Public opposition to the aerial broadcast of sodium fluoroacetate (1080) poison pellets in New Zealand is an issue for pest management agencies who use it for protecting indigenous wildlife and reducing bovine Tb levels. The first part of this study analyses a wide range of concerns expressed in 525 submissions made to the Environmental Risk Management Authority in 2007 opposing the re-registration of 1080. In the second part of this study we evaluate the information produced by pest management agencies about 1080 for its coverage of the range of perceived risks identified in the submissions. The information produced by agencies addresses most issues of technical risk, but few risks identifying ethical, economic, social, research and operational concerns. The submissions and agency responses are analysed in the framework of risk communications research and approaches to 'wicked' problems. This shows that focusing only on improving the written material on 1080 risks will not reduce critical public concerns about aerial use of 1080. Both risk communication practice and approaches to 'wicked' problems emphasize the importance of engaging in dialogue with relevant players to progress socially complex issues. We argue that a more deliberate and strategic effort to build dialogue and collaboration with key communities is needed. Agencies need to engage relevant experts and sustain initiatives over time to build trust and move forward. Science is an important voice to be at the table, but is only one among several.

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The conservation and translocation of threatened holoparasitic flowering plants provide added challenges due to their complete host dependency and often large knowledge gaps of their autecology. Here, we present the first successful, quantified field trial to establish from seed populations of dactylanthus (Dactylanthus taylorii, Mystropetalaceae), a threatened New Zealand endemic rootholoparasitic angiosperm. Establishment was monitored at four sites at Waipapa, Pureora Forest Park. The impact of two different sowing methods (broad-and central-sown), canopy state (as a proxy for soil moisture levels) and three dominant host species were tested. Establishment of dactylanthus was confirmed in 22 out of 24 plots 10 years after sowing, with earliest emergence after 4 years. Average and maximum inflorescence numbers per plot were similar to those of protected wild populations. The only opencanopy site performed worse in comparison with a closed-canopy site sharing the same dominant host species; differences in root availability and survival of the desiccation-sensitive seeds were regarded as the most likely explanations. Host species dominance had a significant impact on inflorescence numbers, indicating host preference in the species despite a wide host range. In contrast to longer-established wild populations, most of which are male-biased, female inflorescences strongly outnumbered males, considered as evidence of environmental sex determination and sex-switching of individuals. Findings from this study have increased our knowledge of the biology of dactylanthus, confirmed translocation as an effective tool in the conservation of the species and should be applicable for the protection of threatened parasitic plants species elsewhere in the world.

The catch distribution of adfluvial rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum), amongst anglers is described from 14 868 creel surveys collected from the Tongariro River in central North Island of New Zealand between 1985 and 2013. An index of fish abundance was obtained during the period 1998-2013 from a continuous trapping programme on the Waipa Stream, an important spawning tributary of the Tongariro River. Using these two data sets, inequalities in catch distribution were quantified using the Gini coefficient and Lorenz asymmetry coefficient (LAC). Both Gini coefficient and LAC showed a slight decline over time. This occurred concurrently with reduced angling participation and a decline in fish abundance. Inequality was larger when fish were more abundant, but catchper-unit-effort was only marginally affected despite large variations in fish abundance, suggesting that some hyperstability is occurring. Several important management implications of these results are presented.

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