt and stay strong when their world changes around them.

Apomixis: Nature’s Reproductive Shortcut

In Pilosella, scientists found that this cloning trick is actually controlled by three special gene regions, kind of like switches on a circuit board:
Switch 1: LOA – avoids meiosis, the normal gene-splitting step,
Switch 2: LOP – avoids fertilisation, so eggs grow into plants without needing pollen,
Switch 3: AutE – lets the plant build the food-filled tissue (endosperm) that supports the developing seed.
Together, these three “super switches” turn regular sexual reproduction into a smooth, pollen-free process.

The LOP locus: the key to clonal reproduction

Let’s zoom in on one of those switches: the LOSS OF PARTHENOGENESIS locus, or LOP. It’s the part of the genome that tells the plant, “Hey, go ahead and make a seed, even without any pollen.” That means the egg cell doesn’t need fertilisation to start developing into a full plant.

Using some clever genetic detective work, Ross Bicknell (former Plant and Food scientist), Chris Winefield (Lincoln University), and five other researchers mapped this LOP region to a small section of the genome, 654 thousand base pairs long (which is small, considering plant genomes can be billions of bases in total length). They did this using a special technique involving polyhaploids — basically, plants that carry only a single set of chromosomes, which helps make genetic signals easier to read.

Click here if you would like to read the original paper.

The role of the PAR gene and jumping DNA

One especially interesting gene in the LOP region is called PARTHENOGENESIS, or PAR for short. This gene is a key player in apomixis, and it shows up in other plants like dandelions, too.

Dandelion flower (left) and a seed head (right). From learn.colincanhelp.com/know-your-weeds-dandelions/

Here’s where it gets wild: scientists found that the active version of PAR (the one that triggers cloning) carries a little hitchhiker — a transposable element, or “jumping gene”, stuck in its promoter region (the bit that controls when the gene turns on). This jumping gene acts like a sneaky switch that flicks PAR into high gear, telling the plant: “Start cloning!”

Even cooler? This transposable element-based activation seems to have happened independently in different plant groups — dandelions, hawkweeds, and their cousin Hieracium all show this trick, but with slightly different transposable elements in different spots. It’s like nature reinvented the same superpower in different ways, a phenomenon known as convergent evolution.

Check this review article if you want dig deeper on the “jumping gene”.

So, are these plants just cloning machines?

Not quite! For a while, scientists thought apomixis might be an evolutionary dead-end — after all, if you keep making copies of yourself, you might miss out on helpful mutations or adaptability and you steadily pick up flaws that you can’t get rid of. But Pilosella proves that’s not always the case. These plants can reproduce both ways: by cloning or by mixing genes with other plants. That means they can pass on their tried-and-true genetic blueprints or shuffle the deck when times get tough.

In nature, this flexibility is a huge bonus. It lets them survive droughts, colonise poor soils, and hang in there when pollinators are scarce, and still adapt to new environments when needed. It’s the best of both worlds.

Why this matters for the environment

These clever plants are like nature’s survivalists. Their ability to reproduce without pollination means that they can spread quickly, especially in harsh places like dry grasslands or alpine meadows.

But here’s the twist: sometimes they’re too good at it. In places like New Zealand, hawkweeds can become aggressive invaders, crowding out native plants. My own mother, for example, considers them total pests in her lawn!

Scientists want to understand the genetic switches behind apomixis (like the LOP locus) to figure out how to manage or even control these fast-spreading plants, or perhaps one day harness apomixis for crop breeding.

What this means for the future of plants and food

Building on our exploration of the Pilosella plant and its unique LOP locus, let us dive into how plant genetics deepens our understanding of the natural world. As scientists examine these complex genetic blueprints, they uncovered valuable insights about:
- How our green friends cleverly adapt to our changing climate
- The super-smart ways that plants figure out how to survive and flourish in tough spots
- Cool possibilities for helping crops grow better, even when the weather gets tricky
But wait, there is more! This exciting research is not just about one plant, it is opening doors to better farming methods, helping protect our precious plant species, and finding clever ways to help plants weather the storms ahead.

Let’s wrap this up

Our exploration of Pilosella and its powerful LOP locus shows that even a so-called “weed” can teach us big lessons about evolution, resilience, and the future of farming.

So next time you’re out for a walk and spot a humble hawkweed or dandelion, take a second look — you’re staring at a tiny miracle of plant reproduction, a living clue in one of nature’s greatest puzzles.

This article was prepared by Bachelor of Science with Honours student Sienna Zeng as part of the ECOL608 Research Methods in Ecology course.

References
- Bicknell, R., Gaillard, M., Catanach, A., McGee, R., Erasmuson, S., Fulton, B., & Winefield, C. (2023). Genetic mapping of the LOSS OF PARTHENOGENESIS locus in Pilosella piloselloides and the evolution of apomixis in the Lactuceae. Frontiers in plant science, 14, 1239191-1239191. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1239191
- Cover photo from: https://www.britannica.com/plant/hawkweed
September 8, 2025