Spawning, egg development and recruitment of diadromous galaxiids in Taranaki, New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Ecology at Massey University

Spawning biology of Galaxias postvectis Clarke (shortjaw kokopu) was investigated in streams in northwest Taranaki, New Zealand. Most G. postvectis were found to spawn near their adult habitat on the river bank during spate flows between May 9 and 17, 2001. Other galaxiids captured appeared to begin spawning earlier in late April. Sixteen galaxiid nests were discovered amongst flooded areas, lying on or amongst the substrate, vegetation and debris on the banks of the Katikara Stream. Mitochondrial (mt) DNA sequences were used to identify these morphologically similar eggs, with 12 being identified as G. postvectis and four as G. fasciatus Gray (banded kokopu). Galaxias fasciatus nest sites had more vegetation and debris than G. postvectis nests. The presence of a backwater or pool, cover and gravel were found to be important characteristics associated with both species nests. Egg development took around three to four weeks on the Katikara Stream margins. Under experimental conditions, most G. postvectis and G. fasciatus eggs were found to hatch within the first hour of re-immersion in water, and more hatching occurred in moving than still water at warmer temperatures. In the Katikara Stream, eggs hatched and moved downstream only at times of increased water levels. MtDNA sequences were used to identify G. fasciatus, G. postvectis and G. brevipinnis Günther (koaro) larvae caught drifting downstream in May and June, 2001. From reproductive assessment of adults captured, developmental stage of eggs in nests found, and timing of emigrating larvae, G. fasciatus appeared to spawn earlier than G. brevipinnis, and both species spawned earlier than G. postvectis. Whitebait migrations were examined within the tidal influence and c. 40 km inland in two rivers in south Taranaki, one with a dam and one without. Whitebait catches were dominated by G. maculatus (Jenyns) (inanga) and catches appeared to be similar in both rivers. Large schools of whitebait were however seen below the Patea Dam from October onwards in the Patea River. No whitebait were found to surmount the dam using the elver pass. So the presence of a dam does not appear to affect whitebait recruitment within the tidal influence, however it does block whitebait migrating further upstream to adult habitat

Load stress; carrier strain: implications for military and receational backpacking

This paper reviews a growing literature on the stress of backpacking, particularly in military situations. Conceptual issues are raised and the implications for recreational backpackers are addressed. Under moderate to fairly heavy loading the energy cost, per kg total load carried, per hour, relates almost linearly to walking speed. Empirical data from studies in this unit are presented as benchmark indicators for use by recreational backpackers

Replication of maximal work output levels in able-bodied workers and candidates for disability assessments: benchmark data and guidelines

[From the introduction]: Injured-at-work employees, when the impairments are musculo-skeletal, and the injury beyond dispute, may be faced with formal rehabilitation or informal recuperation, sometimes preceded by surgical intervention, or they may be exposed to a process of application for compensation, part of which may involve medico-legal assessments. Questions that need to be addressed somewhere in this process will determine whether the impairment is of short duration, chronic or irreparable, and will involve determination also of the severity of the impairment and the issue of the workers’ capacity to return to the former occupation versus the need to find a new employment niche commensurate with the disabled workers’ capabilities. Inevitably in this process, if it is formal, someone will need to assess the musculoskeletal strength of the injured employee and make pronouncements as to physical capacity and work-readiness. In the absence of clinical ergonomists in South Africa this task falls to a variety of professionals, some well and others poorly trained to make these determinations. Most often the assessments of work-readiness are crude, amounting to little more than unsubstantiable value judgements of supervisors or health professionals not well versed in human performance capabilities. Increasingly however, better qualified professionals are making themselves available to meet the growing demands of a more employee-centred working ethos in this country. This paper is targeted at those medical, paramedical and ergonomics professionals who already have the facilities and the expertise to make use of the technique outlined herein, to further enhance their already sound means of job-related disability assessment

Sun, sea and sexual deviance: the British noir thriller of the long 1930s

My thanks to the Leverhulme Trust, with whose support this research was undertaken.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Wiley via http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/criq.1221

