Welcome to BayerBoost

2011 Successful BayerBoost Recipients

Charlotte Robertson, Palmerston North Girls’ High School – Awarded the Jessie Lineham BayerBoost Memorial Scholarship.

Host: Plant and Food Research, Palmerston North

To determine the effect of harvesting on nitrogen uptake in watercress (Nasturtium officinale) by quantifying the mass balance and determining how much nitrogen is taken up by harvested versus non-harvested plants.

If watercress plants are gown in a nutrient-rich (polluted) waterway, they could reduce the level of pollutants such as nitrate from the waterway by taking it up and storing in their leaves. Harvesting the plants could then remove the absorbed nitrate completely from the waterway.

This proposed study looks at whether nitrate uptake is enhanced by harvesting actively growing watercress plants. This experiment will involve growing 100 watercress plants for four weeks in a glasshouse hydroponic setup after a germination period of 12 days. On the fourth week, the plants will be cut back to a certain percentage of their leaf mass (except the control plants). The harvested leaves will be dried, weighed and ground. The ground plant matter will then be tested for total nitrogen and nitrate nitrogen content. The plants will be allowed to grow for another three weeks where, at the end of the experiment, the plants will be stripped from the hydroponic setup, dried, weighed and ground in preparation for total nitrogen and nitrate nitrogen analysis.

Kieran Gainsford, Rotorua Lakes High School

Host: Scion, Rotorua

This project will be conducted with the Rotorua –based Crown Research Institute Scion, is to investigate the impact of biological treatment on the colour and quality of pulp and paper mill waste water. A number of timber and pulp and paper mills exist in the Rotorua District, as they are a key driving factor of the local economy. It is therefore essential that any wastewater created from these activities is appropriately treated, thereby also protecting the fragile ecosystems of the region’s lakes and rivers, as well as to reduce the colour in water which treated for recycling and re-use.

Pulp and paper wastewaters are coloured. The water is often treated in aerated ponds in New Zealand pulp and paper mills; however this often results in an increase in the colour in the treated water. Therefore in this project it will be important to try to understand the main contributing factors to colour formation before being able to work on reducing on their effect on the water.

This project will involve field work, to obtain wastewater samples from a local pulp and paper mill. There will also be extensive laboratory work, as well as analysis, collation and reporting on the results obtained.

Roland Lafaele-Pereira, University of Auckland

Host: School of Environment, University of Auckland

Kauri (Agathis australis) is iconic in New Zealand. Its rich history and significance in the New Zealand culture, along with that is already known about its tree-ring growth makes kauri and ideal research opportunity. Invaluable insight into the extent this native forest can sequester carbon from the atmosphere can be obtained from the measurement of kauri forest respiration, exploration of external factors that affect the rate of respiration, and determination of kauri ability to use atmospheric carbon efficiently.  These measurements will present a quantitative view of how unique kauri ecosystems will respond to changes in climate and what role kauri could play in schemes to mitigate the progression in the climatic changes. A component of a larger investigation, the proposed project will focus on quantifying the assimilation of leaves and respiration of the leaves, roots and soil. Measuring respiration rates in separate components of the ecosystem means we can begin to quantify the relative amount of carbon released from the tree./ The influence of environmental factors on the rates of respiration and photosynthesis will be examined. Project findings will significantly contribute to the development of conclusions of the parent project. Statistical analysis of information gathered will provide quantitative comparison of data and conclusions will be drawn from these.

Asher Cook, The University of Auckland

Host: AgResearch, Ruakura Research Centre

In New Zealand, cattle dung breakdown takes at least 75 days in summer, accentuating environmental problems such as invasive weeds, nuisance flies and faecal bacterial contamination in surface runoff. This project aims to quantify the efficacy of existing dung buriers in intensive systems during summer, and thus provide base line data needed to prove the benefits from the possible release of new exotic dung beetle species. The project will initiate new collaborations between AgResearch entomologists and Auckland University. The project will be carried out on intensive dairying sites in the Waikato region where pasture plant and invertebrate diversity and other environmental indices are already being monitored. It will provide Asher hands on experience in working on a major environmental issue in the pastoral ecosystem. The release of more effective dung beetles could provide numerous economic and ecological benefits, including enhancement of soil biodiversity, structure, fertility and carbon sequestration.

Samuel Webber, Victoria University of Wellington

Host: Cawthron Institute, Nelson

The toxic dynoflagellate Alexandrium catenella has recently become established in the Marlborough Sounds. An a. catenella bloom caused the closure of the shellfish industry in Queen Charlotte Sound from March-June 2011. Previously unknown in the region, the dynoflagellate is common in the NW Pacific Ocean, and is well established in the Bay of Plenty and Bay of Islands. There is a real risk that over the next few year’s seasonal bloom of this species will spread to the major mussel growing areas of Pelorus Sound and Port Underwood. This project will involve in-depth comparison of molecular and conventional microscopy based methods. These methods have not been yet applied to Alexandrium samples. Starting at the beginning of December Sam will be sampling to obtain fresh sediment cores from various locations around Marlborough Sounds and then process the samples using various microscopic and molecular probe methods, in order to determine cysts concentrations.