New Zealand Ecological Society

29/09/2026

📢 Early bird registrations for close today!!! Get in quick and register below. It's going to be a great one 👀

We are excited to welcome you to the joint Te Aka Toro | New Zealand Ecological Society (NZES) and the Society for Conservation Biology Oceania (SCBO) 2026 Conference. 

24/09/2026

Interesting!

24/09/2026

Enjoy this free open access article from the Restoration Ecology Journal: Restoration and rehabilitation of floodplain wetlands: a systematic, global review of restoration options and their outcomes. Access it here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/rec.70458

SER members receive full access to Restoration Ecology, click here to learn more about our member benefits: https://www.ser.org/page/membership-benefits

22/09/2026

🐠 Tautoko Genetics master’s graduate Ashleigh Iwikau (Ngāti Tūwharetoa), who has discovered a “secret” gene that enables a species of whitebait to rapidly evolve.

“When was the last time humans evolved? A long time ago, I guess. But in some of the human-dammed lakes, galaxiids have evolved during the last 40 years. I wanted to understand why they changed so quickly,” Ashleigh says.

🎉 The answer was “jackpot individuals” – super-evolvers who are primed for whatever life throws at them.

“There are a bunch of genes to do with fecundity and musculature, that are all in a single chunk of the genome like a module."

🐡 Freshwater kōaro have the freshwater module, and migratory kōaro have the migratory module.

🧪 And Ashleigh discovered that some kōaro have both.

You can read the full story here 👇
https://www.otago.ac.nz/news/newsroom/whitebait-found-to-have-secret-weapon-for-fast-evolution

Zoology Department, University of Otago - new

18/09/2026

📢 A huge congratulations to the 2026 winners! 👏

● Barlow Scholarship:

💧Victoria Cantalapiedra Mateo (PhD, Victoria University of Wellington) - Impacts of CO2-driven freshwater acidification on microalgae and cyanobacteria

🦎 Jon Rolfes (PhD, University of Otago) - Ecology and conservation of endemic lizards on Rakiura

● Student Science Communication Grant:

🌿 Yeoh Su Min (PhD, Victoria University of Wellington)

🌿 Jimi Webb (MSc, University of Auckland)

● Student Research Grants:

🔥 Ella Court (MSc, University of Otago) - Fiery Foes: The impact of fire on lizards and introduced mammalian predators in Aotearoa New Zealand

🌱Rae Lerew (PhD, University of Otago) - Investigating the Taxonomic Status of Ranunculus ‘Hope’ and R.‘Burgoo’ (Ranunculaceae) – Threatened Buttercups in Northwest Nelson

🌳Sylvia Orr (MSc, University of Auckland) - Ecology of Auckland gumlands

🦎 Sophie Whittall (MSc, Unitec) - Returning niho taniwha to Aotea / Great Barrier Island: Movement, habitat use and site establishment of Oligosoma homalonotum following a winter and spring translocation.

15/09/2026

DNA analysis of introduced predator stomachs shows their broad diets include native mosses, orchids, plus freshwater crayfish, eels and fish.

12/09/2026

Some amazing work here! So good for raising awareness about lesser known threatened species. Bring on an NZ version?! 😄

11/08/2026

Last day for abstract submission today!

We are excited to welcome you to the joint Te Aka Toro | New Zealand Ecological Society (NZES) and the Society for Conservation Biology Oceania (SCBO) 2026 Conference. 

10/08/2026

📢 Reminder! Abstract submission for in Tāmaki Makaurau closes on Wednesday (12th August). There is still time to submit! ⏰️

The theme is 'Changing the Conversation - Ecology in a Shifting Political Landscape.'

Abstracts may be submitted under a general theme, or to one of the confirmed symposia. More information about the symposia, and abstract submission at the link below 🌿

We are excited to welcome you to the joint Te Aka Toro | New Zealand Ecological Society (NZES) and the Society for Conservation Biology Oceania (SCBO) 2026 Conference. 

30/07/2026