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Start date: 2020Subject: search.filters.subject.Canterbury

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    Population dynamics and anthropogenic threats to New Zealand fur seal (Arctocephalus forsteri) in New Zealand : a thesis submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Veterinary Science at Massey University, Palmerston North, Aotearoa New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2025) Hall, Alasdair
    New Zealand fur seals (Arctocephalus forsteri; ‘NZFS’) are New Zealand’s most encountered pinniped. However, substantial gaps exist in the knowledge of their abundance and distribution. This study provides NZFS abundance and distribution data for Kaikōura and Banks Peninsula and investigates anthropogenic risks in both locations. Additionally, the thesis undertakes the first nationwide NZFS abundance estimate in ca. 50 years. The Kaikōura population study was the first since the 2016 earthquake. Kaikōura’s NZFS population has grown and spread post-earthquake, with an upper population estimate of 21,560 – 28,327 NZFS in the 2022/23 breeding season. However, pup production at Ōhau Point, the most impacted colony, has not grown, and breeding distribution has changed significantly. Following earthquake damage, State Highway 1 (SH1), which runs close to NZFS colonies, was reconstructed. This study detected an almost fivefold increase in the annual number of NZFS recorded on SH1 from 2012 – 2022, compared to 1996 – 2005. Ten statistically significant NZFS incident clusters were located, representing 89% of the incidents. Cluster location shifted following post-earthquake road reconstruction. Monthly NZFS incident numbers were significantly positively associated with traffic and windspeed, and significantly negatively associated with temperature and rainfall. Road-abutting NZFS breeding explained most of the spatial variation in NZFS incidents. An abundance estimate of 13,147 – 17,675 NZFS was calculated for Banks Peninsula in 2023/24, and 25 previously unrecorded colonies were assessed. This study considered response strategies for an oil spill impacting Banks Peninsula’s NZFS, as the region is classified as ‘high risk’ for such incidents. Priority response strategies include preventing oil from reaching colonies, and hazing individuals away from waterborne slicks. From the most recently available count data, a minimum nationwide population estimate of 131,338 – 168,269 NZFS was calculated. Using recent counts and stage-structured population modelling, a more reliable estimate of 181,646 – 239,473 NZFS was calculated, a substantial increase on the most cited nationwide abundance figure, 100,000 NZFS. This thesis’ population findings provide useful baselines and highlight the need for improved NZFS population monitoring. This is particularly important due to the changing human-NZFS relationship, evidenced by the Kaikōura road reconstruction and the risk of oil spills in Banks Peninsula.
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    A decade of shaking in the Garden City: the dynamics of preparedness, perceptions, and beliefs in Canterbury, New Zealand, and implications for earthquake information
    (Frontiers Media S.A., 2024-11-11) Becker JS; Vinnell LJ; Doyle EEH; McBride SK; Paton D; Johnston DM; Fallou L
    Introduction: This study explored earthquake preparedness over time—before, during, and 10 years after the Canterbury Earthquake Sequence (CES) in New Zealand (NZ; known as Aotearoa in te ao Māori). Method: Surveys of Canterbury residents were conducted in 2009, 2013, and 2021, using variables derived from Community Engagement Theory (CET). The surveys measured earthquake perceptions and beliefs, participation and engagement, and preparedness actions. Results were compared across the three samples. Results: Findings indicate that perceptions and beliefs (e.g., risk perception, outcome expectancy beliefs), and types of preparedness actions taken (e.g., collection of survival items, structural preparedness, community and/or agency relationships), differed over time, depending on people's experiences before, during, and after the CES. For example, during and after the CES, people were more likely to believe that preparing provided a benefit to daily life, but less likely to think it could reduce property damage, perhaps due to people's experiences of disruption and damage during the earthquakes. Discussion: An understanding of such dynamics can assist with the provision and timing of risk and preparedness information. This study highlights the importance of providing applicable and actionable preparedness information, that is relevant to people's experiences, throughout an earthquake sequence. Such information might evolve and change in focus over time depending on risks and needs. Focus could also be given to information that builds peoples beliefs and capacities to undertake preparedness in evolving situations. Understanding preparedness in the context of different experiences and timeframes is useful in helping update models such as the CET, where the dynamics of time might be better incorporated.
