Past Events

My place in the world: An update on the electron microscopy facilities at the University of Otago

A talk by Allan Mitchell, Technical Manager, Otago Centre for Microscopy. Union St Lecture Theatre, Cnr Union St West & Great King St.

Differential susceptibility to ocean acidification

A talk by Associate Professor Catriona Hurd. Marine Science Seminar Room, Dept of Marine Science, University of Otago, 310 Castle St, Dunedin (corner Frederick and Castle Streets).

Friendly Forest Fungi: mycorrhizae of NZ native forest trees

A talk by Dr David Orlovich in celebration of International Year of Forests 2011. I will discuss the importance of fungus-root symbioses in NZ forests and describe recent research on native mycorrhizal fungi. A Department of Botany Lunchtime Seminar. Note: Special time and Venue: Union St Lecture Theatre, Cnr Union St (West) & Great King St.

10th Annual Geoff Baylis Lecture: Complex relationships with friends and foes: How native plants manage the risks

Speaker Dr Bill Lee Landcare Research, Dunedin; Joint Graduate School of Biodiversity and Biosecurity, School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland. Plants share a world with many other organisms that represent both potential enemies and possible allies. For their enemies plants are a food source, but plants have developed numerous defences, including co-opting other animals, to protect vital organs. This involves strategic alliances, armed neutrality and active warfare. Plants also develop interdependencies with other biota for obtaining resources, assisting reproduction and dispersal, and limiting herbivory. The talk will explore what we know about these interactions in New Zealand, and discuss some of the extraordinary relationships amongst and between fungi, arthropods, birds, and plants. Emphasis will be on the strategies and tactics involved from the perspective of the plants, and how much plants are prepared to repel enemies and gain friends in natural ecosystems. At Castle 1 Lecture theatre. Nibbles and drinks from 5:30 in the Castle concourse, talk starts at 6:00 pm.

Field trip to Mihiwaka guided by Alf Webb

We will walk through some podocarp forest representative of the Dunedin area, then go on to regenerating shrub-land with a small sphagnum bog. We will see some of the eastern most Libocedrus bidwillii stands, and see wonderful views from the rock out-crops. Depart from the Botany Department car park, corner of Great King Street and Union Street (West).

More than megaherbs: 200 years of vegetation change on subantarctic Campbell Island

A talk by Alex Fergus. The Campbell Island Bicentennial Expedition team stuck it out on our southernmost landmass for 10 weeks this past summer. As a member of the terrestrial ecology research group, my focus was the recovery of the plant and insect communities and the interaction between seabirds and plant diversity. The vegetation of Campbell Island has changed dramatically in the 200 years since European discovery. Burning, grazing, and the mediated effects of rats have altered species abundances and community structure. Permanent plots and photo points (dating from the 1870s) reveal vegetation damage before 1960 has given way to re-growth and range expansion. The progressive removal of European vertebrates has sparked a remarkable and rapid recovery of many of the iconic, and also the less well-known subantarctic plant species. How much of this recent change is simply recovery and how much is due to climate change is the next big question. Expect lots of pictures mixed in with a wee bit of science and even a few new discoveries for the island. At the Zoology Benham Building, 346 Great King Street, behind the Zoology car park by the Captain Cook Hotel. Use the main entrance of the Benham Building to get in and go to the Benham Seminar Room, Rm. 215, 2nd floor. Please be prompt as we have to hold the door open.

Field trip to Akatore

Rain date 7th August (trip originally scheduled for the 16th April but cancelled due to rain). Akatore is a remnant of diverse coastal shrubland at the mouth of Akatore Creek 45 minutes south of Dunedin. Some special features of this site include the diversity of shrub species and threatened species such as Coprosma obconica, Olearia fragrantissima, Melicytus flexuosus and Carex littorosa with the possibility of our discovering other threatened species. We may also visit the adjacent coast where the threatened cress Lepidium tenuicaule is present as well as Myosotis pygmaea. Depart from the Dept of Botany Carpark, cnr Great King Street and Union Street (West).

John Smaillie Tennant Lecture: How many species will survive the 21st century?

Speaker President Emeritus Peter H Raven, Missouri Botanical Garden, USA. Scientists project that during the 21st century a major proportion of the worlds estimated 12 million species of plants, animals, and micro-organisms will become extinct.

