SMC Heads-Up: 'Big Dry' continues, whale strandings and NZ's
capacity for people
Issue 222
15-21 March 2013
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Drought
declared across North Is.
A state of drought has been officially
declared throughout the entire North Island by the Minister
for Primary Industries Nathan Guy.
The
declaration allows farmers access to assistance payments and
provides extra funding to Rural Support trusts.
"This is a difficult time for rural families and they need to know that the Government and all New Zealanders are behind them," said Mr Guy.
Fortunately some respite appears to be on the way. Met Service Meteorologist Daniel Corbett has noted that an approaching trough from the Tasman Sea "is likely to bring rain to most places by the end of the weekend".
The expected rainfall will not be enough to make up the large rainfall deficits in many places but it will be a "good step in the right direction".
Climate connection
A
drought Q&A on the ministry
website includes the question: "Is it true that we can
expect more droughts because of climate change?" The
answer provided doesn't pull any punches:
"In short, yes."
The role of climate change has not been overlooked in coverage of the drought conditions, with a flurry of media reports exploring the issue more closely earlier in the week. Two recent op-ed articles from climate scientists (Jim Salinger and James Renwick) also highlight the increased potential for future droughts with warming global temperature.
"The message is clear: nature is showing the trend towards a future where major droughts are more common," concludes Dr Salinger's article in the NZ Herald.
"Those involved in land based industries will need to adapt their decisions and management to fit the trends towards more water and soil moisture deficiency in a warmer world."
A picture paints a thousand
words
Both the Dominion Post and the
New Zealand Herald have featured satellite
images comparing the currently parched North Island with
greener pastures from this time last year.
On
the science radar...
Mars moisture, fungi plastics, antibiotic apocalypse, mummified heart problems, and the rise of the twitter tribes.
What is NZ's sustainable population?
This question is at the core of two emerging issues papers released
today by the Royal Society of New Zealand. And the answer is
far from simple.
Seeking to move past the
simple dichotomy of economy vs environment, the papers
highlight the complex links between the differing values of
New Zealanders and the trade-offs we must make in terms of
wellbeing, the economy and environment.
The first paper, The Sustainable Carrying Capacity of New Zealand, examines the how living standards, lifestyles, income, well-being, and environmental impact interact for New Zealanders. The concept of 'carrying capacity' is also raised; what population of people can the country sustainably support?
The paper ultimately concedes that complexities around wellbeing, technology and sustainability mean "defining an upper human population density for New Zealand's sustainable carrying capacity with any precision is not possible, although it must be considered in analyses of the ecological future of New Zealand."
The second paper, Constraints to New Zealand's Sustainable Wellbeing, explores a number of areas where the issue of sustainability is a factor and that might constrain our ability to create ever-more well-being: climate change, food production, water quality, native biodiversity, transport and fisheries.
The Society's Chief Executive, Dr Di McCarthy, summed up the issue stating, "The use of our land, water and other resources, and our levels of well being and prosperity are not simple tradeoffs between the economy and the environment. Instead, the relationships are complex and interwoven."
The
emerging issues papers were launched at a discussion seminar this afternoon in
Wellington.
Whale
strandings not a family affair
New
research questions the theory that mass whale strandings are
the result of family members coming to the aid of their
beached kin.One of the leading hypotheses as to
why whales strand in groups relies on family ties; when one
whale beaches, family members are also drawn into the
shallows as they attempt to rescue it.
Now a new study published today in the Journal of Heredity questions this explanation, using genetic data to describe the kinship of individual long-finned pilot whales involved in mass strandings in New Zealand and Tasmania. Researchers from New Zealand, the US and Australia analysed genetic links between samples from almost 500 stranded whales.
They found that stranded groups are not necessarily members of one extended family, evidence that contradicts the hypothesis that stranding groups all descend from a single ancestral mother. Further, many stranded calves were found with no mother in evidence.
"If kinship-based social dynamics were playing a critical role in these pilot whale strandings, first, we would expect to find that the individuals in a stranding event are, in fact, all related to each other," explained lead author Marc Oremus of the University of Auckland.
The results of this study have important implications for rescue efforts aimed at "refloating" stranded whales. "Often, stranded calves are refloated with the nearest mature females, under the assumption that this is the mother," explained co-author Scott Baker from Oregon State University.
