Tag Archives: research

Picture Library news – Spiders

30 August 2010 – 3.10pm

Metamynoglenes absurda

Te Papa’s Natural Environment team have recently been putting a lot of effort into photographing their collection of spiders and putting the images up on Collections Online for you to view. I thought it was time to showcase some of this fantastic imagery.

Phil Sirvid, Collection Manager Entomology, said the primary objective for this photography is to document our type specimen collection for everyone to see. When someone describes a new species, they pick one specimen from all those they’ve examined to be the type for that species. That specimen is the one to which the new species name is attached so it’s like a gold standard for the species. When researchers from overseas want to borrow type specimens, New Zealand law requires an export permit for the specimens to leave the country. However, our high quality images of type specimens may show researchers everything they need to see so when this happens there’s no need to lend the specimen. If we don’t have to send the specimen there’s no risk of loss or damage to it and there’s no need to get an export permit.

Of course, these images are not only of interest to specialist researchers. In many cases, type specimens have not been fully illustrated or photographed before now. Our images give everyone a chance to get a highly detailed look at a variety of animals that most people have never seen.

By no means are these spiders easy to photograph, partly because of their size. Te Papa uses the technique of extended depth of field photography to do this. Interested in how Te Papa took these images? Check out the Tales from Te Papa episode about extended depth of field photography.

Metamynoglenes helicoides Nomaua repanga Parafroneta pilosa
Haplinis anomala Haplinis fulvolineata Laetesia pseudamoena

Sign up to the Te Papa Picture Library’s newsletter to get the latest news on incredible images at http://tepapa.govt.nz/onlineforms/emailpicturelibrary.aspx

Becky Masters
Manager Picture Library

By Te Papa | Posted in Bugs, insects and spiders, Collections Online | Also tagged , , | Comments (1)

Deep-sea fishes and coral garden discovered at the Three Kings Islands

20 August 2010 – 11.09am

Aquarium like scenery, deep-sea coral and sponge gardens (an extremely rich and rare habitat), hungry groupers and sharks, as well as a frenzy of deep-sea eel-like creatures: the Three Kings Islands have it all for you.

In April 2010, a team of five scientists from Te Papa and Massey University have been carrying research for about a week around the Three Kings Islands. These isolated stacks of rocks are located about 50km North of Northland and are stunning place to work. In addition to a feeling of being at the end of the world, this place is special for marine scientists because it is at the intersection of different water masses, concentrating an extremely diverse underwater fauna.

Our objectives were to study the fish fauna of the area, at depth ranging from 50 to 1200m. Quite a challenge, considering this place is exposed to bad weather and is famous for the strength of its tidal currents. These can be so strong that they often submerge the surface buoys which are attached to gear, making them impossible to find till they pop up again when tides slacken. A stressful time…

I probably lost hair during the week because of this, but in the end, everything ran smoothly and we deployed our video systems over 50 times, capturing some very neat footage. I have been reviewing them here in the lab and wanted to share some of the interesting sections with you.

One of the highlight of the fieldwork was the discovery of extended deep-sea coral and sponge gardens at depths ranging from 300 to 700m. This complex habitat is composed of a mixture of coral species that are adapted to the deep-sea conditions, i.e. they do not need light like their shallow-water associated species to thrive. Although poorly studied, we know that those habitats are rare, fragile and harbour a significant amount of biodiversity. They can also be important spawning and nursery grounds for many fish species. Seeing this habitat for the first time with such clear video images was soul-stirring for the team.

Coral garden Three Kings

If you want to know more about this project, you can visit the home page of the fish team.

Vincent Zintzen, Te Papa researcher.

By Te Papa | Posted in Fish | Also tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Fat pigs and beech trees

20 July 2010 – 5.33pm

Dave Kelly (University of Canterbury) recently talked to the Wellington Botanical Society about mast seeding.

