Green News A newsletter for undergrad botany students VOLUME 1: ISSUE 8 OCTOBER 2010
A nosey Kea And for me its almost over... Hi everyone, I hope everyone is getting excited as the semester is winding down. I handed my honours thesis in last Friday and I’m INSIDE THIS ISSUE pretty excited about that, although it was a bit of an anti‐climax as I still have an assignment and an exam to go! But then I will be done… ∆ Ecology camp Because of this, this is my second to last issue of Green News and we Sharon Manoharan and need a new editor for next year… I have a few people that might be Nicole Foote keen, but if you are interested just drop me an email… its not that ∆ Dactylanthus taylorii hard and doesn’t take up too much time; you might even get to know Luke Easton some new people!!! Thanks again to those who wrote articles for this issue… Hope you enjoy! Ella ∆ Research on Stewart Island Kimberley Robinson Ecology camp... ∆ Life after botany Sharon Manoharan a 3rd year student doing a BSc majoring in Psychol‐ Emma Jane Coote ogy and Ecology and Nicole Foote a 2nd year student majoring in Ecol‐
∆ Plant of the month ogy went on the second year ecology camp a few weekends ago. Brunia albiflora ‘On Friday the 17th of September Ecology 212 students were on their way to a two night camp at Tautuku in the Catlins after being reassured by ∆ Upcoming events Gerry Closs that ‘it does not snow at sea level’ and that we had left be‐ hind cell phone coverage.’ ∆ Photos ‘After settling into the camp Kath Dickinson talked on future study in ecology and career paths. After dark, Gerry provided students with the opportunity to go on a night time spot‐light search for koura and galaxiids in the nearby stream.’ ‘After a chilly night, Mother Nature proved Gerry wrong and we awoke to snow covering the entire landscape. The open fire was a godsend! After a tiring day and an unexpected powercut, the cook came through with a good meal. We practised our mihis and watched Colin’s movie and were ready for bed.’ ‘On Sunday morning after finishing the last of our fieldwork, the camp was cleaned and we awaited our ride to Dunedin. Gerry broke the news that we were stranded for an extra night. An ‘essentials only’ supply run to Papatowai allowed us to get through the night.‘ ‘The cleaning began once again and the camp sparkled. Stu‐ dents and staff had high hopes for getting back to Dunedin be‐ fore lunch. At 11:30am we learnt that the bus had not yet been dispatched from Dunedin so Owaka café provided an ideal lo‐ ECOL 212 students walking to cation to wait for the bus. The fun was over and on the trip the estuary through snow back to Dunedin, tests, lab reports and sleep were all contemplated.’ Dactylanthus taylorii... Luke Easton is a first year student majoring in Zoology. He has writ‐ ten an article about this very interesting parasitic species. ‘Dactylanthus taylorii, or known as “wooden rose”, is a very unique example of the close intimacy of parasite, host and pollinator. En‐ demic to New Zealand, D. taylorii is the southernmost species of (and New Zealand’s only) fully parasitic, flowering plant. Originally found throughout the North Island and upper South Island, this species co‐ evolved with an unusual pollinator: the short‐tailed bat. D. taylorii grows entirely underground on the roots of approximately 30 differ‐ ent native host trees and shrubs, in high densities where bat roosts exist, and flowers above ground in late summer‐autumn, parallel to the bats’ breeding season. Another major feature is the production of an attractant called “squaline”, which is a musky, sweet scent to at‐ tract mammalian pollinators.’ ‘Unfortunately, the rapid decline of the only known pollinator, de‐ struction of habitat, collecting (roots of the host plant were cut off as the attachment of the parasite haustorium produced a “wooden rose” and used as ornaments) and the introduction of pest species has severely reduced the natural distribution of this plant. D. taylorii now a threatened species and found only in localised pockets mainly in the upper North Island. Furthermore, D. taylorii is dioecious (consists of separate male and females plants) with the sex ratio of Emerging flowers of Dactylanthus males to females regularly reaching 20:1 in some areas.’ taylorii ‘The Department of Conservation (DoC) has tried to promote an in‐ crease in population by controlling pest species, but in many cases this has been unsuccessful. Consequently DoC has had to rely on labour intensive caging of clumps of plants, and hand pollination. While this technique has been effective in enabling surplus seeds to be produced, only a very small percent‐ age of plants can be located as most of the time they are under ground and difficult to differenti‐ ate from the forest floor during flowering. Intro‐ duced pests, such as rats and mice, have also been relied on to pollinate D. taylorii in the ab‐ sence of short‐tailed bat populations, but is clearly not a long term strategy that can be used as they damage the flowers and seeds that are produced.’ Wood roses of Dactylanthus ‘Despite producing a mammalian attractant, I feel as though we need taylorii to redirect ourselves to our own native pollinators, specifically geckos. Reports have shown geckos feeding on the nectar and dis‐ persing pollen from D. taylorii. While mechanically they are not suited to pollinating D. taylorii like the short‐tailed bat is (considering they only have scales and not fur), they may be potentially useful if high densities of their populations are restored. In terms of conserva‐ tion for this plant species, this strategy has not yet been researched and would possibly provide a possible alternative to re‐establish a vital connection between plant and pollinator in the long term.’ Research on Stewart Island Kimberley Robinson is a fourth year Ecology student doing a postgradu‐ ate diploma. She has been lucky enough to do some of her research on Stewart Island and has written a short article about her research. ‘In Mason Bay, Stewart Island, there is evidence of outlier yellow tree lupin (Lupinus arboreus) plants isolated from established lupin popula‐ tions. This indicates some form of long distance dispersal is taking place in the dune system of Mason Bay. I investigated white‐tailed and red deer as potential vectors for long distance dispersal of lupin seeds.’ ‘I collected deer faecal pellets from sand dunes of Mason Bay and exam‐ ined them for evidence of lupin seeds. Two out of 260 ‘events’ con‐ tained 4 seeds in total and only two of these were intact. To test the effect of gut transportation on the seeds, a white‐tailed deer and a red deer were both fed lupin seeds. Because white‐tailed deer are not farmed, the only known white‐tailed deer to be held captive nearby was located in Stewart Island as a pet. This required two trips to Oban to feed the deer and collect its faeces. 4 out of 60 seeds consumed were Stropy the white‐tail deer eating found in the white‐tailed deer faecal pellets. Three of these seeds ger‐ lupin foliage minated within a week of extraction from the faeces. I also fed a red deer at the Invermay AgResearch campus lupin seed and germination trials are still being carried out for these seeds, with germination taking a lot longer with these seeds than those found in white‐tail faeces.’ Life after botany... Emma Jane finished her Botany degree in the department in 2008, I asked her to write about why she chose botany and what she does now. ‘Back in 2005 I was living in Dunedin. I had just completed a conserva‐ tion corp course with the Department of Conservation, and decided to go to university. I had always wanted to be a marine biologist, and I was about to apply to study in that field, when a poster for botany caught my eye. So I compared the core papers, every one of the bot‐ any core papers were exciting!! And best of all, stats was not a core subject. Done. I applied for botany and never looked back. I enjoyed every paper I took, especially marine botany, mycology and NZ plant ecology. I also had the opportunity to take papers outside of botany such as nautical studies, wine business and tourism, nutrition, Ngai Tahu and the natural world (a highly recommended paper to learn about how plants were used by Maori) and geography.’ ‘To me, the most enjoyable parts of the botany core papers were the labs and field trips. It was during these times I learnt the most, not only about botany and ecology, but about the practical aspects of the field. ‘ Emma Jane with a crayfish ‘I came out of university with a greater knowledge of plants and their uses, and more of an ecological awareness. Today I work for Creation Care Study Program, a study abroad program, where North American university students study aspects of ecology. My main role is as the kitchen manager – feeding the crew, but I also teach students each se‐ mester about New Zealand, recycling, composting, vegetable gardening, cooking and community sustainability. The students then take these skills home with them. It is a real pleasure to know that my past has brought me to where I am today to help show others how to look after themselves and our planet.’
Plant of the month Brunia albiflora Bruniaceae
White flowered brunia, Knopbossie Non‐native, Ornamental ‘Brunia albiflora is another great example of the diversity of plants growing on the African continent. Unlike the Lobelia last month, this plant is a little more erotic, with the local afrikaan name being Knop‐ bossie, meaning ‘Knob Bush’ (most probably named by half blind horny woman). I would have named it hairy button bush, but I suppose they didn’t have buttons in those days. It grows in the Western Cape area of South Africa from the Hottentots Holland Mountains to Hermanus, where it thrives in moist areas or marshes at altitudes from 300‐1000m.’ ‘This plant is serotinous, which means that although it may flower every year it doesn’t drop its seed after it matures, and instead holds onto its seed for many years until the plant gets burnt by fire, which triggers the opening of the seed capsules and release of the seeds. Serotiny is a characteristic trait of many plants that have evolved in arid, fire prone areas of the world, as it allows for quick regeneration of seedlings after Flowering plants of Brunia the parent plants have been killed by fires, which frequently sweep albiflora through these areas. Although B. albiflora is serotinous it doesn’t re‐ quire fire to be able to seed, and can also drop its seeds when the seed capsules get very old and rot away.’ ‘Knopbossie grows as bushes up to 3 m high, which look a bit like small erect pine trees. The flowers are the most unusual feature of the plant, and form clustered in small knob‐like inflorescences that look like little white scaly lollypops. The flowers themselves are only about 7mm long and are pretty insignificant by themselves. As this plant’s flowers are quite attractive they are often used in floral arrangements, and its leaves are also used as attractive foliage in arrangements. In some areas where plants are harvested heavily for the floral market populations are being decimated due to over‐harvesting causing a great loss in seed pro‐ duction.’ ‘Knopbossie is a member of the ancient Bruniaceae family of plants, Cluster of button like which is quite unusual in that although it contains approximately 77 spe‐ inflorescences cies in 12 genera, they are all only found naturally in southern Africa, and nowhere else on the globe. But fossils from an ancestor of the fam‐ ily have been found in Sweden, which leads to the questions – Why are they only in southern Africa now, and where did they come from? Also many species in the family lack reproductive vigour and in some species up to 20% of pollen grains show distortions or irregular appendages. These traits have been suggested to be a sign that the whole family is moving into a state of senescence and is likely to become extinct, with‐ out the help of humans! Crazy plants!’ ‘Check this plant out up the back of the South African section at the Dunedin Botanic Garden.’
‘Happy plant hunting, Close‐up of Brunia albiflora Rowan Hindmarsh‐Walls’ inflorescence UPCOMING EVENTS PHOTOS
OCTOBER 8th Ecology Seminar ‘When a trematode skips a host: progenesis as an alternative life cycle strategy in Stegodexemene anguillae’ Kristin Herrmann 12noon Benham Seminar Room
9th BSO Field Trip—McPhee’s Rock A great opportunity experience alpine vegetation close to Dunedin Contact Bill Wilson for more info Leaves Botany Department 9am
13‐14th Give blood The beach at Tautuku Bay after heavy snowfall NZ Blood Service is on campus collecting blood. You could help save a life. Gazebo Room, Union Building Weds 13th 12‐4:30pm Thurs 14th 10‐3:00pm
15th Last day of lectures
20th Examination period begins
Waves crash against the coast in the Catlins
Yellow‐eyed penguins Contact us Near Broderick Pass, north branch of the Huxley River [email protected]