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Reposted by Nic Rawlence

the Juice Media @thejuicemedia.com · 4h

The Government of New Zealand has made a new tourism ad and it's surprsingly honest and informative!

Honest Government Ad | Visit New Zealand!

YouTube video by thejuicemedia

www.youtube.com

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Reposted by Nic Rawlence

Dr Alex Bond @thelabandfield.bsky.social · 1h

Well, it's official. After our paper last year (onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....), the Slender-billed Curlew is officially declared Extinct today.

Scientists dream of describing new species, not writing their obituary and epitaph, knowing that they are gone forever #ornithology

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Reposted by Nic Rawlence

Society of Vertebrate Paleontology @societyofvertpaleo.bsky.social · 7h

SVP President @stuartsumida.bsky.social speaks to Open Access Government about the importance of vertebrate paleontology and science in the United States.

www.openaccessgovernment.org/the-importan...

The importance of palaeontology, Earth history, and science

The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology discusses the significance of paleontology, Earth history and science in this insightful opinion piece

www.openaccessgovernment.org

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Nic Rawlence @nicrawlencenz.bsky.social · 3h

I welcome @auchmill.bsky.social "commitment ... to make this process as transparent as we can and respect the needs and mana of our people" & hope Te Papa has learnt the lessons of the last restructure & how it went so badly wrong theconversation.com/taxonomy-the... 3/3

Taxonomy, the science of naming things, is under threat

Taxonomists are becoming as rare as some of the species they work on, and this puts museum collections and conservation efforts under threat and increases the risk of biosecurity incursions.

theconversation.com

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Nic Rawlence @nicrawlencenz.bsky.social · 3h

Seven years ago we launched an international campaign to save natural history & archaeology at Te Papa. Aotearoa & the scientific world is watching once again. Will we have to relaunch our campaign? I seriously hope not. blogs.otago.ac.nz/lost-worlds/... 2/3

Critically endangered but not lost: the fight to save Te Papa’s collections from extinction – Lost Worlds, Vanished Lives

blogs.otago.ac.nz

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Nic Rawlence @nicrawlencenz.bsky.social · 3h

Here we go again 😡. I'm really concerned about this & that the mistakes of the previous disastrous restructure seven years ago will be repeated. A museum is much more than its buildings. It's people that matter. Is central government going to properly fund Te Papa? www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa... 1/3

Te Papa announces plans for restructure in an effort to cut rising costs

It comes after the museum started charging international visitors to the site due to rising costs of energy, insurance and staffing.

www.rnz.co.nz

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Adam Markham @adammarkham.bsky.social · 1d

Fascinating new isotopic analysis of avian diets in the transition to East Polynesian settlement in pre-contact Aotearoa NZ, including several now extinct birds & some important bone re-identifications. Great stuff!
#archaeobirds #zooarchaeology🏺🌏 globe🌐 🪶
newzealandecology.org/nzje/3616 🧵👇

Nic Rawlence @nicrawlencenz.bsky.social · 1d

We analysed the chemical signatures of diet from ancient bird bones discovered at Harwood on the Otago Peninsula & compared these to previously published bird diets from the early Māori site of Wairau Bar in Marlborough. Spot the ancient bird bone in the picture below 3/6

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New Zealand Ecological Society @newzealandecology.bsky.social · 1d

📢 New publication in NZJE!

Reconstructing ecological niche and feeding ecology of pre-contact New Zealand avifauna from Harwood, Otago Peninsula 🪶

Lead author: Nic Rawlence
@nicrawlencenz.bsky.social
@atennyson.bsky.social

newzealandecology.org/nzje/3616

Reconstructing ecological niche and feeding ecology of pre-contact New Zealand avifauna from Harwood, Otago Peninsula | NZES

newzealandecology.org

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Reposted by Nic Rawlence

Nic Rawlence @nicrawlencenz.bsky.social · 1d

With more than a quarter of New Zealand’s native birds now extinct, our study sheds new light on how birds once lived & adapted in a changing environment after human settlement. 6/6

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Reposted by Nic Rawlence

Nic Rawlence @nicrawlencenz.bsky.social · 1d

Intriguingly, while the extinct matapu New Zealand swan spent more time on land than the kakīānau black swan present today, its diet was similarly tied to freshwater & marine sources. 5/6

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Reposted by Nic Rawlence

Nic Rawlence @nicrawlencenz.bsky.social · 1d

While many species ate much the same as they do today, others – including the pārera grey duck, pūtangitangi paradise shelduck, kawau tikitiki spotted shag, & tarāpuka & tarāpunga black & red-billed gulls – showed signs of different regional diets in the past. 4/6

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Reposted by Nic Rawlence

Nic Rawlence @nicrawlencenz.bsky.social · 1d

We analysed the chemical signatures of diet from ancient bird bones discovered at Harwood on the Otago Peninsula & compared these to previously published bird diets from the early Māori site of Wairau Bar in Marlborough. Spot the ancient bird bone in the picture below 3/6

