Māori Research Collaborations,Mātauranga Māori Science and the Appropriation of Water in New Zealand

This article is an exploratory piece which introduces an argument that a new Māori-science discourse for freshwater has emerged in New Zealand. At the heart of the discourse is the Māori word mātauranga. Drawing on my attendance at a recent Māori water symposium, this work will track the shifting power relationships and fluid boundaries of groups of people with interests in science and claims to freshwater resources. With a focus on the words and language used by Ngai Tahu tribal leaders and natural scientists attending the symposium, this work asks what role the politics of language and discourse plays in transforming identities, power relations and sociopolitical hierarchies. A major focus of this article is the shifting relationships between identity, knowledge and power. Its thesis is that subtle shifts in discourse reflect wider social and symbolic struggles.     

Biotechnology: the language of multiple views in Māori communities

In Aotearoa (New Zealand), the government funded studies on communicating biotechnology to different sectors in the community from 2003 to 2006. Subsequently, a researcher covering the Māori sector performed a content analysis of data gathered in the community. Qualitative analysis methods included examining text from participant interviews, focus groups, government documents, newspapers, Internet sites, and current literature. Content was coded by identifying common themes in the English and the Māori language. Words like genetic modification (GM), genetic engineering (GE), and biotechnology were explained to provide a basic understanding between the communities and researcher. The terminology applied in the research was essential to achieve communication between the researcher and the community. The resultant themes represented seven views to interpret the communities association with biotechnology: purist Māori, religious Māori, anti Māori, pro Māori, no Māori, uncertain Māori, and middle Māori views. The themes are taken from the analysis of data compiled after 3 years of completing different stages of a research project. The views indicate that a common understanding can be achieved in the diverse range of Māori tribal communities providing those communicating biotechnology can identify the view and interpretations communities associate with biotechnology. This knowledge is essential for government agencies, researchers, community practitioners, scientist, and businesses that desire to dialogue with Māori communities in the language of biotechnology.     

Ancient DNA recovers the origins of Māori feather cloaks

Feather cloaks ("kakahu"), particularly those adorned with kiwi feathers, are treasured items or "taonga" to the Māori people of "Aotearoa"/New Zealand. They are considered iconic expression of Māori culture. Despite their status, much of our knowledge of the materials used to construct cloaks, the provenance of cloaks, and the origins of cloak making itself, has been lost. We used ancient DNA methods to recover mitochondrial DNA sequences from 849 feather samples taken from 109 cloaks. We show that almost all (>99%) of the cloaks were constructed using feathers from North Island brown kiwi. Molecular sexing of nuclear DNA recovered from 92 feather cloak samples also revealed that the sex ratio of birds deviated from a ratio of 1:1 observed in reference populations. Additionally, we constructed a database of 185 mitochondrial control region DNA sequences of kiwi feathers comprising samples collected from 26 North Island locations together with data available from the literature. Genetic subdivision (G(ST)), nucleotide subdivision (N(ST)) and Spatial Analysis of Molecular Variants (SAMOVA) analyses revealed high levels of genetic structuring in North Island brown kiwi. Together with sequence data from previously studied ancient and modern kiwi samples, we were able to determine the geographic provenance of 847 cloak feathers from 108 cloaks. A surprising proportion (15%) of cloaks were found to contain feathers from different geographic locations, providing evidence of kiwi trading among Māori tribes or organized hunting trips into other tribal areas. Our data also suggest that the east of the North Island of New Zealand was the most prolific of all kiwi cloak making areas, with over 50% of all cloaks analyzed originating from this region. Similar molecular approaches have the potential to discover a wealth of lost information from artifacts of endemic cultures worldwide.     

