Wetlands are an important part of the Ramsar Convention (RC) and Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF), which is a significant agreement committing 196 countries (the United States is not a participant of KM-GBF) to a reduction and halting of the loss of biodiversity by 2030. In comparison to the broadly focused KM-GBF, goals of RC (172 contracting parties) are wetlands-focused such as “wise use” and protecti...

Despite the absence of cuttlefish in Aotearoa New Zealand waters, cuttlebones and cuttlebone fragments have been reported and collected in the country since the early twentieth century. Not all could be reliably identified. As such, here we review all cuttlebone material collected from New Zealand shores available in natural history collections, as well as literature and online records. Species were identified, through morphol...

We analysed nine microsatellite markers for 260 individuals representing Sophora tomentosa and 15 species from across the geographic range of Sophora sect. Edwardsia . The purpose of the study was to characterise the Sophora species from Pacific Ocean islands and South America and determine their relationships to the eight New Zealand species, with relationships of the extinct Rapa Nui/Easter Island S. toromiro a particular fo...

Past studies of Sophora sect. Edwardsia using traditional phylogenetic and population genetic markers have been unable to produce a resolved species phylogeny of this recent radiation of shrubs and trees. Here we examined the relationships within and between the New Zealand species of Sophora sect. Edwardsia using next‐generation sequencing. We generated genome‐wide SNP data with double‐digest restriction site‐associated DNA s...

The spread of multidrug-resistance in Gram-negative bacterial pathogens presents a major clinical challenge, and new approaches are required to combat these organisms. Nitric oxide (NO) is a well-known antimicrobial that is produced by the immune system in response to infection, and numerous studies have demonstrated that NO is a respiratory inhibitor with both bacteriostatic and bactericidal properties. However, given that lo...

Simulation models represent soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics in global carbon (C) cycle scenarios to support climate‐change studies. It is imperative to increase confidence in long‐term predictions of SOC dynamics by reducing the uncertainty in model estimates. We evaluated SOC simulated from an ensemble of 26 process‐based C models by comparing simulations to experimental data from seven long‐term bare‐fallow (vegetation‐fr...

Coprolites (fossilized faeces) can provide valuable insights into species’ diet and related habits. In archaeozoological contexts, they are a potential source of information on human-animal interactions as well as human and animal subsistence. However, despite a broad discussion on coprolites in archaeology, such finds are rarely subject to detailed examination by researchers, perhaps due to the destructive nature of tradition...

We examined the phylogenetic relationships within Sophora sect. Edwardsia using DNA sequences from the chloroplast trnQ‐5′rps16 and trnH GUG ‐psbA intergenic spacers and the nuclear‐encoded chloroplast‐expressed glutamine synthetase gene. Sequences were analysed with median‐joining networks and phylogenetic approaches. Low sequence diversity was detected, which is consistent with past genetic studies of the section. Chloroplas...

We examined the origins of Sophora seeds collected from the beaches of the Kermadec and Chatham Islands using chloroplast DNA sequencing and comparison with published sequences of known provenance. Sophora does not grow on the Kermadec Islands but two species grow on the Chatham Islands, both in low numbers. All seeds sequenced were confirmed to be from Sophora sect. Edwardsia . Several seeds exhibited novel DNA sequences that...

Aim To date, there have been few studies investigating the phylogeography of forest trees that are widely distributed in New Zealand. Our main objective was to examine the phylogeographic distribution of chloroplast DNA from New Zealand Sophora trees with respect to known biogeographical regions, proposed refugia and species boundaries. A second objective was to investigate the origins of the southern and Chatham Island popula...

The filmy fern Hymenophyllum pumilio was described in 1911 from a single collection made during 1910 from New Caledonia. It was not recorded again until its rediscovery during an expedition to New Caledonia in 2012. In the interim, it was synonymised in 2007 with Hymenophyllum minimum , which had been regarded as endemic to New Zealand. After comparing the new collections with H. minimum from New Zealand, we reinstate H. pumil...

Future human well‐being under climate change depends on the ongoing delivery of food, fibre and wood from the land‐based primary sector. The ability to deliver these provisioning services depends on soil‐based ecosystem services (e.g. carbon, nutrient and water cycling and storage), yet we lack an in‐depth understanding of the likely response of soil‐based ecosystem services to climate change. We review the current knowledge o...