UC Research Repository
Nau mai, haere mai, welcome to the UC Research Repository
The UC Research Repository collects, stores and makes available original research from postgraduate students, researchers and academics based at the University of Canterbury.
Communities
Select a community to browse its collections.
- Items from Journals and Conferences hosted by the University of Canterbury
- University of Canterbury Research Centres
Recent Submissions
Evaluating intra- and inter-life stage density-dependent dynamics for management of perennial amphidromous fish
(Wiley, 2024) Crichton , Ben R. J.; Hickford , Michael J. H.; McIntosh, Angus; Schiel , David R.
Compensatory density-dependent (DD) processes play an integral role in fisheries management by underpinning fundamental population demographics. However, DD processes are often assessed only for specific life stages, likely resulting in misleading evaluations of population limitations. Here, we assessed the relative roles of intra- and inter-life stage DD interactions in shaping the population dynamics of perennial freshwater fish with demographically open populations. Specifically, we monitored populations of amphidromous banded kōkopu (Galaxias fasciatus), giant kōkopu (Galaxias argenteus), and shortjaw kōkopu (Galaxias postvectis) in five streams where migratory post-larvae are fished and in three no-take (“closed”) streams located on New Zealand's South Island for two years. Using mark-recapture data, we investigated whether fishing altered densities of “small” (non-territorial recruits ≤1-year-old) and “large” (territorial fish >1-year-old) kōkopu size classes, and how subsequent density shifts affected the apparent survival and growth of each class while controlling for other confounding factors (e.g., habitat characteristics). We found that closed areas had substantially greater biomass of small kōkopu, particularly following the two-month fishing season. Despite this greater influx of recruits, there was no difference in the biomass of large kōkopu at the species level, or as a combined assemblage between stream types. This indicated that although fishing of post-larvae reduced recruit influxes into adult habitats, there was no subsequent evidence of recruitment-limitation within adult populations. Instead, kōkopu demographics were underpinned by intra- and inter-life stage DD competition and predation. Greater large fish densities played a key role in regulating the survival, growth, and/or presence of various kōkopu classes. In contrast, greater small fish densities had positive effects on the growth of opportunistic and insectivorous congeners, likely due to cannibalism and altered foraging behaviors, respectively. Our study details the prominent role of intra- and inter-life stage DD interactions in regulating the population dynamics of perennial migratory freshwater fishes, even in populations with inhibited recruit and juvenile availability. We emphasize the importance for fisheries management to implement recruitment dependencies and complex interactions between distinct life stages to avoid deleterious DD responses and ensure population persistence.
Maximising the socio-cultural benefits of urban blue green infrastructure to enhance urban liveability: a case study approach
(2025) McNabb, Tyler
Many contemporary urban communities are challenged by increased flood risks and rising temperatures, declining water quality and biodiversity, and reduced mental, physical, cultural and social wellbeing. The development of urban blue-green infrastructure (BGI), defined as networks of natural and semi-natural blue-green spaces which enable healthy ecosystem processes, has been identified as one approach to mitigate these challenges and enable more liveable cities. Multiple benefits associated with urban BGI have been identified, including reduced flood risk and temperatures, improved water quality and biodiversity, enhanced mental and physical wellbeing, strengthened social cohesion and sense of place, and the facilitation of cultural connections and practices. However, socio-cultural benefits have tended to be neglected in BGI research and design, resulting in a lack of awareness of how they may be maximised in BGI design.
As such, this research sought to understand how BGI can best be designed to enable liveable cities. Four questions were considered: (i) what benefits are associated with urban BGI, (ii) how does the design process influence the benefits achieved by BGI, (iii) what challenges are encountered during BGI design, and (iv) how might the incorporation of communities and Indigenous knowledge into BGI research and design enhance current understandings and applications of urban BGI?
To address these questions, a mixed methods case study approach was employed in Ōtautahi Christchurch and Kaiapoi. The four selected case studies were Te Oranga Waikura, Wigram Basin, Te Kuru and the Kaiapoi Honda Forest. The cases are all council owned urban wetlands which were primarily designed or retrofitted to reduce urban flood risks following the Canterbury Earthquake Sequence. To investigate BGI design processes in each case, as well as how communities interact with, value and benefit from these spaces.
