Travel in New Zealand; kelp forests, natural history and study abroad

opportunities.

In 1983, as a newly graduated biology student I spent eight months travelling and volunteering in the

southern hemisphere. Much of that volunteer work was conducted at marine labs – it was an experience

that profoundly affected my career choices. From February 19th – April 9th I retraced some of this

journey when I visited and worked with colleagues in New Zealand. I visited the University of Auckland

and Leigh Marine Labs, the University of Otago (Portobello Marine Lab) and a colleague at the University

of Canterbury. In addition I investigated the opportunities available to VIU students for research and

study and explored New Zealand’s unique flora and fauna.

The temporal juxtaposition of the Austral summer to our Boreal winter creates ideal research and study

abroad opportunities. VIU students, in their third year could complete their fall semester at VIU, travel

to New Zealand and participate in a research internship in January and part of February and then

complete a semester of study in New Zealand returning home in time to find summer work and their

final fall semester at VIU.

University of Auckland and Leigh Marine Labs.

At the University of Auckland Dr. Mary Sewell (School of Biological Sciences) was my host while Dr. Nick

Shear (Department of Statistics) was my host at Leigh Marine Labs (which is operated by the University

of Auckland). Both facilities are well situated to host students studying abroad.

At the University of Auckland I met with a number of faculty members working on projects with direct

application to my own research and interests. I spent time meeting with graduate students and gave a

seminar in the Ecology Series on my research on the evolutionary effects of sea otter predation.

Leigh Marine Lab is located in the rural community of Leigh about 2

hours north of Auckland. During my time at Leigh I assisted a number

of graduate students and colleagues with their work on kelp forest

ecosystems. The marine lab adjoins Goat Island Marine Reserve which

was one of the world’s first no-take marine reserves. I visited the

marine reserve as a student volunteer in 1983, eight years after the

reserve was established. At that time the reserve was dominated by

sea urchins, kelp and fisher were relatively rare. In the absence of

fishing, the reserve has undergone a dramatic transformation, kelp is

abundant and schools of large fish are common. During my stay I had

the opportunity to dive at many of the locations I worked at in 1983.

In addition to volunteering on a variety of research projects I also gave

a seminar on the results of the long-term study of kelp forests and sea

otters conducted off the west coast of Vancouver Island, a system in

many ways analogous to that at Goat Island.

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Looking out to Hauraki Gulf from Leigh Labs Common dining area for students

There are excellent research and study opportunities for VIU students at the University of Auckland. The

university campus is located in downtown Auckland, which is a busy and cosmopolitan city of about 1.5

million people. It is a beautiful and vibrant city.

The University of Auckland’s Faculty of Science presently offers Summer Scholarships in New Zealand.

These scholarships offer high caliber 3rd and 4th year students the opportunity to conduct 8-10 weeks of

research, supervised by Science faculty at the University of Auckland. The scholarship offers students

NZ$5000 which covers the cost of accommodation and travel to New Zealand. Students can contact the

faculty they wish to work with by visiting an institutional web site that outlines available projects and

supervisors. Many of the research projects of interest to our students would take them to field sites

scattered about New Zealand. Scholarship students are provided with access to all institutional facilities

available to registered undergraduates. VIU students are eligible for this program; details are at

https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/for/current-students/cs-scholarships-and-awards/cs-summer-research-

scholarships.html

In addition to scholarship opportunities Leigh Marine Lab accepts volunteers. Free accommodation is

available but volunteers pay for their own travel and food. There is a communal kitchen available for

student volunteers. Volunteers are expected to stay for at least three weeks. This is the program I

enjoyed in 1983. Information is available at: http://www.marine.auckland.ac.nz/en/about/our-

institute/academic-visitors.html#1ab296e09ad387875733267b5dd79496

An undergraduate degree in New Zealand is completed in three years, meaning third year students from

VIU would register in 2nd and 3rd year courses. There are a wide range of courses, particularly in the area

of marine science that would fit well with the degree offered at VIU.

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Student dorms at Leigh Marine Lab Communal kitchen at Leigh Marine Lab

University of Canterbury

I visited Prof. David Schiel at the University of Canterbury, which is located in Christchurch on the South

Island of New Zealand. The city of Christchurch is still recovering from the earthquakes of 2010 – 2011

but the city has shown remarkable resilience, and although the destruction wrought by the earthquake

is evident, the city’s infrastructure, at least to the eyes of a visitor, is fully intact. The university offers an

outstanding Biology Degree. Discussions with Dr. Schiel suggest that the philosophical approach taken to

the ecology program at the University of Canterbury, matches well with the approach we use at VIU.

The University of Canterbury also offers summer research scholarships. These scholarships offer

students that have completed their third year the opportunity to pursue a variety of research projects.

The research is conducted in the Austral summer from November to February, so it would require that

VIU students take the fall and spring semester off from VIU, but could register for the Austral fall

semester at the U of C. The program offers students a NZ$5000 scholarship, which covers the cost of

travel and accommodation. Available projects are listed on the program website. The timeline of this

scholarship would require that a VIU student had already arranged to take the fall semester off, because

successful candidates are not announced until October, but for a student planning on travelling, or

enrolling at an institution in New Zealand the program has enormous potential. Details of the

scholarship are available at: http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/postgrad/summerschol.shtml

University of Otago

I visited Sally Carson at the New Zealand Marine Studies Centre at Portobello Marine Lab, which is run

by the University of Otago. Sally runs the public education program at the marine lab.

