BAYERBoost 2005

Winners of the 2005 scholarships are:

Emma Beatson (12 weeks): $6000

Host institution: Auckland University of Technology (AUT)

Emma, who has completed three years of study at Auckland University of Technology, will spend the summer researching the diet of the Pygmy Sperm Whale.

Twenty-seven Pygmy Sperm Whales stranded on New Zealand beaches from 1991-2003, and it is known from their stomach contents that their diet consists primarily of octopus and squid. Emma's project, which will be built into an environmental honours project, will garner more information from the samples now stored at AUT.

She'll be able to find out whether their diet has changed significantly over the 12-year period, whether their diet in New Zealand waters is different from in other parts of the world, and she'll also be able to use their diet as a barometer for ocean health - squid and octopus are often trawled as fisheries bycatch, and any change in their numbers is likely to be seen in changes in the whales' diet.

More on Emma Beatson

Kathryn Lister (12 weeks): $6000

Host Institution: University of Otago

Kathryn is in her second year of study for a zoology/ecology degree at the University of Otago, and will spend the summer researching a freshwater benthic diatom that has already become a household name in New Zealand: didymo.

Little is known of the ecological effects of this invasive species, in part because it is not known which invertebrate species consume didymo. Kathryn will be using the new technique of tracing essential fatty acids, to determine the ecological interactions of didymo in New Zealand streams.

Sean Gresham (10 weeks): $5000

Host Institution: Environment Canterbury

Sean is a Year 13 Geraldine High School student who will be working with Environment Canterbury and NIWA to monitor the environmental health of the Waihi River, following the closure of the Winchester wool scour.

The wool scour closure came at some cost to the local community, and Sean's project will be seeking to find out whether the local environment is now better off.

Jade Lanauze (10 weeks) $5000

Host institution: Department of Conservation

Jade, a Year 13 St Mathew's Collegiate student and a Pitt Islander of European, Maori, and Moriori descent, will spend 10 weeks this summer working with DOC Ranger Nathan McNally helping to establish a new Black Robin population on Pitt Island.

She will monitor breeding pairs of Black Robins, maintain a trapline, keep Black Robin sighting information up to date, and assist with re-vegetation. The Black Robin was near extinction 25 years ago, but the species has been brought back from the brink.

Pitt Island is about 17km south of Chatham Island, and is the second largest island in the group. Wild cats are the main predator on the island, since stoats, rats, possums, hedgehogs, deer and rabbits are all absent.

Jade will be working in the Ellen Elizabeth Preece Conservation Covenant, a small area of bush that had stock removed from it 10 years ago, and was made predator-free five years ago.

Diana Cheyne (6 weeks): $3000

Host Institution: Taranaki Regional Council

Diana is a Year 12 New Plymouth Girls' High School student who will be rejuvenating the New Zealand Stream Health Monitoring and Assessment Kit.

Taranaki Regional Council puts the kit to use with schools and other interested community groups which wish to become involved in monitoring their local environment.

Diana's report is here (PDF, 407K)

Applications for 2006 scholarships are being accepted. To check on application requirements, click here.