Ozurdex(R) (a slow-release dexamethasone implant) in proliferative vitreoretinopathy: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) is the commonest cause of late anatomical failure in rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. Visual and anatomical outcomes remain poor despite advances in vitreoretinal surgical techniques with reported primary failure rates of up to nearly 50%. Numerous adjunctive medications have been evaluated in clinical trials with no agent gaining widespread acceptance and use.This study was designed to investigate the benefits of using a slow-release dexamethasone implant delivered intra-operatively in patients undergoing vitrectomy surgery for retinal detachment with established PVR.Methods/design: For the study, 140 patients requiring vitrectomy surgery with silicone oil for retinal detachment with established PVR will be randomised to receive either standard treatment or study treatment in a 1:1 treatment allocation ratio. Both groups will receive the standard surgical treatment appropriate for their eye condition and routine peri-operative treatment and care, differing only in the addition of the supplementary adjunctive agent in the treatment group. The investigated primary outcome measure is stable retinal reattachment with removal of silicone oil without additional vitreoretinal surgical intervention at 6 months

Critical discourse analysis: Overview

Critical discourse analysis (CDA) as a young discipline has a history of only about three decades.postprin

The study of conceptual metaphors in ESAP L2 writing: range and variability

The article presents the study of the influence of professional competence of EFL learners on their academic writing. The task was approached through analyzing learners’ competence in specific knowledge domains - knowledge of terms and specific concepts, represented as conceptual metaphors. Conceptual metaphor models were analyzed in the English written texts produced by Russian students with different competences in economics – at both non-professional and professional levels of academic discourse (NPAD and PAD respectively). Metaphor Identification Procedure VU University Amsterdam (MIPVU) was applied to metaphor identification, and alternative metaphor and preferential conceptualization analysis was performed to compare the scope of source and the range of target in NPAD and PAD. Findings highlight the areas of commonality as well as divergence in terms of students’ professional competence represented in conceptual metaphors in L2 writing. The main differences in the scope of the source analysis are quantitative rather than qualitative. The range of target comparison between NPAD and PAD indicates a significantly larger range of targets for the professional level students, a lower level of metaphorization for the non-professional level, and inclusive strategies across the two levels. Practical recommendations suggest an improved research methodology for studying metaphor production in EAP and ESP as well as a deeper understanding of ESP content and its structure

Voice, representation and dirty theory

Australian Educational theory has drawn largely from the authoritative metropole described by Connell in Southern Theory (2007). In this article, the perilous nature of global north/south power relations that are embedded in research work is given consideration. Through a collaborative process, the researchers create an assemblage of poems that embody a range of voices from their respective research fields. Drawing from contexts in Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand, these examples of southern theory fieldwork are used to problematise the notion that it is possible to simply bring the south to the centre. The geospatial politics inherent in Connell’s attempt to categorise knowledge production is critiqued. The complexity of ‘doing southern theory’ is considered as one of many approaches to working with voices from the south.peer-reviewe

Compound-specific amino acid ¹⁵N stable isotope probing of nitrogen assimilation by the soil microbial biomass using gas chromatography/combustion/isotope ratio mass spectrometry

RATIONALE: Organic nitrogen (N) greatly exceeds inorganic N in soils, but the complexity and heterogeneity of this important soil N pool make investigations into the fate of N‐containing additions and soil organic N cycling challenging. This paper details a novel approach to investigate the fate of applied N in soils, generating quantitative measures of microbial assimilation and of newly synthesized soil protein. METHODS: Laboratory incubation experiments applying (15)N‐ammonium, (15)N‐nitrate and (15)N‐glutamate were carried out and the high sensitivity and selectivity of gas chromatography/combustion/isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC/C/IRMS) exploited for compound‐specific (15)N stable isotope probing ((15)N‐SIP) of extracted incubation soil amino acids (AAs; as N‐acetyl, O‐isopropyl derivatives). We then describe the interpretation of these data to obtain a measure of the assimilation of the applied (15)N‐labelled substrate by the soil microbial biomass and an estimate of newly synthesised soil protein. RESULTS: The cycling of agriculturally relevant N additions is undetectable via bulk soil N content and δ (15)N values and AA concentrations. The assimilation pathways of the three substrates were revealed via patterns in AA δ (15)N values with time, reflecting known biosynthetic pathways (e.g. ammonium uptake occurs first via glutamate) and these data were used to expose differences in the rates and fluxes of the applied N substrates into the soil protein pool (glutamate > ammonium > nitrate). CONCLUSIONS: Our compound‐specific (15)N‐SIP approach using GC/C/IRMS offers a number of insights, inaccessible via existing techniques, into the fate of applied (15)N in soils and is potentially widely applicable to the study of N cycling in any soil, or indeed, in any complex ecosystem. © 2016 The Authors. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd