Volatile sulfur compounds in New Zealand Sauvignon blanc: An inter-regional survey

Manners, S. H., van Leeuwen, K. A., Gaw, S., Panicker, K., Gill, S., Dhami, M. K., . . . Stott, M. B. (2025). Volatile sulfur compounds in New Zealand Sauvignon blanc: An inter-regional survey. Food Chemistry, 495(Part 1), . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.146369

Engaging in Transdisciplinary Soil Research: A Roadmap for Soil Scientists

Gillespie, J., Cavanagh, J.-A., Edwards, S., Jolly, D., Payne, D., & Smith, C. (2025). Engaging in transdisciplinary soil research: A roadmap for soil scientists. European Journal of Soil Science, 76(6), e70231. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejss.70231

Research at the interface between Indigenous knowledge and soil science; weaving knowledges to understand horticultural land use in Aotearoa New Zealand

Gillespie, J., Payne, M., Payne, D., Edwards, S., Jolly, D., Smith, C., and Cavanagh, J.-A. (2025). Research at the interface between Indigenous knowledge and soil science; weaving knowledges to understand horticultural land use in Aotearoa / New Zealand. SOIL, 11, 583–607. https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-11-583-2025

Spatial opportunities at the rural-urban fringe: balancing urban growth, food production and ecology

Robinson, M., Bowring, J., Davis, S., & Edwards, S. (2025). Spatial opportunities at the rural-urban fringe: balancing urban growth, food production and ecology. Landscape Research, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/01426397.2025.2552995

Overcoming data gaps in viticulture adaptation strategy development: a case study on diversification of Marlborough, Sauvignon Blanc.

Barry, M., Parker, A., Teixeira, E., Law, R., Wreford, A., Monge, J., & Knook, J. (2025). Overcoming data gaps in viticulture adaptation strategy development: a case study on diversification of Marlborough, Sauvignon Blanc. Journal of Wine Research, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/09571264.2025.2537003

ABSTRACT

Viticulture regions and systems are often exposed to climatic hazards such as rising temperatures and extreme weather events. A lack of knowledge on the complexity surrounding climate impacts is one of the key challenges winegrowers face when adapting to climate change. Supporting winegrowers through this challenge has led to an increased interest in approaches that support decision-making under uncertainty. However, to be able to aid growers in decision making, robust data is required, and this is often a limiting factor. This paper proposes a solution to a lack of data by presenting an approach to generating yield data from a biophysical index model to inform economic analysis. The paper describes the methodological approach and presents the application of this methodology to a New Zealand case study: Sauvignon Blanc in the Marlborough wine region. This includes characterisation of the temperature function informing the index, establishing the relationship between the index and observed yield, and assessing the index performance now and in the future. This study contributes to the current body of knowledge by outlining an approach and identifying the challenges to generating biophysical outputs and subsequent economic data. During this process, the study has generated valuable insights into the potential impact of future temperature on key yield components of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. This will be an important component for accelerating the implementation of climate change adaptation strategies in the region.

Harshing the Vibes: Behavioural Responses to Predation and Deterrent Vibrational Playback in Scolypopa Australis (Hemiptera: Ricaniidae)

MacDougall, M.S., Nelson, X.J. and Stringer, L.D. (2025). Harshing the Vibes: Behavioural Responses to Predation and Deterrent Vibrational Playback in Scolypopa Australis (Hemiptera: Ricaniidae). J Appl Entomol. https://doi.org/10.1111/jen.13412

ABSTRACT

The use of substrate borne vibrational playback to control insect pests is a rapidly growing line of research targeting many problematic species. Among the control approaches currently being tested, vibrational deterrent playbacks that aim to prevent feeding and to drive pests away from the target area are comparatively under-explored. In experiments involving an introduced pest of New Zealand orchards, the passion vine hopper (PVH, Scolypopa australis), we investigated PVH anti-predator behaviour and alarm call responses and the potential use of alarm calls as vibration-based deterrent stimuli. We used laser-Doppler vibrometry and video recordings to assess the vibrational and behavioural responses of PVH to the presence of a predator (Maratus griseus jumping spider), serendipitously discovering a new female call possibly involved in mate rejection. In our tests, we did not find evidence of any vibrational alarm calls in PVH, which showed a significantly reduced rate of general vibration-based signalling and reduced propensity to call overall compared to control recordings. Instead, PVH responded to a predator threat with a rapid jumping escape response in 87.5% of attacks. We also tested the efficacy of three deterrent vibrational playbacks on driving PVH movement away from a source point, finding that a broad-band white noise playback spanning 301–688 Hz induced significant movement away from the playback source compared with silent controls. As preliminary proof of concept, we hope these results will assist in developing successful vibrational deterrence for PVH.