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Reposted by Nic Rawlence

Nic Rawlence @nicrawlencenz.bsky.social · 1d

Our new study uncovers what native birds in Aotearoa New Zealand were eating around the time of human arrival 750 years ago. 2/6

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Nic Rawlence @nicrawlencenz.bsky.social · 1d

Check out our new paper led by Rebecca Kinaston & I in @newzealandecology.bsky.social newzealandecology.org/nzje/3616. Thanks for inviting me to be a part of this study Rebecca - with Jill Hamel, Chris Lalas, Amy Adams, @atennyson.bsky.social, Richard Walter & Michael Richards 1/6

Reconstructing ecological niche and feeding ecology of pre-contact New Zealand avifauna from Harwood, Otago Peninsula | NZES

newzealandecology.org

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Reposted by Nic Rawlence

Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 1d

Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE

nyti.ms

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Nic Rawlence @nicrawlencenz.bsky.social · 1d

With more than a quarter of New Zealand’s native birds now extinct, our study sheds new light on how birds once lived & adapted in a changing environment after human settlement. 6/6

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Nic Rawlence @nicrawlencenz.bsky.social · 1d

Intriguingly, while the extinct matapu New Zealand swan spent more time on land than the kakīānau black swan present today, its diet was similarly tied to freshwater & marine sources. 5/6

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Nic Rawlence @nicrawlencenz.bsky.social · 1d

While many species ate much the same as they do today, others – including the pārera grey duck, pūtangitangi paradise shelduck, kawau tikitiki spotted shag, & tarāpuka & tarāpunga black & red-billed gulls – showed signs of different regional diets in the past. 4/6

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Nic Rawlence @nicrawlencenz.bsky.social · 1d

We analysed the chemical signatures of diet from ancient bird bones discovered at Harwood on the Otago Peninsula & compared these to previously published bird diets from the early Māori site of Wairau Bar in Marlborough. Spot the ancient bird bone in the picture below 3/6

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Nic Rawlence @nicrawlencenz.bsky.social · 1d

Our new study uncovers what native birds in Aotearoa New Zealand were eating around the time of human arrival 750 years ago. 2/6

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Nic Rawlence @nicrawlencenz.bsky.social · 1d

Check out our new paper led by Rebecca Kinaston & I in @newzealandecology.bsky.social newzealandecology.org/nzje/3616. Thanks for inviting me to be a part of this study Rebecca - with Jill Hamel, Chris Lalas, Amy Adams, @atennyson.bsky.social, Richard Walter & Michael Richards 1/6

Reconstructing ecological niche and feeding ecology of pre-contact New Zealand avifauna from Harwood, Otago Peninsula | NZES

newzealandecology.org

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Reposted by Nic Rawlence

Tammy Steeves @testeeves.bsky.social · 2d

What are the ‘social dimensions’ of moving species for conservation and why does engaging with them matter?

This is the focus of our new paper doi.org/10.1016/j.tr... published in @cp-trendsecolevo.bsky.social olevo.bsky.social led by ever talented @aisrayne.bsky.social

📷 Kevin Parker

Whimsical photo of a karure | kakaruia | Chatham Island black robin courtesy of Kevin Parker. Features as a wee black bird with four leg bands: white over orange on the left leg and red over white on the right leg. Sneaky tufts of feathers peak out from otherwise borb-like body, encouraged by the unseen wind.

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Reposted by Nic Rawlence

Te Ara Paerangi Com - Research Advocacy Capability @te-ara-paerangi.community · 2d

We'd love to have a huge turn out for Nic's talk. Please help spread the word. There are downloadable pdf adverts in the link below. They can be emailed or printed. If you work in a public space (e.g. Library) you could help by printing and posting one of the flyers. Ngā mihi nui!

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Nic Rawlence @nicrawlencenz.bsky.social · 3d

These talks are next week. It would be good to see you all there bsky.app/profile/nicr...

Nic Rawlence @nicrawlencenz.bsky.social · 9d

I have a double bill of public talks coming up on MythBusting de-extinction to sort fact from fiction. It will be good to see you all there. On Tues 14th Oct 11am-12.30pm NZ time I'll be giving an online talk with Genomics for Aotearoa NZ. You can register here (otago.zoom.us/webinar/regi...) 1/2

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Reposted by Nic Rawlence

Nic Rawlence @nicrawlencenz.bsky.social · 3d

These talks are next week. It would be good to see you all there bsky.app/profile/nicr...

Nic Rawlence @nicrawlencenz.bsky.social · 9d

A few days later, on Thurs 16th Oct 4-5pm NZ time I'll be giving an online talk with the NZ Science Learning Hub. You can register for the talk here (www.sciencelearn.org.nz/events/slh-m...) 2/2

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