BGI projects were found to be designed by interdisciplinary design teams driven by stormwater engineers, landscape architects and ecologists which prioritised bio-physical outcomes. Further, community and Indigenous engagement approaches closely resembled
consultation, with the exception of Te Kuru which employed a co-design approach between councils and Indigenous and community groups. This co-design approach was found to enhance current understandings and applications of urban BGI, while uncovering multiple socio-cultural values to be incorporated into design, such as access to cultural healing resources, increased community connections to water, and facilitating cultural monitoring methodologies and citizen science initiatives.
Communities frequently identified the opportunity to connect with natural environments and enhanced mental and physical wellbeing as key benefits of BGI. Conversely, strengthened social cohesion, sense of place and cultural connections were infrequently identified as benefits, if at all. This finding indicates a disconnect between the bio-physical benefits which drive BGI design and the outcomes which communities value. As such, there is a need for future BGI design to more fully consider and design for socio- cultural outcomes to better enable liveable cities.
To better design BGI to enhance urban liveability, this research makes three key contributions. First, there is a need to advance current approaches to transdisciplinary design to better account for the full scope of perspectives and values associated with BGI. Second, there is a need to transition towards relational co-design with Indigenous and community groups and knowledge. Third, it is important to continue to monitor, reflect on and share both positive and negative BGI design experiences to continually improve outcomes. The incorporation of social and cultural researchers, knowledges and perspectives into open and collaborative transdisciplinary design teams is identified as a key method to achieve these opportunities.
Phase Precession Relative to Turning Angle in Theta‐Modulated Head Direction Cells
(Wiley, 2025) Ji , Zilong; Lomi , Eleonora; Jeffery , Kate; Mitchell, Anna S; Burgess , Neil
ABSTRACTGrid and place cells typically fire at progressively earlier phases within each cycle of the theta rhythm as rodents run across their firing fields, a phenomenon known as theta phase precession. Here, we report theta phase precession relative to turning angle in theta‐modulated head direction cells within the anteroventral thalamic nucleus (AVN). As rodents turn their heads, these cells fire at progressively earlier phases as head direction sweeps over their preferred tuning direction. The degree of phase precession increases with angular head velocity. Moreover, phase precession is more pronounced in those theta‐modulated head direction cells that exhibit theta skipping, with a stronger theta‐skipping effect correlating with a higher degree of phase precession. These findings are consistent with a ring attractor model that integrates external theta input with internal firing rate adaptation—a phenomenon we identified in head direction cells within AVN. Our results broaden the range of information known to be subject to neural phase coding and enrich our understanding of the neural dynamics supporting spatial orientation and navigation.
Arts and Creativity in Hong Kong Kindergartens: A Document Analysis of Quality Review Reports
(Walter de Gruyter GmbH, 2022) Yeung , Jerry; Bautista , Alfredo; SIU, Tik Sze Carrey; Tam , Po-Chi; Wong , Kit-Mei
Abstract
In Hong Kong, the Education Bureau (EDB) regularly assesses the quality of services provided by publicly subsidized kindergartens to children aged 3 to 6. Quality Review (QR) reports are written by government officials and published on the EDB’s website. This study analyzes the feedback pertaining to Arts and Creativity to better understand the role this learning area plays in Hong Kong kindergartens. Lexical and content analyses were applied on 164 QR reports published between 2017 and 2020. Findings showed that: (1) the role of Arts and Creativity in the QR reports is relatively minor, which suggests that this learning area is somewhat secondary in Hong Kong kindergartens; (2) presence of the various art forms differs significantly, with Music and Visual Arts being more frequent than Drama and especially Dance; and (3) classroom activities seem to be teacher-centered, product-oriented, and reproductive. Findings suggest that the Arts and Creativity pedagogies enacted in Hong Kong kindergartens are not fully consistent with the official kindergarten Curriculum Guide, which draws on a Western conceptualization of creativity in the arts. We argue that this curriculum/practice gap reveals the need for local stakeholders to embrace a “glocalization” paradigm. Limitations, future research, and implications are discussed.
Moving Beyond Damned if You Do, Damned if You Don’t: Readiness for Change
(Florida Educational Research Association, online-publication-date) LaVenia, Kristina N.; Lang , Laura B.
We know little about the supports principals need to lead change. This lack of knowledge is unfortunate, because principal leadership is understood to be critical for successful school reform. Using a randomized control trial, we tested whether the opportunity to participate in a year-long, content-focused professional development intervention would help principals feel prepared to provide instructional leadership for the transition to new standards. Results suggest professional development was impactful for principals’ self-reported attitudes toward facilitating the implementation of new standards. Study findings offer support for use of professional development as a means of building principals’ ability to lead change efforts.