Mast seeding is where individuals of a plant species synchronously produce unusually large seed crops every few years. There is often no regular cycle.

New Zealand is a world centre for mast seeding (and research on mast seeding). Some New Zealand plants are amongst the most variable mast seeders, with several orders of magnitude difference in seed production between years when they flower heavily and years when they barely bother.

The “mast” of mast seeding comes from a German word for “fatten”, with farmed pigs being fattened in oak forests producing a bumper crop of acorns.

Left: Nothofagus solandri leaves with flower buds. Right: close up of open flowers. (c) Leon Perrie

In New Zealand, mast seeding causes conservation issues. When beech (Nothofagus) trees mast, their abundant seeds fuel an explosion in mice numbers. This in turn leads to an increase in stoats, which in turn exact heavier predation on native birds.

Dave offered several reasons why mast seeding occurs.

In Nothofagus beech trees, which are (probably) not self-fertile, it may be to increase the proportion of viable seed.

In Chionochloa grasses, it may be to satiate insect seed predators. Seed predators will not be able to eat all of the seeds in irregular years of super seed production if the populations of the predators have been kept low by years of low/no seed production.

How the plants achieve such synchronicity remains largely a mystery, but it appears to be based on temperature cues (with heavy flowering often following a warm summer).

Dave Kelly’s mast seeding web-pages.

Wellington Botanical Society.

Chionochloa and Nothofagus on Te Papa’s Collections Online.

By Leon Perrie | Posted in Plants | Also tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Art at Te Papa shortlisted in the New Zealand Post Book Awards

24 June 2010 – 12.57pm
Art at Te Papa

Art at Te Papa

There were whoops of delight here on the Wellington waterfront as our landmark art collections publication Art at Te Papa was nominated in the illustrated non-fiction category of the 2010 New Zealand Post Book Awards.

Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in Auckland on Friday 27 August 2010.
Te Papa Press warmly congratulates William McAloon, Curator Historical New Zealand Art, who edited the book, and all the writers and staff who contributed to the superb final result.
The New Zealand Post judges are not alone in recognising the quality of Art at Te Papa:
  • This is a milestone of a book, demonstrating high standards of research, writing and reproduction. – John Daly-Peoples, The National Business Review March 2009
  • A rich and accessibly written account of collections of surprising depth – in both international and New Zealand Art. – Hamish Keith, Metro (May 2009)
  • New Zealand’s most extensive art collection is celebrated in this encyclopedic publication. – Amber McCulloch, Art World No. 9, Jun/Jul 2009
  • Roomy and elegant, and unfailingly informative and lucid. – Graham Adams, Air New Zealand Kia Ora magazine May 2009
  • From Rembrandt engravings to a plastic resin chimp, there’s something for everyone’s taste. A work of art in itself. – Steve Trotman, Wairarapa Times-Age Saturday 18 July, 2009
  • This gorgeous book invites you to leave aside the debate about gimmicky displays and enjoy the art. – Eleanor Black Watkin, Next August 2009
The New Zealand Post book awards were formerly called the Montana New Zealand book awards and Te Papa Press books have won three of the last four Montana Medal for Non-Fiction awards – the most prestigious award for non-fiction in NZ. Those lucky winners were:
  • 2006: Pohutukawa and Rātā: New Zealand’s Ironhearted Trees by Philip Simpson
  • 2007: Eagle’s Complete Trees and Shrubs of New Zealand by Audrey Eagle (LINK)
  • 2009: Rita Angus: An Artist’s Life by Jill Trevelyan (LINK)
  • Other Montana-shortlisted Te Papa Press titles have included the following:
  • 2003: Pacific Art Niu Sila by Sean Mallon and Fuli Pereira
  • 2005: Icons Nga Taonga: From the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
  • 2005: Toss Woollaston: A Life in Letters by Jill Trevelyan
  • 2006: Extinct Birds of New Zealand by Alan Tennyson and Paul Martinson
  • 2006: An Illustrated Guide to New Zealand Hebes by Alison Kellow and Michael Bayly
Fingers crossed!
By lucyhoffman | Posted in Art, Te Papa Press | Also tagged , , , , | Comments (1)

Te Papa in Botanical Bulletin

4 May 2010 – 2.00pm

A new issue of the Wellington Botanical Society Bulletin has just been published.