French Ambivalence Towards the Concept of ‘Indigenous People’: Museums and the Māori

ABSTRACT

Museums around the globe have experienced important changes in recent years in response to decolonisation processes and the demands of indigenous peoples. French museums are no exception, but the transformations have certain French hallmarks. This article explores the way France is dealing with its colonial legacy and, by means of two case studies, unravels the diverse political and historical particularities of the French context. The first looks at the results of a comparative analysis of the French and Québécois public’s response to the travelling exhibition E tū ake: Standing Strong produced by the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. The second focuses on the repatriation ceremony of Māori toi moko (tattooed preserved heads) that took place in Paris in January 2012. These two case studies examine the French uses of concepts such as ‘community’, ‘minority’, and ‘indigeneity’ as well as the complex relations between religion and rationality, ancestral presence and materialism in French public life. The article investigates how these concepts participate in the fabric of French society, and thus in shaping contemporary museum landscapes.     

Importance of functional classification in the use of carabids for the environmental risk assessment of the GE crops and other agricultural practices

Carabids(Coleoptera:Carabidae)seem to be suitable bioindicalors of the environmental impacts of novel agrotechnologies,including deployment of the genetically engineered(GE)crops.In this article,we describe our effort to employ carabids in the environmental risk assessment(ERA).GE maize MON88017,its near-isogenic hybrid nontreated or treated with the soil insccticide chlorpyrifos,and two reference hybrids were used to compare three different ways how to utilize carabids in ERA.The analysis of abundance of all captured carabids or of the most abundant carabid specics did not disclose any differences between the treatments.The analysis based on the categories of functional traits revealed distinct fecatures of some treatments and proved suitable for ERA because it permitted field data transportability in spite of different species compositions.Our results indicate that GE maize has no detrimental environmental effecl,On the other hand,we found significant trends toward lower abundance and lower species number(including analysis of all carabid species together)in plots treated with the insecticide,and some tendencies to higher abundance and higher species number in plots sown with the reference hybrid PR38N86.Using functional group indicators alows identification of unintended changes in ecological functions of agroecosystem and comparability across geographics.We recommend data evaluation at the level of the categories of functional traits in ERA of GE crops and other agricultural practices.     

KIR diversity in Māori and Polynesians: populations in which HLA-B is not a significant KIR ligand

HLA class I molecules and killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR) form a diverse system of ligands and receptors that individualize human immune systems in ways that improve the survival of individuals and populations. Human settlement of Oceania by island-hopping East and Southeast Asian migrants started ~3,500 years ago. Subsequently, New Zealand was reached ~750 years ago by ancestral Māori. To examine how this history impacted KIR and HLA diversity, and their functional interaction, we defined at high resolution the allelic and haplotype diversity of the 13 expressed KIR genes in 49 Māori and 34 Polynesians. Eighty KIR variants, including four ‘new’ alleles, were defined, as were 35 centromeric and 22 telomeric KIR region haplotypes, which combine to give >50 full-length KIR haplotypes. Two new and divergent variant KIR form part of a telomeric KIR haplotype, which appears derived from Papua New Guinea and was probably obtained by the Asian migrants en route to Polynesia. Māori and Polynesian KIR are very similar, but differ significantly from African, European, Japanese, and Amerindian KIR. Māori and Polynesians have high KIR haplotype diversity with corresponding allotype diversity being maintained throughout the KIR locus. Within the population, each individual has a unique combination of HLA class I and KIR. Characterizing Māori and Polynesians is a paucity of HLA-B allotypes recognized by KIR. Compensating for this deficiency are high frequencies (>50 %) of HLA-A allotypes recognized by KIR. These HLA-A allotypes are ones that modern humans likely acquired from archaic humans at a much earlier time.     

Looking Māori Predicts Decreased Rates of Home Ownership: Institutional Racism in Housing Based on Perceived Appearance

This study examined differences in rates of home ownership among Māori (the indigenous peoples of New Zealand). We identified systematic factors that predicted why some Māori were more likely to own their own home (partially or fully) relative to other Māori. Data were drawn from a large national postal sample of 561 self-identified Māori collected as part of the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study. As predicted, our analyses indicated that self-reported appearance as Māori, or the extent to which people thought they personally displayed features which visibly identified them as Māori to others, significantly predicted decreased rates of home ownership. This association held when adjusting for numerous demographic covariates, such as education, level of deprivation of the immediate area, household income, age, relationship status, region of residence, and so forth. Our analyses suggest there is, or at least has been in the recent past, institutional racism against Māori in New Zealand’s home lending industry based on merely appearing more Māori.     