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    Extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) and AmpC β-lactamase (AmpC) producing Escherichia coli in dairy calves from the Canterbury region : a dissertation presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Veterinary Studies in Veterinary Public Health at Massey University, Manawatū Campus Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2020) Mwenifumbo, Merning
    Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become a global public health concern threatening current effective prevention and treatment options. Infections caused by antimicrobial resistance strains are costly, often harder to treat and sometimes fatal. One group of bacteria that contributes to AMR are the extended beta lactamase (ESBL) and AmpC beta lactamase (AmpC) producing E. coli. These are on the critical list of important antibiotic-resistant bacteria of human importance compiled by the World Health Organisation and are a public health concern due to their resistance to an extended range of beta lactams. The main driver for the spread of AMR is the use of antimicrobials in both human and animals. One potential spread is by the feeding of waste milk to calves. Waste milk is the milk that contains antibiotics or other drugs. Waste milk is not recommended as feed for calves due to its association with the development of antibiotic resistance bacteria. Using the culture depended methods and whole genome sequencing, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of ESBL and AmpC producing E. coli isolated from recto-anal mucosal swabs (RAMS) from waste milk fed dairy calves, and to phenotypically and genotypically characterise ESBL and AmpC producing isolates. Recto-anal mucosal swabs samples (n = 40) from waste milk fed dairy calves collected from Canterbury region, New Zealand were screened for antimicrobial resistant E. coli. Fifty-eight percent (23/40) of the calves harboured antibiotic resistant E. coli. 25% (10/40) calves were positive for AmpC producing E. coli and none of the calves were positive for ESBL producing E. coli. The highest prevalence of resistance was observed for tetracycline. PCR and Sanger sequencing revealed that all the AmpC positive E. coli were chromosomal mediated with four mutations in the promoter region of the ampC gene. Whole genome sequencing of eight isolates resistant to both tetracycline and streptomycin revealed additional resistance genes that were not tested phenotypically. Using the Clermont phylogrouping method of E. coli, the AmpC positive, the tetracycline and streptomycin resistant E. coli isolates were distributed among phylogroups B1, C and D. In conclusion, this study revealed the presence of AmpC producing E. coli and other resistance genes in E. coli isolated from waste milk fed calves. Further epidemiological studies are required to determine whether these antibiotic resistant E. coli are associated with waste milk.
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    But what about the men? : storying rural men's experiences and perspectives of the 2016 Kaikōura/Waiau Earthquake, Aotearoa New Zealand : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Emergency Management at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2020) Rushton, Ashleigh
    Aotearoa, New Zealand is prone to environmental hazard events, and has experienced numerous significant disasters. While science research has focused on seismic and climate related risks, further research is needed to explore how social constructions of gender shape responses to, and coping strategies in the aftermath of disasters in New Zealand. Gender analyses of disasters also facilitate understanding the ways in which individuals and communities are adversely affected by natural hazard events. This thesis explores 19 rural men’s perspectives and experiences of the 2016 Kaikōura/Waiau earthquake, and critically examines their daily realities in the wake of the disaster. One research participant was Māori, and another was a British migrant, the other seventeen participants were Pākehā [European descent]. The qualitative research was underpinned by a feminist epistemology framed by social constructionism and an interpretivist approach to research. Feminist methodology informed data collection. Semi-structured interviewing was used to gather men’s earthquake stories and identify the subtleties and gendered elements of men’s experiences. Thematic analysis was employed to ascertain key elements embedded within, and across men’s earthquake narratives. Substantive themes identified included: sense of place, emotions, space-time and mobility. Sets of understandings about Antipodean, hegemonic masculinities, coupled with a bricolage of social theories, including the work of Moira Gatens, Pierre Bourdieu, Karen Davies and Doreen Massey provided the analytical framework for the thesis. Theoretical understandings of geographical space in the context of disaster are extended through incorporating Bourdieusian fields and metaphysical forms. An argument is advanced that metaphysical space(s), constituted through memories of, and feelings about the earthquake contribute to shaping participants’ disaster responses and recovery trajectories. The research chapters presented in this thesis explore the ways men’s ontological stories of the Kaikōura/Waiau earthquake were constructed in relation to emotion, sense of place and embedded in multiple mobile temporalities and metaphysical spaces. This doctoral research identifies that rural men’s realities in the aftermath of the Kaikōura/Waiau earthquake were fundamentally shaped by place, spaces and temporalities. Furthermore, place-specific hegemonic masculinity informed men’s behaviours and practices in response and recovery. Participants drew on meanings of, and attachment to place to navigate and cope with adversity and distress. Emotions related to the earthquake were evident throughout the interviews, inferring continuing trauma and anxieties. Nevertheless, men attempted to sustain representations of Antipodean, hegemonic masculinity by actively silencing distress and challenges. The study demonstrates that the research participants’ earthquake experiences were underpinned by multiple, intersecting metaphysical spaces and temporalities that in some cases, complicated and disrupted recovery. The research contributes to an understanding of complexities in relation to men’s personal experiences of disasters. Suggestions are provided for the inclusion of how localised sets of understandings about masculinities shape response and recovery in national and international disaster policies and practices.