Science Media Centre

More than 800,000 hectares of land across the country will be the target of the largest ever pest control operation in New Zealand’s history. The Battle for our Birds 2016 programme will kick off this winter, aiming to knock back a burgeoning pest population boosted by heavy forest seeding, or mast. Rat and stoat numbers […]

The Kakapo 125 Genomes Project, launched yesterday, will provide detailed genetic information necessary to minimise the loss of kakapo genetic diversity, and optimise health and productivity in the existing population. The crowdfunded project aims to sequence the genomes of all 125 members of the green parrot species – the first time genomes will be sequenced […]

The predator control poison 1080 is not without controversy — but it’s the best thing we’ve got, say scientists meeting at a national conference this week. Ecologists and researchers from across the country are meeting this week to share their latest findings at the New Zealand Ecological Society 2015 Conference, which includes a symposium dedicated […]

Garden bird-feeding directly influences the number of native and introduced bird species in a local area, according to new research from the University of Auckland. Through monthly observations of 23 test sites over an 18 month period, the study, published in PNAS on Tuesday, found supplementary feeding of grains and bread changed the local bird population structure. […]

The media attention is back on the Department of Conservation’s (DOC) biggest ever aerial 1080 drop in an effort to battle rats and stoats, a major threat to New Zealand’s native bird species. In the latest episode of TV3’s current affairs show 3rd Degree, Samantha Hayes speaks to the DOC’s Graeme Elliot and Landcare Research’s Dr Janine Duckworth to find […]

The Government is launching New Zealand’s largest-ever species protection programme, increasing the use of aerial 1080 to control pests and protect native wildlife. Minister for the Environment Dr Nick Smith announced details of the ‘Battle for Our Birds‘ programme this week. The programme will increase pest control in 35 forests to protect 12 native species, […]

British scientists who  have become the first researchers to document key characteristics for the success of invading parasites, have also cast new light on the spread of avian malaria in New Zealand birds. Their study, published today in Ecology Letters, identifies the factors influencing the success of parasites unintentionally introduced to new environments. The Zoological […]

The kea’s habit of pecking and pulling at curious materials may be exposing the native bird to dangerous amounts of lead from building materials, reports new research. New research in the New Zealand Journal of Ecology surveyed kea from seven areas in South Island New Zealand and found that, of the 88 birds sampled, all […]

Knock-on effects from bird loss are relentlessly changing the make-up of New Zealand native forests, according to new research published online today in the journal Science. Researchers from Canterbury and Auckland Universities studied plant life on three pest-free island sanctuaries where pollinating birds — bellbirds, tui and hihi — are abundant. When compared with mainland […]

Kiran Chug writes in the Dominion Post about northern hemisphere bird species which have, according to scientists, picked up something of a local accent since arriving in New Zealand. More particularly, some of the introduced birds are actually mimicking the calls of native birds. An excerpt: (read in full here) “Non-native birds were now sounding […]