Guidelines for cross‐cultural Participatory Action Research partnerships: A case study of a customary seabird harvest in New Zealand

Abstract

Adaptive co‐management and Participatory Action Research (PAR) promotes social ecological resilience by simultaneously protecting wildlife and its habitat and promoting capacity and motivation for sustainable harvest management by communities. We report here on a case study of learning through a partnership (1994–2009) between science and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) to determine the sustainability of titi (sooty shearwater, Puffinus griseus) harvests by Rakiura Maori in southern New Zealand. Testimony of Maori elders and titi harvesters (birders), members of the Rakiura Titi Islands Administering Body, researchers and participants in workshops and meetings were recorded throughout the 14‐year research project to identify critical determinants of success of the partnership. A large majority of participants supported the research, mainly because it expanded their knowledge by investigating the reasons for declining bird numbers and the means of ensuring the continuation of their muttonbirding heritage. Initial concerns about the research included fear that prohibition or quota would be imposed through political pressure from external groups; the intrusion of strangers on the islands; the misconception that the research was being promulgated by government regulatory agencies; and scepticism about research findings. Research also precipitated conflict and division within the Rakiura community, and some birders feared that science might displace matauranga Maori (TEK) of the Rakiura people for guiding harvest management. Core conditions for community engagement included trust between parties, effective communication of the science, equitable decision‐making responsibility, and building scientific capability and monetary support to enable meaningful participation. The most fundamental requirement is mutual respect for each party's knowledge. Attention to this inclusive, equitable, slow and prolonged process makes it more likely that the community will uptake results to improve sustainability of harvesting. The research has heightened awareness within the harvesting community of conservation issues facing the titi and of potential options to mitigate them. Eradication or control of weka (Gallirallus australis), and reducing titi harvest levels from around a quarter of the manu (family birding territories), are the main practical ways of increasing sustainability, but the magnitude and direction of climate change impacts on the shearwater population remains uncertain.     

What Limits the Number of Tītī (Puffinus griseus) Harvested by Rakiura Māori?

Mori continue a centuries old harvest of tt chicks (sooty shearwater, Puffinus griseus) on islands adjacent to Rakiura (Stewart Island). This study measured time limits on the number of Tttaken each day from Putauhinu Island. In the first period of the harvest (nanao) the chicks are extracted from the breeding burrows during daytime. In the second period of harvest (rama) the chicks are caught at night after they have emerged from their nesting burrows. Capture rate is much higher during the rama than the nanao. More time is spent processing (plucking, cutting-up, gutting, and packing) chicks during rama than the nanao because of a 1.3–1.7 increase in the number of chicks caught. Recently introduced motorized plucking machines decrease the time required to pluck each chick and make plucking less physically demanding and less painful. However, motorized pluckers did not increase the number of chicks harvested on Putauhinu. Other social limits may control harvest intensity and influence sustainability of muttonbirding.     

Cutting the first ‘teeth’: a new approach to functional analysis of conodont elements

The morphological disparity of conodont elements rivals the dentition of all other vertebrates, yet relatively little is known about their functional diversity. Nevertheless, conodonts are an invaluable resource for testing the generality of functional principles derived from vertebrate teeth, and for exploring convergence in a range of food-processing structures. In a few derived conodont taxa, occlusal patterns have been used to derive functional models. However, conodont elements commonly and primitively exhibit comparatively simple coniform morphologies, functional analysis of which has not progressed much beyond speculation based on analogy. We have generated high-resolution tomographic data for each morphotype of the coniform conodont Panderodus acostatus. Using virtual cross sections, it has been possible to characterize changes in physical properties associated with individual element morphology. Subtle changes in cross-sectional profile have profound implications for the functional performance of individual elements and the apparatus as a whole. This study has implications beyond the ecology of a single conodont taxon. It provides a basis for reinterpreting coniform conodont taxonomy (which is based heavily on cross-sectional profiles), in terms of functional performance and ecology, shedding new light on the conodont fossil record. This technique can also be applied to more derived conodont morphologies, as well as analogous dentitions in other vertebrates and invertebrates.     