What can we do to counteract or mitigate the effects of habitat destruction, global climate change, invasive species, and selective hunting and gathering?

• attain a level human population
• adopt reasonable levels of consumption everywhere
• develop new, sustainable technologies

Direct actions to conserve species:

• establishment and protection of nature reserves
• bringing organisms into cultivation, captive colonies, culture collection, or seed banks

Our individual actions will determine the magnitude of the extinction episode that we have already begun—and its impact for thousands or millions of years to come. St. David Lecture Theatre, Corner of St David and Castle Sts, University of Otago.

Ross Creek-Woodhaugh Garden Track Network

Come and beat the mid-winter blues with a half day trip in the heart of Dunedin. We will explore the network of tracks that begin at Woodhaugh Gardens and wind their way up the Water of Leith and into the Ross Creek Reservoir area. There's quite a range of natural vegetation passed on the walk including kahikatea-kowhai-ribbonwood-lacebark forest through to more recent kanuka dominated successional communities. Be prepared for a couple of hours walking on well maintained tracks. The trip will start and finish at Woodhaugh Gardens. Meet at 10 am at the George Street entrance to Woodhaugh Gardens. Back about midday.

The 2011 New Zealand Fungal Foray

A talk by David Orlovich. The 25th New Zealand Fungal Foray visited the Taupo region, and it was one of the most productive collecting trips weve had for a long time. We didnt let the wet weather inhibit our collecting too much, and were really impressed with the huge number of Cortinarius species we found. I will present a slide show of some of the best findings. At the Zoology Benham Building, 346 Great King Street, behind the Zoology car park by the Captain Cook Hotel. Use the main entrance of the Benham Building to get in and go to the Benham Seminar Room, Rm. 215, 2nd floor. Please be prompt as we have to hold the door open.

Botanical "Show and Tell" Evening

Members are invited to bring items of botanical interest to the monthly meeting and talk about them. Items may be short slides shows, books, photographs, plants or any plant related object that has a story attached. At the Zoology Benham Building, 346 Great King Street, behind the Zoology car park by the Captain Cook Hotel. Use the main entrance of the Benham Building to get in and go to the Benham Seminar Room, Rm. 215, 2nd floor. Please be prompt as we have to hold the door open.

Plant-environment interactions: plant strategies and applications

A talk by Dr Rainer Hoffman, Lincoln University, Christchurch. A Department of Botany Lunchtime Seminar. In their natural environment, plants are exposed to a wide spectrum of environmental variables, including peak levels of ultraviolet (UV) radiation in summer, limited availability of water and nutrients, and many other abiotic and biotic factors. While the effects of these variables can impose considerable stress on plants, frequently they can also contribute to cross-tolerance. In many of these cases, flavonoids have been implicated as biochemical mediators. Our findings highlight the importance of UV radiation-mediated flavonoid production for preconditioning plants to better cope with other environmental variables such as drought. Our results are in line with plant strategy theory, indicating that investment into biochemical protection can come at a cost for primary productivity. The findings provide new avenues for plant improvement and crop production via the selection of productive germplasm that contains key protective metabolites to balance trade-offs between plant productivity and stress resistance. Applications of this knowledge in viticulture and oenology are also discussed. Note: Special time, day and Venue: Benham Seminar Room, Zoology Department.

Field Trip to Shag Point

Rain date Monday 6th June (Queen's Birthday holiday). Meet at the Botany Department car park at 9.00 a.m.

Antioxidative strategies of intertidal macroalgae to radiation stress

A talk by Dr Ralf Rautenberger, DGF Postdoctoral Fellow, Dept of Botany, University of Otago. A Department of Botany Lunchtime Seminar. Note: Special time and Venue: Union St Lecture Theatre, Cnr Union St West & Great King St

Botany of the North Hector Range

A talk by John Barkla. After the summer camp a joint Wellington and Otago Botanical Society group traversed the northern Hector Mountains from The Remarkables Skifield to Lake Hope. John will give an illustrated talk on that trip and the diverse botany of the Hector Mountains. At the Zoology Benham Building, 346 Great King Street, behind the Zoology car park by the Captain Cook Hotel. Use the main entrance of the Benham Building to get in and go to the Benham Seminar Room, Rm. 215, 2nd floor. Please be prompt as we have to hold the door open.