Farewell for now

You may have noticed that I have been a complete slacker with Science <-> Life lately. It seems life just keeps getting in the way and unfortunately the first thing to suffer has been my blogging efforts. I am about to go on maternity leave (less science, more life!) and so feel that now is the right time to shelve the blogging. I have really...

Jun 2017

On ladybird ejaculation and pushing the frontiers of science

A few weeks ago I was flicking through a copy of the prestigious journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, when one article in particular caught my eye – Condition-dependent ejaculate size and composition in a ladybird beetle (277: 3639-3647). I must admit, my first thought was ’ladybird’s ejaculate?!’ I mean, they just seem so cute, and well, ladybird...

Jun 2017

Life abounds deep in the Kaikoura Canyon

Why are we humans trying to get to Mars when we still have so much exploring to do here on lowly old Earth?! Perhaps we know enough about our seas already? Well, recent findings of scientists from NIWA and further afield suggest otherwise. In a paper in the prestigious journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, these marine scientists report an incredible...

Jun 2017

New Zealand kelp forests under threat as total allowable catch limits announced

I am still reeling from an announcement made yesterday by the Minster of Fisheries and Aquaculture Phil Heatley regarding the setting of the total allowable “catch” for giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera). I thought I might try and calm down a little before I wrote this post, but the 20 or so emails that greeted me this morning from marine ecologists...

Jun 2017

The science of counting whales

Good friends of mine have recently returned from an expedition to the Auckland Islands, a couple of days sail south of Bluff, where they were researching Southern right whales. In the long dark winter months while we are flat out hibernating, quaffing red wine and laying down a bit of winter fat, Port Ross turns into a veritable whale orgy. This used...

Jun 2017

Media coverage of science — what is holding scientists back?

I had my 10 minutes of fame last week as I was powdered up and thrust before the cameras for TVNZ7’s Media7 special on science and the media. A really fun experience, but there was some kind of weird time-absorbing phenomenon going on in the TVNZ studio that seemed to reduce my time to about 10 seconds. Before I went up to Auckland for the filming...

Jun 2017

Now we can all be deep sea explorers

It is now possible to explore the deep sea without having to leave the couch. No need to get cold and cramped sitting for hours inside the confined space of a submersible. NIWA have just released an incredible online resource of seafloor images covering the whole of New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone. Have you ever wondered what lies beneath the...

Jun 2017

Conflict apparent on the West Coast as marine protection recommendations released

I have been watching with interest the developments over on the West Coast as the local community moves closer to becoming the first to implement a regional marine protection framework under the Marine Protected Areas Policy and Implementation Plan. About a year ago, the West Coast Marine Protection Forum released a consultation document and called...

Jun 2017

The birds and the bees… and the trees?

I have perfected the art of ‘purposeful stops’ when I’m out running. It’s nothing that countless runners before me haven’t mastered — the sudden need to tighten a shoelace or stretch that hamstring… Unfortunately the laces on my new shoes are annoyingly well behaved, and so I have been conjuring up other excuses to take a break, like staring intently...

Jun 2017

World Heritage Status: Added protection, or unintended destruction?

Sometimes I curse being an environmental scientist. Particularly when I’m traveling overseas. While my fellow travelers gaze in awe at the natural wonders around them, I can’t help but see signs of pollution and degradation. I have just returned from a stint in Vietnam where I visited a World Heritage Area. It really got me thinking… When UNESCO (the...

Jun 2017