Rob Cruickshank
Department of Ecology
Lincoln University

Plan A – Medicine
Plan B – Acarology, aerobiology, agriculture, anatomy, arachnology, astrobiology, biochemistry, bioengineering, bioinformatics, biomathematics, biomechanics, biomedical research, biophysics, biosecurity, biotechnology, building biology, botany, cell biology, conservation biology, cryobiology, developmental biology, ecology, embryology, entomology, environmental biology, epidemiology, epigenetics, ethology, evolutionary biology, genetics, haematology, herpetology, histology, ichthyology, integrative biology, limnology, mammalogy, marine biology, microbiology, molecular biology, mycology, neurobiology, oncology, ornithology, population biology, paleontology, pathology, parasitology, pharmacology, physiology, phytopathology, psychobiology, sociobiology, soil biology, structural biology, synthetic biology, virology, zoology

• Population growth
• Resource consumption
• Globalisation and international trade
• Climate change
• Ocean acidification
• Pollution
• Rapid decline of biodiversity
• Habitat loss and fragmentation
• Invasive pests

• Collaborative
• Multi-disciplinary
• New technology
• Next generation DNA sequencing
• Massive amounts of data
• New analytical methods
• Reproductive technologies
• Genetic manipulation
• Synthetic biology

• Shift from specific knowledge to generic skills
• Shift from specialisation to multi-disciplinary collaboration and
synthesis of ideas
• Shift from particular technological approaches to strategies for
learning and adapting new techniques
• Ability to integrate knowledge from different areas
• Research skills, philosophy of science, how to make and record observations, ask questions, construct testable hypotheses, design experiments, analyse results, make inferences, communicate findings, etc.
• Information literacy, finding and assessing the quality of information, critical thinking, critical literacy

• Quantitative thinking, data management, computing, maths, bioinformatics, statistics
• Visualisation, creative presentation of data, dissemination of research outcomes, public outreach
• Collaboration, working as part of a team, understanding, empathy, effective communication
• Cultural sensitivity, cross-cultural communication, languages
• Entrepreneurship, commercialisation, business knowledge, economics, policy
• Ethics, moral philosophy, social science

A high-level of academic achievement is not necessarily as important as…
• Curiosity
• Enthusiasm
• Creativity
• Logical reasoning
• Practical ability
• Persistence

• Nature of science strand
• Integration of biology with other strands (e.g. maths and statistics, technology, social science)
• NCEA achievement standards (biology matrix)…
2.1 – Carry out a practical investigation in a biological context, with supervision
2.2 – Analyse the biological validity of information presented to the public
3.1 - Carry out a practical investigation in a biological context, with guidance
3.2 – Integrate biological knowledge to develop an informed response to a socio-scientific issue

• Biology + computing = bioinformatics
• Biology + social sciences = management, policy making, politics, communication
• Biology + commerce = product development, commercialisation
• Biology + languages = international collaboration, economic development
• Biology + arts = data visualisation, landscape ecology, biomimetics

Population biology
To predict effects of interventions on population
Statisticians
To analyse results
Ecologists
What are their ecological requirements in captivity and restored habitat?
Ecological restoration experts
To restore area after mining
Taxonomists
To identify prey taxa
How can we get the economic this unique native species?
Translocation experts
To identify new areas suitable for introducing this species
Communication experts
Locals, mining company, government (local, national), iwi, conservation groups, volunteers, media benefits of mining while preserving
Molecular biologists
Diet analysis, population genetics
Economists
Economic costs and benefits of mining in this area, commercial implications, etc.
Lawyers
Legal implications
Captive breeding experts
To preserve population until they can be returned to restored site

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46
Individual snails
Species 2
Species 17
Species 18
Species 16
Species 15
Species 14
Species 13
Species 12
Species 11
Species 10
Species 9 (M. felix)
Species 8
Species 7 (O. kenleei)
Species 6
Species 5
Species 4
Species 3 (E. forsteri)
Species 1 (D. gorgon)