Included are three articles by Te Papa staff:

• Curator Carlos Lehnebach describes his research on Uncinia hook-sedges.

• Research Scientist Heidi Meudt writes about her study of Ourisia (native foxgloves).

• I have co-authored an article illustrating, differentiating, and mapping each of the Pseudopanax species (lancewoods and five-fingers).

A native foxglove (Ourisia), Taranaki. Photo by Leon Perrie. © Leon Perrie, Wellington.

Mountain lancewood (Pseudopanax linearis), Heaphy Track. Photo by Leon Perrie. © Leon Perrie, Wellington.

 Other articles deal with: searches for an uncommon grass (Simplicia), an extinct scurvy “grass” (Lepidium), and an uncommon aquatic moss (Fissidens berteroi); ecological restoration; history of Otari-Wilton’s Bush; Wellington diatoms; Coprosma hybrids; plants around the National War Memorial’s Carillon; and the obituaries of two Society stalwarts.

The Bulletin is issued free to all members of the Society.

Wellington Botanical Society membership.

Disclaimer: I’m the Bulletin’s editor.

Te Papa blog posts on Uncinia.

Te Papa blog posts on Pseudopanax.

By Leon Perrie | Posted in Plants, Pseudopanax, Sedges | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)

What’s it like to be a MSc student in systematic botany? Just ask Jessie…

7 September 2009 – 2.20pm

My name is Jessie Prebble and I am the current (2009) recipient of the Te Papa MSc Scholarship in Molecular Systematics. I’m studying at Victoria University, looking at the evolution of the plant genus Wahlenbergia in New Zealand and Australia. I’m using various molecular techniques to try to determine how reliable the current taxonomy of the New Zealand species is, and whether I can infer how many times the genus invaded New Zealand, where from, and when.

Jessie and Wahlenbergia albomarginata subsp. olvina on the ultramafic Dun Mountains near Nelson, New Zealand.

Me and Wahlenbergia albomarginata subsp. olvina on the ultramafic Dun Mountains near Nelson, New Zealand. Photo © Jessie Prebble.

Here I am finding Wahlenbergia gloriosa in an alpine herbfield on Mt Kosciuszko, New South Wales, Australia. Photo © Jessie Prebble.

Here I am finding Wahlenbergia gloriosa in an alpine herbfield on Mt Kosciuszko, New South Wales, Australia. Photo © Jessie Prebble.

I love my research. I spent last summer exploring the country collecting specimens in beautiful locations from the Garvie Mountains in Southland to Muriwai Beach north of Auckland. I even got to head over to New South Wales to hunt down some of the Australian species.  I then spent a few weeks mounting and processing all of my collections, and now they’re stored in the Te Papa Herbarium.

This is the common South Island alpine plant Wahlenbergia albomarginata subsp. albomarginata, which grows profusely on the slopes of Mt Robert, Nelson Lakes area, New Zealand.

This is the common South Island alpine plant Wahlenbergia albomarginata subsp. albomarginata, which grows profusely on the slopes of Mt Robert, Nelson Lakes area, New Zealand. Photo © Jessie Prebble.

Wahlenbergia ceracea growing in an alpine bog on the slopes of Mt Kosciuszko, New South Wales, Australia.

Wahlenbergia ceracea growing in an alpine bog on the slopes of Mt Kosciuszko, New South Wales, Australia. Photo © Jessie Prebble.

