Canterbury Museum

Drawing on heritage ecologies, this article proposes a role for the environmental humanities in formalizing a shift from predominantly historical to increasingly futures-focused heritage, reflecting the planetary shift from the Holocene to the early Anthropocene. Its geographic focus is Antarctica, a region formally dedicated to peace and science and governed through the Antarctic Treaty System. Historic Sites and Monuments (HSMs) in the Antarctic are designated to commemorate events ranging from late nineteenth century exploration to contemporary scientific endeavors. Some are tourist destinations, many are almost inaccessible, and others have disappeared under ice. One is yet to be located. As an assemblage, the HSMs appear a little unruly, entangled with geopolitics and ambiguous in purpose. Heritage ecologies suggest that natural processes should not be separated from cultural contexts and include relations between human and more-than-human. More nuanced, potentially disruptive interpretations of Antarctic heritage should extend to new sites that both recognize the peace and science principles of the Antarctic Treaty and highlight the Anthropocene’s precarities. This article is thus a provocation within the environmental humanities to rethink heritage practices with respect to nonhuman nature and the Anthropocene and to consider monuments for the end (geographically at least) of the world.

ABSTRACTComparisons of insect pollinator–plant interactions through time have identified shifts in community structure for bees and flies. However, trends for the majority of other insect pollinators remain understudied due to a lack of available data. Historical collections are uniquely positioned to fill this data gap due to their extensive holdings of diverse pollinating taxa. This study uses the Canterbury Museum's natural history collection in Christchurch, New Zealand, to investigate insect pollinator–plant interactions among five insect orders: Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera (excluding bees) and Diptera (excluding syrphid flies). By comparing field collection labels and metadata with data from the Global Biotic Interactions (GloBI) database, we identified that 86% of recorded interactions in the museum data for insects identified at the genus and species level were not previously identified in GloBI. This analysis underscores that valuable data, archived in historical collections highlights the importance of digitising and sharing not only specimen data, but also detailed metadata to enhance scientific understanding of insect pollinator–plant interactions.

The St Bathans Fauna, from sites near the village of St Bathans, Central Otago, South Island, is the first substantive pre-Quaternary terrestrial vertebrate fossil fauna discovered in New Zealand. This fauna derives from 33 sites or discrete sedimentary beds located in the lower 50 m of the lacustrine Bannockburn Formation, Manuherikia Group, and is generally accepted as local stage Altonian (19–15.9 Ma; Burdigalian, Early Miocene) in age. Investigations since 2001 have revealed an abundant and diverse fauna from over 9000 catalogued lots that is herein reviewed. Invertebrates notably include eight genera and species of terrestrial molluscs. Among vertebrates, freshwater fish remains dominate with 17 species evidenced by 16,500 analysed otoliths (genera Neochanna, Galaxias, Prototroctes, and Mataichthys) and many thousands of bones. Birds (minimally 45 species, several thousand bones) are the most common non-fish vertebrates, among which waterfowls dominate all assemblages (10 species). Co-occurring with these was a diverse herpetofauna, including undetermined crocodylians and a terrestrial turtle, both absent in Recent faunas. Significantly, the St Bathans Fauna evidences that Zealandia already had all of New Zealand’s ‘old’ endemic Recent taxa (sphenodontids, leiopelmatids, dinornithiforms, apterygids, aptornithids, strigopoid parrots, acanthisittids, and mystacinids) during the Early Miocene. Furthermore, it includes Australasia’s oldest ardeids, two flightless rallids, a novel higher landbird family, a greater diversity of bats, and terrestrial mammals. All sites reflect a single fauna, except that the ducks Manuherikia lacustrina (stratigraphically lower in section) and M. primadividua (higher) have a mutually exclusive distribution that is not yet correlated with any other biotic distribution differences.

