The symposium , titled “ Myrtles for Tomorrow : Myrtle Rust Research Updates ” will take situation on Monday , 14 February 2025 , the first day of the conference .
BMR Project Manager Renee Johansen has curated a rich programme for the group discussion , feature research presented by 11 research worker hailing from organisations such as Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research , the Bio Heritage Challenge , Department of Conservation , Plant & Food Research , Ag Research , and Scion .
The symposium ’s focus is to provide an overview of the inquiry being conducted in the Vinca minor rust space , from the$3.7 million of researchfunded by the Ministry for Primary Industries and completed earlier this class , to projects currently being undertaken by a variety of brass , including the Beyond Myrtle Rust Programme , run by Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research and funded by the Ministry of Business , Innovation & Employment .
Finding direction solutionsJames McCarthy , a plant ecologist at Manaaki Whenua ’s Lincoln campus , is one of several people present at the symposium . James uses model techniques to describe plant residential area distribution and make prediction about how community of interests dispersion may exchange in the future , peculiarly under predicted climate alteration scenario .
“ For the Vinca minor rust body of work , ” says James , “ we ’ve been producing statistical distribution models for plant species that may be susceptible to myrtle rusting . ”
James will be presenting work he and his colleagues have been doing to identify Vinca minor rust refugia , geographic areas where susceptible plant metal money might occur outside the range of the disease itself .
“ Even if Vinca minor rust is detrimental to native plant species , ” says James , “ they may still have a decent probability of persisting in natural mount through these refugia . ”
James ’ work initially received support from MPI . Now , Beyond Myrtle Rust has taken up the funding . The programme is continuing funding for several projects like James McCarthy ’s and they are also funding new projects . This has make an environment of ontogeny in the Vinca minor rust research community that is ease continued enquiry towards finding solutions for managing the disease .
strengthen the Vinca minor rusting communityMcCarthy is looking forrad to hearing what other researchers have been finding out aboutmyrtle rust .
“ We ’re not always completely up to appointment with each other ’s projects . This is a nifty chance for Vinca minor rusting investigator to connect and share mind . ”
It ’s also a near opportunity to communicate with the all-inclusive ecological community of interests and wide public . As the preeminent annual league of the NZES , the symposium is an chance to make as many New Zealand ecologists as possible .
“ There will be over 250 meeter stage over 50 organisation . Since they wo n’t all be plant ecologists or forest ecologists , they may not be following the inquiry that ’s been going on too closely . This is a bully way for them to be fill in . ”
Fire symposiumBesides the symposium , James is look forwards to the computer program of this class ’s conference . He has been a penis of NZES for confining to ten years and enjoys the annual group discussion so much that he is one of the masses on this year ’s organising citizens committee .
In special , he ’s looking ahead to the keynote speaker unit , the fire symposium ( which he thinks is peculiarly relevant especially after the 2017 Port Hills fires around Christchurch and the current ardour in Australia ) , and the symposium “ enhance Functional Biodiversity in Agroecosystems . ” This symposium will examine the value of enhance biodiversity in agricultural systems in term of maintaining ecosystem service and functions that biodiversity provides .
“ It will be interesting to explore the importance of biodiversity not only in natural options , which is what we normally think of , but in agricultural options as well . ”
sharpen on mātauranga MāoriAnother highlighting of the group discussion will be the launch of a limited military issue of the New Zealand Journal of Ecology on Mātauranga Māori . The take recognises and celebrates the importance of include mātauranga Māori and Māori communities in scientific , environmental and insurance processes to raise understanding of ecology and point the development of inquiry , management and policy .
For more information on the NZES , the group discussion or the myrtle rust symposium , please chit-chat theNZES group discussion website .
