Past Events

Cyanobacteria: how these resilient 'blue-green algae' adapt to diverse environments

Botany Department - Special Guest Lecture. A talk by Dr Tina Summerfield, Department of Biochemistry, University of Otago. Union Street Lecture Theatre.

Potassium and stress plants

Botany Department - Special Guest Lecture. A talk by Dr Tracey Cuin, School of Agricultural Science, University of Tasmania. Union Street Lecture Theatre.

Tales of transposition and transcription: The pathway to purple grapes

Botany Department - Special Guest Lecture. A talk by Dr Molly Cadle-Davidson, Grape Genetics Research Unit, USA Dept of Agriculture - Agriculture Research Service. Union Street Lecture Theatre.

Flora of the Forties and Fifties: Subantarctic Plants.

An illustrated talk by Lorna Little. Lorna voyaged with Heritage expeditions to the Subantarctic Islands in February this year, coming across many interesting plants, only some of which were recognisable. This talk portrays some of the fascinating flora that can be found in these, technically, South Pacific islands. It will begin, like her trip, with the plants on the furtherest island, Campbell Island. Auckland and Enderby Islands will follow, finishing up with a sampling of the the flora of the Snares Islands. 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 Varleys Hill

The QEII covenant at Varleys Hill on the Otago Peninsula includes a small salt meadow, lowland broadleaf forest, large areas of kanuka, and a hill top shrubland. Since farm stock were excluded 15 years ago, the broadleaf understory has recovered rapidly and a variety of ferns are present under the kanuka canopy. Moira Parker will show us around the covenant and we may also visit a second nearby covenant.

The expanding range of Undaria in Southern New Zealand

A talk by Dr Lisa Russell. Very few studies have addressed how the invasive kelp Undaria pinnatifida spreads beyond initial founding populations in harbours. Our surveys of the southern coastline of the South Island demonstrate that contrary to common belief, Undaria is capable of invading native kelp communities on wave exposed coastlines. Results from these surveys and potential impacts will be discussed. 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 Tavora Reserve, North Otago

Tavora is a coastal reserve near Palmerston managed by the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust. The Trust has done extensive riparian planting and has also transformed the previously marram covered dunes into a showcase of pingao with many associated threatened species including shore spurge, Cooks scurvy grass and sand tussock. The reserve also has natural populations of the uncommon Aciphylla subflabellata, Lepidium tenuicaule, and Tupeia antarctica mistletoe hemi-parasitic on ribbonwood trees. Well do an easy walking circuit of the reserve that takes in all the highlights.

Botanical "Show and tell" evening

Members are invited to bring along botanical items (for example, photographs and slides, plants, books, seeds anything botanical that you'd like to show others!) for a show and tell evening. 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 Kurinui, North Otago

Kurinui is a 750 ha privately-owned property between Hampden and Dunback. It includes a variety of habitats including forest, shrubland, scrub, and grassland, and several small streams and wetlands. The land is very dissected and is notable for the presence of large rock outcrops. All stock were removed from the property in 2003 to allow recovery and regeneration of native vegetation. Over time it is expected that most of the land will become covered in forest, as it would have been in pre-human times. We will spend the day exploring the property with the guidance of the owners, Scott and Dinah Dunavan.

An evening of Botanical Photography and AGM.

Following on from last years successful formula we have again lured renowned photographers Rod Morris, Peter Johnson and Kelvin Lloyd back to judge our second BSO photographic competition following a brief AGM. Entries will be on display, photographic tips given and prizes presented. It's not too late to enter. Entries close 31 March, 5 p.m. See BSO website or notice board for entry forms. 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 Mt Watkin

Mt Watkin is well known for its volcanic summit and associated rock glaciers but it is less well appreciated that the recently created Mt Watkin Scenic Reserve contains some of the best stands of dry matai-totara/ribbonwood forest in coastal Otago. This BSO trip will concentrate on some of the forest areas, and will include a visit to a magnificent cliff overlooking the Waikouaiti River. Participants should be reasonably fit as a degree of walking will be required to visit the most interesting sites. Alternative date in case of rain, Sunday 30. Leader Kelvin Lloyd ph 473 9566 (h) or 477 2096 (w).

Chatham Island Places & Plants

A talk by Dr Peter Johnson. Peter has been on the Chatham Islands Conservation Board since 1999. He's made numerous trips to the island group, each time seeking out a new corner to explore. Wetlands are a particular focus and Peter is busy preparing a handbook on those. He's also led two botanical tours there with strong support from Botsoc members. This talk may be the inspiration for your own visit! 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.

Free BSO BBQ!

BBQ to welcome new botany/ecology students and new BSO members. At the front lawn, Botany House Annex, Great King Street (across the road from the main Botany building). Sausage sandwiches and drinks provided free by the Botanical Society of Otago. All current and prospective BSO members welcome!

Cliff ecology

A talk by Prof. Ulf Molau. Prof. Molau is an Otago University William Evans Fellow from the Department of Environmental Science, Goteborg University, Sweden. Cliffs are perhaps best regarded as an azonal biome of its own, and the ecosystems depend much more on bedrock chemistry, weathering, and solar radiation than on air temperature. Cliff species tend to have wide distribution areas, but are notoriously rare and occur as permanently fragmented populations. 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.

The Peatland /Ice Age hypothesis, and a possible glacial pulse initiation trigger

NOTE special day. A talk by Professor Lars Franzén, Earth Sciences Centre, Göteborg University, Sweden. In early December, Prof Franzén, will be visiting southern NZ to sample peat bogs. He is an ecologist/geologist, and one of the two leading scientists advocating the idea that entrapment of carbon dioxide into peat in bogs is the main cause of ice ages. 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. An end-of-year BSO dinner will follow this talk, at a restaurant to be decided. If you would like to go to dinner, email Robyn Bridges by 30 November 2007.