Abstract AimInvestigating the extent of insular invasions by non‐native species (i.e., the number of islands they occupy) is central to island conservation. However, interrelationships among plant life history traits, naturalization histories, and island characteristics in determining island occupancy by non‐native plant species are poorly understood. We investigated whether island occupancy by different non‐native plant species declines in relation to their year of first naturalization and whether periods of first naturalization differ among growth forms, dispersal modes, and biogeographic origins. Then, we asked if non‐native plants that naturalized more recently occur more frequently on islands that are large, less isolated, and close to urban areas. We contrasted trends across growth forms, dispersal modes, and biogeographic origins.Location264 offshore islands in northern Aotearoa New Zealand.TaxaVascular plant species.MethodsWe combined field surveys and published data for 767 non‐native plant species on the islands. We categorized each species according to its growth form (n = 3), dispersal mode (n = 4) and biogeographic origin (n = 5) and identified its year of first naturalization in Aotearoa New Zealand. We tested our hypotheses using ANCOVA and generalized linear models (GLMs).ResultsThere were similar declines in island occupancy in relation to the year of first naturalization in Aotearoa New Zealand across all trait and biogeographic origin categories. First naturalization times of herbaceous species, those with unspecialized dispersal modes, and those originating from Eurasia and the Mediterranean basin were disproportionately earlier than other categories. Non‐native plants with more recent first naturalization occur more frequently on large islands close to urban areas, but not on less isolated ones. Relationships with island characteristics did not differ among trait and biogeographic origin categories.Main ConclusionsOverall, time of first naturalization was more important than trait and biogeographic origin categories in explaining non‐native plant invasion patterns on islands. Since there were similar relationships between island occupancy and the year of first naturalization in Aotearoa New Zealand for all categories, management bodies should focus on non‐native plant species of trait and biogeographic origin categories that have naturalized recently (e.g., woody species from other regions within Oceania), and on large islands close to urban areas. Introduction and naturalization histories provide essential context for interpreting the role of plant traits and biogeographic origin in understanding plant invasions on islands.

ABSTRACT Long-term changes in the life history and behaviour of seabirds during the non-breeding season can reflect shifts in environmental conditions. However, long-term marine studies are scarce, particularly on southern hemisphere seabirds. Here, we used moult scores from 86 Brown Skuas (Stercorarius antarcticus lonnbergi), a large predatory seabird breeding on the Chatham Islands, Aotearoa/New Zealand to model both the timing and duration of primary feather moult. In addition, we analysed stable isotope values (δ13C and δ15N) from 62 modern (2014–16) and ten museum tail feathers. These data provide insights into the non-breeding behaviour of Brown Skua. Interestingly, our results show that the primary feather moult occurred prior to birds departing the colony, starting on average on 2 January ± 5 days (SE). The average start of primary feather moult occurred five days prior to the end of breeding (7 January ± 10 days (SD)) and 42 days before the birds departed the colony (13 February ± 11 days (SD)). The average duration of primary feather moult was 189 ± 14 days (SE). Importantly, low δ13C values in four females suggested that tail feather moult might also occur while skuas are at the colony. There was no difference in tail feather δ13C and δ15N values between any pairwise comparison of modern and museum years. However, values of δ15N from tail feathers sampled in 2014 were different from those sampled in 2015 and 2016. This large annual variation in δ15N values from tail feathers over such a short period makes long-term comparisons difficult to interpret, particularly between years with low sample sizes. While the stable isotope analyses of tail feathers are informative, we recommend future studies of skuas sample the primary coverts rather than tail feathers.

Migratory marine species cross political borders and enter the high seas, where the lack of an effective global management framework for biodiversity leaves them vulnerable to threats. Here, we combine 10,108 tracks from 5775 individual birds at 87 sites with data on breeding population sizes to estimate the relative year-round importance of national jurisdictions and high seas areas for 39 species of albatrosses and large petrels. Populations from every country made extensive use of the high seas, indicating the stake each country has in the management of biodiversity in international waters. We quantified the links among national populations of these threatened seabirds and the regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) which regulate fishing in the high seas. This work makes explicit the relative responsibilities that each country and RFMO has for the management of shared biodiversity, providing invaluable information for the conservation and management of migratory species in the marine realm.

Participants were 5,831 women in their third trimester of pregnancy, part of a large, longitudinal, pre-birth national cohort study. Women reported on their experience of pushing and shoving, throwing or breaking objects within their relationship over the past month. Univariable regression models examined the association of a large number of potential risk and protective factors. Those significant at the univariable level were carried forward into final multivariable analyses, stratified by New Zealand's four main ethnic groups: European, Māori, Pacific, and Asian peoples. Relationship commitment, reduced family cohesion, and perceived stress were associated with increased risk across ethnic groups.

