Two years ago, the Australasian crested grebe, the pūteketeke, took out the title of New Zealand’s Bird of the Century. But when the Paris billboard got swapped out, and 'Lord of the Wings' ads no longer peppered Wellington's bus stops, who stuck around? Claire Concannon meets two dedicated grebe supporters battling different challenges at two Central Otago lakes.

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In this episode:

00:06 – John Oliver’s pūteketeke campaign

01:15 – Richard Bowman at Lake Hayes

16:45 – Markus Hermanns at Lake Wānaka

Learn more:

• Read more about the pūteketeke and the people helping them in this RNZ story, What happened when the pūteketeke's fame faded?
• In 2016 Alison Ballance visited Lake Wānaka to speak to John Darby about the grebes.
• It’s not news that New Zealand’s freshwater lakes and wetlands are generally in trouble, but there are many groups around the motu trying to improve their patch – whether that’s the Taiari river catchment, lakes in Auckland that are home to the kākahi, or a wetland area in the Waikato battling an unusual pest problem.
• This year’s Bird of the Year is the karearea, learn about the New Zealand falcon in this 2018 episode.

Guests:

1. Richard Bowman, Friends of Lake Hayes
2. Markus Hermanns, The Lake Wānaka Grebe Project

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

From the public service sector to businesses to individuals, AI’s uptake across New Zealand has been rapid. And it’s not just large language models. Claire Concannon meets researchers who are harnessing different kinds of artificial intelligence to boost aquaculture, prepare for a measles outbreak and assist in urban conservation. But alongside the benefits sit potential harms. How can we try to minimise them in our AI future?

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In this episode:

01:00 – Introduction to Dr Andrew Lensen and about AI

06:00 – Professor Bing Xue and applied AI for aquaculture

09:15 – Dr Fiona Callaghan models measle outbreak scenarios

13:30 – Dr Andrew Lensen and the kākā project

18:30 – Social and ethical issues of AI…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

This week, an underwater mystery connecting New Zealand and Ireland - the puzzle of the disappearing sponges of Lough Hyne. In the late 1990s/early 2000s James Bell was doing PhD research on the sponge communities that coated the underwater cliffs of this small sea inlet in West Cork. When he returned 15 years later, they had vanished. Why did they disappear, are they starting to recover, and can they be helped to return? Now a Professor at Victoria University of Wellington, these are the key questions that James, and PhD candidates from his lab, have been working to answer.

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In this episode:

00:00 – Divers return, introduction to Lough Hyne and its scientific history.

02:50 – James Bell on his early research at Lough Hyne and the surprising disappearance of sponge communities.

05:15 – Gabi Wood and Kea Witting get ready to dive at Whirlpool Cliffs.

06:30 – James Bell explains the unique tidal regime of Lough Hyne that means it has many diverse habitats.

09:00 – Gabi Wood is collecting water samples to study sponge feeding and nutrient levels.

11:00 – What caused the sponges to disappear.

14:00 – Kea Witting is investigating sponge community recovery.

21:00 – Experiments to help the sponges return…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Need a nature fix? RNZ now has a podcast feed dedicated to our beautifully produced series telling stories from te taiao nature. Check out the Wild Sounds feed – now playing Voices from Antarctica, featuring Alison Ballance reporting from the frozen deep south.

Find and follow Wild Sounds on your favourite podcast platform, or listen on RNZ

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

In March 2024, a satellite built to detect the potent greenhouse gas methane launched into orbit – backed by New Zealand to a final total of $32 million. MethaneSAT aimed to pinpoint large leaks from oil and gas fields, since plugging these is considered an easy climate win. But an add-on mission was investigating whether the satellite could pick up the smaller, more diffuse methane emissions from agriculture. Our Changing World joined the New Zealand-based team testing this capability – before disaster struck. With MethaneSAT uncontactable and lost in space, what did the mission deliver?

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In this episode:

00:00 – 03:08: Introduction
03:08 – 05:38: A methane-measuring device takes off from the airfield

05:38 – 16:32: Ground-based methane measurements with the EM-27

16:32 – 25:29: What went wrong, and what data MethaneSAT did collect…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

In March 2024, a rocket launched from Florida carrying New Zealand’s first science payload to the International Space Station. The small cube, named Lucy, is a protein crystallisation lab developed by Dr Sarah Kessans from the University of Canterbury. Protein crystallisation is often the key first step in figuring out a protein structure, and the unique fluid conditions of microgravity in low Earth orbit helps the process. Working with several collaborators, Sarah is trying to develop a commercially viable crystallisation lab in space. Plus, Dr Brian Russell is creating AI tools to help space companies make critical decisions around astronaut health and safety.

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Guests:

• Associate Professor Sarah Kessans, University of Canterbury
• Dr Brian Russell, Auckland Bioengineering Institute and AUT

Learn more:

• Read more: New Zealand in the low Earth orbit economy.
• Researchers in the Paihau Robinson Research institute are also working on developing plasma rockets for travel in space. They launched a superconducting magnet for testing on board the ISS yesterday.
• In 2017, the same year that RocketLab did their first ‘It’s a test’ launch, William Ray had a look at New Zealand in space.
• Listen to Dr Sarah Kessans on Morning Report in 2023.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

An elaborate game of carbon ‘I spy’ is happening on the streets of Wellington. With their brand-new mobile carbon lab, Earth Sciences New Zealand (formerly GNS) can detect things like carbon dioxide and methane as they drive around. This allows them to pinpoint where emissions are coming from. Plus, with radiocarbon measurements, they can understand what amount of the carbon they detect is coming from fossil fuels. It all helps to ground-truth our estimates of what’s happening in our urban environments.

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Guests:

• Dr Jocelyn Turnbull, Earth Sciences New Zealand
• Hayden Young, Earth Sciences New Zealand

Learn more:

• Read this week's article: Playing 'I-spy' with urban emissions.
• Carbon Watch NZ is an ongoing project to measure how much carbon is being produced across New Zealand. Alison Ballance covered this project in 2020, including learning about Baring Head atmospheric research station, and about a project also by Dr Jocelyn Turnbull using grass to measure urban emissions.
• The mobile carbon lab uses glass-blown flasks to collect radiocarbon. Learn about scientific glassblowing in this 2010 OCW episode.
• The People, Cities and Nature project is investigating how to return biodiversity to our towns and cities, such as the gullies in Kirikiriroa Hamilton. Such green areas would act as urban carbon sinks.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Takahē were believed to be extinct not once, but twice. Today their population is just over 500 – still not a huge number, but big enough that new homes are needed for these flightless manu. The latest area to welcome takahē is the upper Whakatipu – in particular, the stunning Rees Valley. But threats remain and keeping on top of predator numbers is key for this comeback bird to survive and thrive in their new home.

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Guests:

• Chrissy Becker-Fifield, Southern Lakes Sanctuary.
• Additional thanks to Glen Greaves of DOC’s takahē recovery programme for background information.
• Also mentioned: the Routeburn Dart Wildlife Trust.

Learn more:

• November 2023 marked the 75th anniversary of the second time takahē were ‘rediscovered’. We spoke to Alison Ballance about her book about takahē, and her years of reporting on these birds.
• RNZ reported on DOC’s efforts to catch the stoat culprits that killed a number of takahē in the Greenstone valley.
• After decades of careful monitoring, DOC are stepping back from the Murchison Mountain’s population of takahē.
• Takahē have been spotted by trampers around the Shelter Rock hut deep in the Rees valley.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details