News
Here we provide relevant news and events in ecology and conservation. If you know what's happening in ecology in New Zealand or around the world email us: laura.young@nzes.org.nz
Newsletter December 2011
Read the latest issue of the NZ Ecological Society newsletter
EcolNews_December_2011_138.pdf
In this issue:
- Victoria University PhD student wins British Ecological Society photo competition
- Are rats in NZ getting bigger?
- Conference Report – Wind farms and wildlife impacts
- Two book reviews – Practical Field Ecology and NZ’s Native Trees
Copy for the next newsletter is due Friday 9 March 2012, please send all material to newsletter@nzes.org.nz
Charles Fleming Fund – Call for Applications
We are now calling for applications for the following awards:
* Charles Fleming Fund - Senior Scientist Award
* Charles Fleming Fund - Publishing Award
The closing date for applications is 31 March 2012. Information on these awards, and application form are available on the Society’s website: http://www.royalsociety.org.nz/programmes/funds/fleming/
All applications will be acknowledged via email, within a fortnight of receipt of the applications.
Wanted - highly-motivated Ph.D. students, Department of Biology, University of Utah
Application deadline is January 6, 2012. Prospective applicants should visit: http://bioweb.biology.utah.edu/sekercioglu/
The University of Utah Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology program provides 5 years of Ph.D. funding and has strengths in various fields. I can offer additional support in the form of research assistantships. Our Global Change & Ecosystem Center provides opportunities for broad interdisciplinary research, education and outreach.
http://www.biology.utah.edu/graduate/eeob/
In addition to the possibility of conservation ecology field research in a range of ecosystems in Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Turkey, and Utah, Ph.D. students can undertake conservation, ecology, biogeography, life history, and evolutionary meta-analyses of our global bird database, covering all the world's bird species and updated continuously. Besides conducting long-term bird banding and telemetry projects, theyalso study the conservation ecology and population biology of carnivores (brown bears, lynx, and wolves) in eastern Turkey. Highly-motivated students with interest in other taxa and prepared to take initiative should note that past collaborations included taxa ranging from plants to bird lice to amphibians.
Botanical courses this summer, Canterbury and Waikato
Feel like developing your botanical skills, and learn about methods in plant taxonomy, classification and identification? There are two excellent courses available, one at Canterbury University in January 2012 and the other at the University of Waikato in February 2012. Read more about them at: http://nzes.org.nz/events/educational-events
Ecology in the Heartland, NZES annual conference, Rotorua 2011
New Zealand Ecological Society conference 2011 - Ecology in the Heartland - was held in Rotorua earlier this month and was a huge success. A wide range of exciting plenaries and contributed papers were presented. A notable addition to the conference was the presence of several well-known science communicators, who encouraged ecologists to bridge the gap between our science and the public and to communicate our knowledge and research. The field trips and conference dinner were also enjoyed by many. Thanks again to the organisers for their sterling efforts in delivering us a fantastic conference.
Calling all early career ecologists!
Are you interested in what your peers in other parts of the world are doing? Are you keen to build ties with them to help solve environmental problems or conduct interesting ecological research? Are you looking for advice on how to have a career in ecology?
Then INNGE (the International Network for Next Generational Ecologists) can help you. This organisation of ecologists from different ecological societies across the world was formed recently to facilitate networks between early career ecologists. It aims to build international knowledge of ecological topics, encourage collaborations across countries and disciplines, foster local stewardship and sustainability efforts via global coordination, and communicate international career opportunities for early career ecologists (http://www.innge.net/). Tim Curran will liaise with the INNGE working group on behalf of the NZES, although if there is another early career ecologist who is interested in helping out that would be appreciated.
Tim has recently arrived in NZ from north Queensland, where he taught forest ecology for five years at the School for Field Studies, an American study abroad institution affiliated with Boston University. Undergraduates from universities across the US would spend a semester at the SFS field station nestled in World Heritage rainforest on the Atherton Tablelands. Prior to that Tim did his PhD at the University of New England, Armidale, testing hypotheses regarding the origins of dry rainforest in inland NSW.