Currently I’m dividing my time between the lab, where I extract and sequence short fragments of my specimens’ DNA, and the computer lab, where I puzzle my head over numerous types of data files. I have selected three regions to sequence, two from the chloroplast (trnL-F and trnK-psbA) and one nuclear ribosomal region (ITS). I explore my sequence data by forming alignments of the sequences, then creating phylogenetic trees to tease out the relationships between the species.

Results are starting to trickle in, and so far I can tell that all of the New Zealand species are very closely related, which most likely points to recent and rapid evolution here.  Further results to follow…

The beautiful coastal plant Wahlenbergia congesta subps. haastii growing on sand dunes on the South Island’s west coast, by the mouth of Ship Ck. Photo © Jessie Prebble.

The beautiful coastal plant Wahlenbergia congesta subps. haastii growing on sand dunes on the South Island’s west coast, by the mouth of Ship Ck. Photo © Jessie Prebble.

By Heidi Meudt | Posted in Plants | Also tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments (3)

Developing the next generation of systematists

14 August 2009 – 2.15pm

Developing “the next generation” of professionals is perhaps one of the most important duties of skilled workers in any discipline.  Te Papa’s Botany staff are involved in co-supervising postgraduate university students in systematics. We are currently calling for applications for the Te Papa MSc Scholarship in Molecular Systematics for 2010.

Te Papa is offering this scholarship in collaboration with the School of Biological Sciences at Victoria University of Wellington.  The purpose of the award is to promote research, collaboration, and mentoring between Te Papa and Victoria University in the area of molecular systematics—the scientific study of the diversity and evolutionary relationships of living organisms, based on genetic (DNA) evidence—and taxonomy (naming and classification).
 
Potential projects for 2010-2011 include investigation of species boundaries amongst Gleichenia ferns, phylogeography and/or hybridisation in Asplenium ferns, species relationships amongst Myosotis forget-me-nots, or another topic to be determined.

If you know of any keen students who may be interested, please spread the word–the deadline for applications for is 1 November 2009! 

Potential project plants: Gleichinia, Asplenium, and Myosotis. Copyright Leon Perrie (Gleichinia and Asplenium) and Viv McGlynn (Myosotis).

Potential project plants: Gleichinia, Asplenium, and Myosotis. Images of Gleichinia and Asplenium by Leon Perrie, Curator; © Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Image of Myosotis By Viv McGlynn, © Viv McGlynn.

 

Edit – 1 December 2009 – Link to the description of the scholarship removed, as it is no longer available

By Heidi Meudt | Posted in Plants | Also tagged , , , , , , | Comments (3)

Want to learn about mosses and liverworts?

8 April 2009 – 4.08pm

moss2

I am helping to organise the 2009 John Child Bryophyte Workshop.   Bryophytes comprise mosses, liverworts, and hornworts.  The Workshop also covers lichens, and it provides a great opportunity  to learn more about these fascinating plants.  Novices are welcome, with guidance provided for beginners.

The workshop will be based at Pukeora Estate, near Waipukurau in Hawke’s Bay, 15th-20th October.

Contact me (leonp@tepapa.govt.nz, 04 381 7261, or Leon Perrie, Te Papa, PO Box 467, Wellington) for more details.

And, to see some of these tiny plants in their fine detail, check out the fantastic images on our Collections Online.

moss1

By Leon Perrie | Posted in Plants | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)

More rare maidenhair spleenwort.

16 March 2009 – 11.18am

The rare, tetraploid maidenhair spleenwort  (Asplenium trichomanes subsp. quadrivalens) has only recently been rediscovered in New Zealand.  Several people have contacted me with possible additional sightings. As described by the Scoop website, Jack Ritchie had a maidenhair spleenwort self-sow on a rock used to construct a water feature in his nursery, Tree Guys, in Otane.

Jack took us to the local farm where the rock was sourced from, and without too much effort we found a good population: about 70 plants growing on limestone outcrops in pasture.

Asplenium trichomanes subsp. quadrivalens

Tetraploid maidenhair spleenwort.