Mobile species' responses to surrounding land use generate trade-offs among nature's contributions to people

O'Brien, S. A., Tylianakis, J. M., Anderson, D. P., Boesing, A. L., Lai, H. R., Le Provost, G., Manning, P., Neyret, M., Blüthgen, N., Jung, K., Magdon, P., Müller, S., Schenk, N. V., Scherer-Lorenzen, M., & Lavorel, S. (2025). Mobile species' responses to surrounding land use generate trade-offs and synergies among nature's contributions to people. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 122(45), e2505401122. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2505401122

Abstract

Agricultural landscapes provide material, non-material and regulating contributions that affect human wellbeing. The responses of these nature’s contributions to people (NCP) to land-use patterns depend on supporting biota with different habitat requirements, generating trade-offs and synergies. Predictions of NCP trade-offs could inform land-use decisions, but these do not typically account for the effects of land-use patterns on the movement of NCP-providing species, nor for interactions among NCP providers. To explore spatial trade-offs and synergies in eight indicators of NCP, we used Bayesian models that allow for interactions among land uses and among NCP using data from 150 grassland sites across rural Germany. We found that spatial arrangements of forest and open habitat influenced many NCP: acoustic diversity, birdwatching potential, natural enemy abundance and pollination. In particular, the amount and proximity of land uses in the surrounding landscape, especially forest and open habitat, drove the supply of most NCP. However, NCP provided by smaller-bodied taxa (herbivory and pathogen infection) responded weakly to landscape factors. Multiple NCP provided by a given taxon responded differently to their surrounding landscape (e.g. bird-provided caterpillar predation and seed predation), leading to trade-offs among NCP over short distances (≤60 m). These were caused by different rates and directions of response to amount and location of land uses. Resulting spatial predictions revealed that grassland-dominated or mixed forest-grassland areas better maximize beneficial NCP and minimize detrimental NCP across landscapes than purely forest-dominated areas. This suggests promoting semi-natural vegetation in agricultural landscapes to provide greater-than-additive benefits to net NCP supply.

Harnessing spider biodiversity for sustainable horticulture: A call for research and conservation in Aotearoa New Zealand

Sullivan, N. J., Stringer, L. D., Black, A., & Vink, C. (2025). Harnessing spider biodiversity for sustainable horticulture: A call for research and conservation in Aotearoa New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Ecology, 49(1), Article u3r6e00. https://doi.org/10.20417/nzjecol.49.3600

Abstract

The world is facing many pressing issues around food production and environmental sustainability. We are living in the sixth mass extinction event, driven by human activities including agricultural intensification, which has significantly affected invertebrate biodiversity. To address these issues, many scientists, growers, and policy makers are moving towards Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and restoring or creating natural or semi-natural habitats adjacent to or within food production ecosystems to conserve biodiversity whilst maintaining agricultural production. Despite spiders being the dominant, most abundant, and most diverse natural enemies of pests in horticultural ecosystems, their potential contribution to pest management has been understudied in Aotearoa | New Zealand. Internationally, many studies have shown the positive effects that spider abundance and diversity have on economically important food production systems, and many studies have demonstrated that enhancing adjacent habitat can conserve the biological control provided by spiders in these productive ecosystems. We highlight international studies that show positive effects of spider conservation on biological control in agroecosystems and discuss the few studies that have been completed on spiders in agriculture in Aotearoa | New Zealand. To date, only eight studies of spiders in agroecosystems have been published from Aotearoa | New Zealand and only a single study published on spiders in New Zealand horticultural ecosystems despite horticulture being a significant export market to countries that demand low chemical residue practices. All eight of these studies have been surveys of spider abundance and richness found in these systems, with a gap remaining in measuring the ecosystem functions they provide. We call for greater investment into research on spider conservation for biological control in Aotearoa | New Zealand to maximise the potential for ecologically friendly productive systems.

A risk-based approach can guide safe cell line development and cell banking for scaled-up cultivated meat production

Bennie, R.Z., Ogilvie, O.J., Loo, L.S.W., Zhou, H., Ng, S.K., Jin, A., Trlin, H.J.F., Wan, A., Yu, H., Domigan, L.J., and Dobson, R.C.J. (2025). A risk-based approach can guide safe cell line development and cell banking for scaled-up cultivated meat production. Nature Food, 3 January 2025; 6: 25-30. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-024-01085-9

Abstract

For commercial viability, cultivated meats require scientifically informed approaches to identify and manage hazards and risks. Here we discuss food safety in the rapidly developing field of cultivated meat as it shifts from lab-based to commercial scales. We focus on what science-informed risk mitigation processes can be implemented from neighbouring fields. We case-study pre-market safety assessments from UPSIDE Foods, GOOD Meat and Vow Group using publicly available dossiers. Quality control and safety assurance practices need to be established and standardized for cell lines and food-grade cell banks.