He joined Lincoln University in June 2011 as a Lecturer in Ecology. His main research interests lie in the field of plant functional ecology and he is particularly interested in using plant functional traits to understand how plants respond to disturbance, especially extreme weather events such as drought, cyclones and frost, and applying these findings to restoration projects. To contact Tim email him at: Timothy.Curran@lincoln.ac.nz
Pacific Invasives Initiative launches online resource kit for rodent and cat eradication on islands
The Pacific Invasives Initiative (PII) team is delighted to announce the launch of our new on-line Resource Kit for Rodent and Cat Eradication. The PII Resource Kit can be found at: www.pacificinvasivesinitiative.org/rk.
The PII Resource Kit provides project managers with a systematic approach to planning and implementing rodent and cat eradication projects on islands in the Pacific. While focusing on rodents and cats and targeted at the Pacific, the process and many of the supporting tools are readily applicable to eradication of other invasive species and islands in other regions.
PII has also developed an accompanying training course on ‘How to eradicate Rodent and Cats on Islands’. The purpose of the course is to provide project managers with the knowledge and skills to carry out eradication projects and maximize the benefits of using the Resource Kit. For more information on the training course, please contact PII at: PII@auckland.ac.nz
New Zealand Ecological Society - Science Communication Strategy
"Communicating the results of scientific research by NZES members and their peers is essential to ensure the application of [that] ecological knowledge". Read our Science Communications Strategy 2007-2017.pdf online now to see how we as ecologists, can contribute towards communicating, promoting and raising awareness of ecological research, values and understanding.
National Policy Statement on Indigenous Biodiversity
Read the NZES submission on the proposed National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity here.
Change of venue and dates for ICCB
ICCB (International Congress for Conservation Biology) is now to be held in Auckland from Dec 5-9th 2011. Absracts due April 30th. For more information see: http://www.conbio.org/Activities/Meetings/2011/
Welcome to 2011
Happy New Year and welcome to 2011. This year (which is also the 60th Jubilee year for the society) is looking to be an exciting year for New Zealand ecology. 2010 was the International Year of Biodiversity, but let us continue to celebrate and preserve our precious biodiversity values now and forever. 2011 has been declared by the United Nations as the International Year of Forests.
We will hold our annual conference in Rotorua from 28 August to 1 September and in November, the Society for Conservation Biology will be holding its annual conference in Christchurch. All in all, it will be an exciting year for New Zealand ecologists to share knowledge, meet people and network, so make sure you register early for these meetings to ensure a place.
Thank you all for your contributions to the New Zealand Journal of Ecology. The journal’s impact factor increased substantially in 2010 and it is now the highest ranked biological journal in New Zealand. Please continue to support our journal to make this even better in 2011.
And finally, keep on sending us news and sharing information about upcoming meetings, conferences or events. With our new website we aim to improve communication and to enable all ecologists to hear about relevant events in our field.
Check out some new features of this website
We've added some exciting new sections to this website including ecology jobs and volunteer positions in New Zealand. You can also advertise job vacancies, opportunities for students, internships, temporary or permanent work and volunteer roles. We have also added a page to help you search for upcoming conferences and meetings as well as other events relevant to ecology that you should know about, such as summer courses run by universities, public conservation activities and seminars.
To help get these resources up and running, and have your job vacancies, meetings or events advertised here, email the webmaster: laura.young@nzes.org.nz.
Newsletter change of editor
We acknowledge the excellent hard work and dedication of Fleur Maseyk who has worked extremely hard on the New Zealand Ecological Society newsletter over the last few years. Fleur is stepping down from her role as newsletter editor and compiler after several years on the job. President of the society Bruce Burns thanked Fleur last week in the following statement: "Your last newsletter came through last week and it is, as always, an excellent compendium of current events in New Zealand ecology. You have maintained and raised the quality and information content of the newsletter over the last few years, so it is now eagerly awaited by our members (that’s what I’ve been told). So, many thanks for all your hard work and we hope that you’ll continue to help us on the committee into the future". We are delighted to now welcome Debra Wotton to the role.