The intercultural dodo: a drawing from the School of Bundi,Rājasthān

The iconic dodo Raphus cucullatus once occurred on the isolated Mascarene Island of Mauritius, situated in the southwestern Indian Ocean. Mauritius was once a paradise for a unique flora and fauna that evolved in isolation for 8 million years. The dodo was sought after by seafarers who visited the island from the early sixteenth century onwards because we know from remains surviving in collections and a series of artworks that captive dodos were transported to Europe, India and Japan. This article presents a hitherto unpublished image of a dodo, preserved in the collection of the Trustees, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai, the formerly Prince of Wales Museum of Western India. The bird is situated in a non-Mauritian environment together with other animals and it is named in Hindi. We further explore the background of this creation and its implication on the iconography of the dodo.     

Do frogs use retinal elevation to measure the distance of a barrier?

Grass frogs, Rana pipiens, will detour around a barrier to reach prey on the other side. However, if the distance between prey and barrier is short, frogs attempt to push through the barrier and reach the prey directly. The relationship between the probability of detouring and the distance between prey and barrier is the same whether the frog's starting position is 4 cm or 8 cm from the barrier. This suggests that frogs measure the absolute separation between the two objects. To discover whether the retinal elevation of the bottom of the barrier contributes to measuring this distance, the relationship between the frequency of detouring and barrier-prey distance was examined in several experiments in which the retinal position of the bottom of the barrier was manipulated. No evidence was obtained that the barrier's retinal elevation helps in gauging distance.On the other hand, retinal elevation influences strongly how far a frog lunges to reach its prey. It is suggested that different cues to distance are applied to the two classes of object because, under natural circumstances, it is difficult to judge where a barrier emerges from the ground. A barrier may be hard to detect below the horizon because of the low contrast between it and the ground, or because vegetation and ground litter mask where the barrier meets the ground. In contrast, the prey's movements make it easily detectable against a stationary background and the prey's short height means that partial occlusion will have little effect on its apparent vertical position in the visual field.     

How to use the paradigm of ischemic preconditioning to protect the heart?

Ischemic preconditioning affords the most powerful protection to a heart submitted to a prolonged ischemia-reperfusion. During the past decade, a huge amount of work allowed to better understand the features of this protective effect as well as the molecular mechanisms. Ischemic preconditioning reduces infarct size and improves functional recovery; its effects on arrhythmias remain debated. Triggering of the protection involves cell surface receptors that activate pro-survival pathways including protein kinase C, PI3-kinase, possibly Akt and ERK1/2, whose downstream targets remain to be determined. Much attention has been recently focused on the role of mitochondrial K(+)ATP channels and the permeability transition pore that seem to play a major role in the progression toward irreversible cellular injury. Based on these experimental studies attempts have been made to transfer preconditioning from bench to bedside. Human experimental models of ischemic preconditioning have been set up, including cardiac surgery, coronary angioplasty or treadmill exercise, to perform pathophysiological studies. Yet, protecting the heart of CAD (coronary artery disease) patients requires a pharmacological approach. The IONA trial has been an example of the clinical utility of preconditioning. It helped to demonstrate that chronic administration of nicorandil, a K(+)ATP opener that mimics ischemic preconditioning in experimental preparations, improves the cardiovascular prognosis in CAD patients. Recent experimental studies appear further encouraging. It appears that "postconditioning" the heart (i.e. performing brief episodes of ischemia-reperfusion at the time of reperfusion) is as protective as preconditioning. In other words, a therapeutic intervention performed as late as at the time of reflow can still significantly limit infarct size. Further work is needed to determine whether this may be transferred to the clinical practice.     