"Well-intentioned rescuers hope that
refloating a mother and calf together will prevent
re-stranding. Unfortunately, the nearest female might not be
the mother of the calf. Our results caution against making
rescue decisions based only on this assumption."
You can listen to a Radio NZ interview with Prof Baker here, and
information on whale strandings in New Zealand can be found
at ProjectJonah.org.nz.
Quoted:
Marlborough Express
"So
it's time to stop arguing about climate change and instead
start making plans about how we are going to manage
it"
- Editorial on
current drought conditions
Take your science to the Gulf
If you think you
have a science event, exhibit or performance to take to the
Abu Dhabi Science Festival, have a look at the festival's call for
applications.
The Edinburgh International Science
Festival (EISF) is looking for potential shows, workshops
and exhibitions to take to the Middle East.
After two highly successful years working with
the Abu Dhabi Science Festival,
festival organisers are looking internationally for anyone
with an engaging science event which could be operated in
the Gulf Region (Sep-Dec 2013).
New from the SMC
Penguin plight: Scientist are concerned for the survival of yellow-eyed penguin populations in Otago following the deaths of more 50 of the birds from an as-yet-unidentified toxin or disease.
The big dry: Scientists
have offered insight on the current drought conditions and
outlook for the future. Read a round up of media coverage. Callaghan
Innovation:
Reflections on Science:
Sciblogs highlights
Some of the highlights from this week's posts:
Antarctic voyage: Back in Wellington
- The scientists and crew onboard the RV
Tangaroa return from their expedition to Antarctic waters,
concluding weeks of daily blogging.
Field
Work
Water governance and the RMA -
Steve Couper, President of Water New Zealand, asks some
tough questions about how the Resource Management Act looks
after the country's water.
Waiology
Happy WKD - In honour of World
Kidney Day John Pickering offers some well wishes as well
highlightig some fresh developments in the world of
nephrology.
Kidney Punch
Bill English's weasel words on weather,
climate and drought - Gareth renowden calls
Bill English out on some fast and loose climate talk in the
chambers of parliment.
Hot Topic
Trusting Secret Data: Dunedin edition
- Eric Crampton notes further criticism of the
Dunedin Longitudinal study's causal cannabis-IQ link and
calls for opening up the data.
Research highlights
Please note: hyperlinks point, where possible, to the relevant abstract or paper.
Facebook 'likes' a giveaway:
New research shows that surprisingly accurate
estimates of Facebook users' race, age, IQ, sexuality,
personality, substance use and political views can be
inferred from automated analysis of only their Facebook
Likes - information currently publicly available by default.
For example, the study found liking 'Kurt Cobain' was
associated with neuroticism and liking 'curly fries' was
oddly linked to high IQ. Smart phone game brain boost:
Quitting benefits tip the
scales: Coronavirus weak spot?:
Roller derby microbe mixup:
PNAS
PLOS ONE
JAMA
Nature
PeerJ
Policy
updates
Some of the policy highlights from this week:
Callaghan CEO: Dr Mary Quin has been announced as the inaugural Chief Executive of Callaghan Innovation.
Chch
innovation precinct: The government is seeking
firms interested in getting in on the groundfloor of a
planned Christchurch Innovation Precinct, issuing a
request for proposals this
week.
Upcoming sci-tech
events
• Evolution of Human Languages -
Public lecture series from Mark Pagel (UK) - 15 March,
Wellington; 18, Dunedin; 20, Christchurch.
• Brain Day - supported by the
Neurological Foundation of NZ - 16 March, Auckland &
Dunedin.
• Butterflies Conference - 16-17
March, Auckland.
• The sights and smells of close
relationships - Lecture from Prof Jon Maner
(US) - 20 March, Dunedin.
• The Ultimate Balancing Act -
Sustainability panel discussion chaired by Kim Hill - 20
March, Lincoln.
• Sugar and human health, a controversy
revisited yet again - Public lecture from Dr
Lisa Te Morenga and Prof Jim Mann - 21 March, Dunedin.
For these and more upcoming events, and more
details about them, visit the SMC's Events Calendar.
ENDS