Museum specimens provide a record of past species distribution and are an increasingly important resource for conservation genetic research. The scientific value of these specimens depends upon the veracity of their associated data and can be compromised by inaccurate details; including taxonomic identity, collection locality, and collector. New Zealand contains many endemic species that have been driven to extinction or reduced to relict distributions following the arrival of humans and mammalian predators, including the Acanthisittid wrens (of which only two of the eight species presently persist). One of these is the New Zealand rock wren (Xenicus gilviventris), currently classified as an endangered species and experiencing ongoing population declines. Here we analyse ancient DNA retrieved from New Zealand rock wren museum skins to establish the veracity of their recorded collection localities – New Zealand rock wrens exhibit strong north-south genetic structuring along the Southern Alps of New Zealand’s South Island. We include the only specimen reportedly collected from New Zealand’s North Island, outside the known range of New Zealand rock wrens, specimens collected by Henry Hamersley Travers, a collector known for poor record keeping and potentially fraudulent specimen data, and type specimens of proposed Xenicus taxa. Multiple instances of inaccurate collection locality were detected, including that of the New Zealand rock wren reportedly collected from the North Island, which matches individuals from the southern South Island. Syntypes of X. haasti, and a syntype of X. gilviventris clustered with individuals belonging to the northern New Zealand rock wren lineage. Our results suggest that New Zealand rock wrens have not been historically extirpated from New Zealand’s North Island, and that caution must be taken when utilising museum specimens to inform conservation management decisions. Additionally, we describe the type locality of both X. gilviventris and X. haasti, with genetic and historical evidence suggesting that the specimens used to describe these taxa were collected from the headwaters of the Rakaia River. This study demonstrates that ancient DNA analysis can add value to museum specimens by revealing incorrect specimen data and inform the conservation management and taxonomy of endangered species.

The recently extinct New Zealand adzebills (Aptornithidae, Aptornis spp.) were an enigmatic group of large flightless birds that have long eluded precise taxonomic assignment as they do not closely resemble any extant birds. Adzebills were nearly wingless, weighed approximately 16–19 kg, and possessed massive adze-like reinforced bills whose function remains unknown. Using hybridisation enrichment and high-throughput sequencing of DNA extracted from subfossil bone and eggshell, near-complete mitochondrial genomes were successfully assembled from the two Quaternary adzebill species: the North Island Adzebill (Aptornis otidiformis) and South Island Adzebill (A. defossor). Molecular phylogenetic analyses confirm that adzebills are members of the Ralloidea (rails and allies) and are sister-taxon to the Sarothruridae, which our results suggest comprises the Madagascan wood rails (Mentocrex, two likely sp.) in addition to the tiny (<50 gram) rail-like Afro-Madagascan flufftails (Sarothrura, 9 spp.). Node age estimates indicate that the split between adzebills and Sarothruridae occurred ~39.6 Ma, suggesting that the ancestors of the adzebills arrived in New Zealand by long-distance dispersal rather than continental vicariance. This newly identified biogeographic link between physically distant New Zealand and Afro-Madagascar, echoed by the relationship between the New Zealand kiwi (Apterygiformes) and Madagascan elephant-birds (Aepyornithiformes), suggests that the adzebill’s near relatives were formerly more widespread. In addition, our estimate for the divergence time between the two Quaternary adzebill species (0.2–2.3 Ma) coincides with the emergence of a land-bridge between the North and South islands of New Zealand (ca. 1.5–2 Ma). This relatively recent divergence suggests that North Island adzebills are the result of a relatively recent dispersal from the South Island, from which the earliest (Miocene) adzebill fossil has been described.

BackgroundThe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is the most widely used information source on the extinction risk of species. One of the uses of the Red List is to evaluate and monitor the state of biodiversity and a possible approach for this purpose is the Red List Index (RLI). For many taxa, mainly hyperdiverse groups, it is not possible within available resources to assess all known species. In such cases, a random sample of species might be selected for assessment and the results derived from it extrapolated for the entire group - the Sampled Red List Index (SRLI). The current contribution is the final in four papers that will constitute the baseline of a future spider SRLI encompassing 200 species distributed across the world.New informationA sample of 200 species of spiders were randomly selected from the World Spider Catalogue, an updated global database containing all recognised species names for the group. The selected species were classified taxonomically at the family level and the familes were ordered alphabetically. In this publication, we present the conservation profiles of 50 species belonging to the families alphabetically arranged between Scytodidae and Zoropsidae, which encompassed Scytodidae, Selenopidae, Sicariidae, Sparassidae, Tetrablemmidae, Tetragnathidae, Theraphosidae, Theridiidae, Theridiosomatidae, Thomisidae, Trochanteriidae, Zodariidae and Zoropsidae.