‘I Have Māori in Me’: Shades of Commitment and Negotiation of Subjectivity in an Aotearoa/New Zealand School

ABSTRACT

Based on ethnographic fieldwork (1997–1998) at a secondary school with a Māori?English bilingual unit in Aotearoa/New Zealand, this article examines two different ways students with Māori ancestry identified themselves contextually: those in the bilingual unit identified themselves mostly as being Māori, while those in mainstream classes identified themselves mostly as Pākehā (white New Zealander) but occasionally as being Pākehā but having Māori in them. Existing analytical frameworks, such as symbolic ethnicity (Gans 1999) or citizenship (Ong 2003), fail to capture the contextual and dialogic display of these different shades of identification practices. Applying the notion of commitment and its disavowal proposed by Doerr for this special issue (2013), this article analyses these two identification practices as a proactive commitment and a hedging commitment linked to institutional belonging to the bilingual unit and mainstream classes, respectively, and to the wider cultural politics of the official yet tokenistic biculturalism of Aotearoa/New Zealand.     

Balanoglossites Mägdefrau, 1932 from the middle triassic of Germany: part of a complex trace fossil probably produced by burrowing and boring polychaetes

The ichnogenusBalanoglossites Mägdefrau, 1932 is re-described from its type area and is interpreted as part of a complex trace fossil comprising both burrow and boring components. The type ichnospecies,B. triadicus, consists of predominantly deep U- or Y-shaped tunnel elements, whereasB. ramosus n. isp. encompasses irregularly ramified galleries. Both ichnospecies occur frequently in firmground and hardground substrates with sporadic epikarst features. In the underlying softground, they may integrate intoLabyrintichnus terrerensis Uchman &; Álvaro, 2000, a network of irregular galleries and communicating shafts. On the omission surface, the tunnels are linked to elongated or winding grooves in hard or firm substrates. Further elements of the complex trace fossil include lobate burrows similar toZoophycos andRhizocorallium, mainly occurring in firmground and softground, shallow to deep U-shaped pouches and winding tunnels (Maeandropolydora sulcans Voigt, 1965) in hard and firm substrates. Finally, some tunnel portions and well preserved top surfaces of the ichnofabrics are scattered with the faecal pelletsCoprulus oblongus Mayer, 1952.C. oblongus has a rounded shape and a homogeneous structure and belongs to the Coprulidae n. ichnofam. Based on the numerous fingerprints preserved in the complex trace fossil, polychaete worms are identified as possible tracemakers. This is in accordance with the close combination of borings and burrows, a tunnel system highly variable in shape and size, blind ending side-branches and tunnel terminations, association with scolecodonts and exceptionally preserved polychaete remains. In addition, different commensals may have contributed to the modification of the complex trace fossil.     

Bill morphology reflects adaptation to a fibrous diet in the kākāpō (Strigops: Psittaciformes)

We describe the upper portion of the bill sheath (rhinotheca) of the kākāpō (Strigops habroptilus) from three adult female specimens. The external buccal surface of the rhinotheca is deeply concave with a prominent palatal stop and hardened chevrons creating a ‘milling apparatus’ that the kākāpō uses to grind food. The palatal stop presents a working face of 40–50?mm². The internal surface of the rhinotheca mirrors the overlying premaxilla and provides a distinct thickened abutment consistent with resistance against the increased workload of the mandibles (gnathotheca) due to the kākāpō’s fibrous diet and chewing style. Along the midline, the rhinotheca at the abutment is up to 5.6?mm thick, compared with as thin as 2.1?mm elsewhere on the midline. The closely related Nestor parrots have less developed palatal stops, chevrons and abutments on their rhinothecas consistent with their lower preference for fibrous plant material. The form of the rhinotheca agrees with the kākāpō’s feeding ecology as a generalist herbivore that grinds locally available fibrous material to assist digestion.