These rocks are host to several plants of tetraploid maidenhair spleenwort.

These rocks are host to several plants of tetraploid maidenhair spleenwort.

Lara Shepherd (Massey University) and I collected a few samples, and confirmed through analyses of their spores and DNA that they were the tetraploid maidenhair spleenwort rather than the common hexaploid maidenhair spleenwort.

DNA sequence data. The highlighted position is one of several DNA sites found by Lara that differ between the tetraploid (upper two samples) and octoploid (lower two samples) maidenhair spleenworts.

DNA sequence data. The highlighted position is one of several DNA sites found by Lara that differ between the tetraploid (upper two samples) and hexaploid (lower two samples) maidenhair spleenworts.

There is plenty of similar habitat in the region, so the tetraploid maidenhair spleenwort could well be much more widespread. We need to find more than 250 individuals to lift it out of the Nationally Critical conservation category, which I am hopeful we will achieve with more searching.  Ideally, it will turn out to be sufficiently common that it doesn’t even need to be on the threatened list.

Thanks to Jack Ritchie and everyone else who has contacted me about the maidenhair spleenwort. I have several other promising leads to follow-up when I am next able to escape the office.

If you would like to see a tetraploid maidenhair spleenwort for yourself, then visit Jack Ritchie. He is a very knowledgeable and enthusiastic plant-person, and his tetraploid maidenhair spleenwort is the only one I know of in ‘captivity’. Jack’s Tree Guys nursery is in Otane, on the main road between Waipukurau and Hastings.

By Leon Perrie | Posted in Ferns, Field trips, Plants | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments (1)

Coralline red algae

25 February 2009 – 9.13am

Botany has recently acquired a unique collection: a special group of calcified red algae known as the corallines. Coralline algae are abundant and ubiquitous throughout the world’s oceans, playing very important roles in marine ecosystems. The encrusting, or crustose, species can form unusual lumpy, warty-looking layers in the intertidal, sometimes completely covering rocks. Perhaps you have noticed this interesting ‘pink paint’ on the rocks at the beach this summer? 

Coralline ‘pink paint' on rock (Credit: T.J.Farr)

Coralline ‘pink paint' on rock (Credit: T.J.Farr)

Despite being an ecologically important and colourful element of the marine flora, the diversity of crustose coralline species in New Zealand is only beginning to be understood. In 2002, a team of researchers led by Wendy Nelson at NIWA (Wellington) began a project studying this group of red algae. They have published their results in a detailed field guide and deposited the comprehensive reference collections generated through their research at Te Papa.

Collecting and studying coralline algae requires some unusual techniques (hammers and chisels are standard collecting and sampling gear!), but the specimens also require special attention once in the herbarium. Although some are dried like the other botany specimens, most of the samples are stored in jars in a specially prepared mix of ethanol and glycerol to best preserve the reproductive structures which are needed to identify the different species. Being in alcohol, the collections then need to be stored safely. We have recently transferred these collections to Te Papa’s purpose-built liquid storage facility at the Tory St. site, the final stage in making the corallines a permanent part of the collection.

Jars of coralline specimens shelved at Te Papa's Tory St. spirit store

Jars of coralline specimens shelved at Te Papa's Tory St. spirit store

Researchers from the University of Otago’s Department of Marine Science were quick to take the opportunity to access these new coralline collections, recently visiting to obtain a few samples for their research. Dr. Abigail Smith and her associates study how the mineralogical composition of calcified organisms changes in response to decreasing ocean pH due to global climate change. A recent subject of their research has been the coralline algae.

Scientists Tracy Farr (NIWA) and Louise Kregting (Otago) sampling corallines for chemical analysis

Scientists Tracy Farr (NIWA) and Louise Kregting (Otago) sampling corallines for chemical analysis

By Leon Perrie | Posted in Marine algae, Plants | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)
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