The University of Otago is located in Dunedin on the South Island of New Zealand. The campus, which is

145 years old is located downtown, and is a central part of the city with students making up about 20%

of the city’s population of about 120,000. Dunedin adjoins the Otago Peninsula, which is noted for its

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wild beauty and wildlife (see below). The Otago Peninsula is where the Portobello Marine Lab, the

marine research facility for the University of Otago, is located. In addition to the marine lab the

university has two field stations in spectacular locations: one on Stewart Island and the other in

Doubtful Sound, Fiordland.

Otago offers two programs of particular interest to VIU Biology and Fisheries and Aquaculture students.

The Marine Program offers a multidisciplinary degree in Marine Science in which students take courses

in four major areas Marine Biology, Marine Chemistry, Marine Geology and Physical Oceanography. The

Aquaculture and Fisheries program offers an applied science degree. Undergraduate degrees in New

Zealand take three years, so a student studying at Otago for a semester, would gain most from study

abroad if they were entering their third year. Information for students wishing to study abroad is at:

http://www.otago.ac.nz/international/studyabroad/.

The University of Otago does not offer summer research scholarships, but the public education program

employs volunteers many of whom are international students from North America. Volunteers usually

help with animal husbandry, communication work or specific projects, although volunteer research

positions exist. Volunteers are expected to commit to four weeks of work. Information is available at:

http://www.otago.ac.nz/marinestudies/about_us/volunteers.html. In addition to being able to

accommodate biology and fisheries students, Sally suggested that the public education program is very

well suited to education students who wish to volunteer as educators.

Portobello Marine Laboratory Research Vessel Pier at Portobello Labs

The Portobello Marine Lab Research Vessel Pier, Portobello Labs

The Otago Peninsula is well known for its spectacular wildlife. The peninsula is home to the only

“mainland” breeding colony of Royal Albatross. Both Blue and endangered Yellow eye Penguins breed

on the peninsula, and Southern Fur Seals and Hooker’s Sea Lions (endangered) haul out on many of the

peninsular beaches. Faculty members at the University of Otago are involved in studies of many of these

species.

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Yellow eye penguin – Otago Peninsula Hooker’s sea lion – Otago Peninsula

Natural History.

I also took time to explore New Zealand focusing on natural history. For an evolutionary biologist and

ecologist New Zealand is paradise and it is difficult not to recount at least one of New Zealand’s

remarkable evolutionary stories.

As an island (and isolated land mass) New Zealand has a globally unique flora and fauna; endemic

species abound. Many of these are species I discuss in the courses I teach. New Zealand’s biota has

ancient origins, dating back to when New Zealand split from the massive continent Gondwana. These

species include tree ferns (the same species were around when the dinosaurs roamed) that form

extensive forests and primitive reptiles such as the Tuatara; a lizard that retains a pineal eye – or light

sensitive organ on its head (the so-called third eye). New Zealand is most famous for its birds – which

evolved in an environment devoid of terrestrial mammals (except for two species of bat!). Evolution, in

the absence of mammalian predators, led to two common characters, flightlessness and gigantism.

Large flightless birds were common, and although many of these species are now extinct, they are well

known from their remains. There were, for example, at least 14 species of moa, a group of large

flightless birds that browsed on plants. In response to this tremendous grazing pressure (and other

environmental factors) many of New Zealand’s plants show a growth form called divarication – in which

plants have small leaves and flexible interlacing branches which protect the inner leaves from grazers

and the often harsh environment. Moa were common when the Polynesians first settled New Zealand

about 1000 years ago, however their flightlessness and a dependency on forests made them vulnerable

to overhunting and habitat change. The last of these remarkable birds is thought to have disappeared

about 400 years ago.

As an island New Zealand was the last significant land mass on earth to be settled by people. The

Polynesians encountered a fauna that was naïve to human exploitation, and brought with them useful

plants and animals (noteably the Polynesian rat and dog). When Europeans arrived in the 1700s they

encountered a landscape already altered by humans, but brought about a new phase of biological

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change and exploitation, introducing species from the northern temperate zones, increasing exploitation

rates, and further altering the land. The relatively recent settlement of New Zealand makes the study of

conservation biology fascinating – changes in the landscape are mostly well known, recent and

documented. As an island New Zeland has faced intense conservation challenges and many of the

conservation practices developed in New Zealand have been exported around the world. For example

rat control projects in Haida Gwaii and the Scott Islands are based on work pioneered on the offshore

islands of New Zealand.

It is one thing to read about natural history in another country and another to experience it. My travels

allowed me to reconnect with a number of colleagues working on systems analogous to the one I study.

It was exciting to explore the opportunities that exist for VIU students to study and conduct research in

New Zealand, but perhaps most of all I bring back with me a wealth of experiences and natural history

stories, that will be used to inspire my teaching for years to come.

Takahe – flightless rail Divaricating plant

New Zealand’s bull kelp (Durvillea antarctica)

Tuatara