(Kim) 28 - Lady birds & PFNZ

Question 1

Invertebrate predators

• Lady birds have:*
• Efficent aerial searching and no risk in killing prey
• Reproduction rate nearly matching that of prey
• Aphids have:*
• Habit of clumping together
• No escape mechanisms
• No species level defences except huge fecundity

Answer 1

History emphasises two vital differences:

1. Short-term local damage prevention, ongoing in NZ now

• reduce damage to protected resource - whenever big seed fall they set lots of traps and use ‘battle for the birds’.
• Plans to find more and better ways of killing tens of millions of rats and possums, plus <0.5 million stoats.

2. Vision of ‘Predator-free New Zealand’, not possible yet.

-Has to go beyond damage control clip

-Huge national and international interest

Question 2

Difference between

Tame problems (damage control)

&

Wicked problems

Answer 2

Tame: Have feasable if unpopular solutions

-Using 1080 whilst we develop something better

Wicked: areed solution is hard to fix

• PFNZ
• Especially if linked to restoration
• Requires development of as-yet-unknown, 100% acceptable methods
• PFNZ is for the future
• Don’t dispair, history is encouraging

Question 3

Long term PFNZ special conditions

• Every individual must be at risk!
• Zero immigration
• Unlimited finance and national acceptance of project
• Future technology focussed also on replacement rate

-AUT estimated $10,000,000,000 project based on current technology.