(Press-News.org) At the stroke of a pen a New Zealand endemic tree has for the last 31 years been incorrectly regarded the same as a group of 'weedy' Australian shrubs and small trees. A New Zealand botanist has completed a 15-year study to reveal some surprises and discover astonishing cryptic diversity behind what was long considered a single tree species. The study was published in the open access journal PhytoKeys.
Known to botanists as Kunzea ericoides, this species was one of the many discoveries made in the north-western South Island of New Zealand by Jules Sébastien César Dumont d'Urville during the first voyage of the Astrolabe (1826-1829).
Initially described by French Professor of botany Achille Richard as Leptospermum ericoides, this species and the allied New Zealand endemic Leptospermum sinclairii were merged in 1983 with three other Australian species under the oldest available name (L. ericoides) as a new combination in the related genus Kunzea.
The saying that 'bad taxonomy kills' could not be more true, as the decision to merge the Australian and New Zealand species into the one shared species – Kunzea ericoides – resulted in absolute mayhem as a range of important New Zealand trees and shrubs were now regarded as identical to their distant Australian relatives all of which are serious agricultural pests known there as Burgan.
The present study draws on data obtained from experimental hybridisations, cytological investigations, modern molecular analyses and ecological studies published elsewhere by the author of this revision Dr Peter J. de Lange. The PhytoKeys treatment by de Lange concludes that Kunzea ericoides is not shared between Australia and New Zealand; confirms the distinctiveness of the narrow-range rhyolite rock endemic K. sinclairii; and elevates another much misunderstood variety to species rank as K. linearis.
De Lange also recognises further seven species new to science. One, Kunzea robusta is actually the most common Kunzea in New Zealand which despite being first recognised as distinct by the missionary botanist William Colenso in the 1840s, was denied formal recognition for some 170 years until now. Aside from Kunzea robusta de Lange recognises two other common new tree species (K. amathicola and K. serotina), and another four narrow-range endemics - K. salterae, K. tenuicaulis, K. toelkenii, and K. triregensis. One of these species, K. tenuicaulis is known only from active geothermal fields.
Aside from the recognition of 10 endemic New Zealand species from what had been regarded as one in 1983, de Lange also reveals that the indigenous inhabitants of New Zealand the Maori already knew of many of these species, which they recognised by names which referred to their growth habit or wood properties.
It is shown that far from being serious agricultural weeds all the New Zealand Kunzea are important keystone species, either forming their own distinct forest types or helping to heal damaged forest. Furthermore the New Zealand Kunzea species provide an important habitat for a wealth of endemic geckos, orchids and fungi – a far cry indeed from their past much undeserved 'weed' status.
"This paper is also a brilliant showcase of how useful is the brand new PhytoKeys publishing platform for the advancement of taxonomy. Once published taxonomic treatments of new species and any nomenclatural changes are automatically available in advanced open access, easy to find, and are stored in various data repositories in reusable format. Such wide availability of data helps for mistakes and misunderstanding regarding previous confusions in the taxonomy of a certain species to be avoided in future," comments Prof. Lyubomir Penev, managing director of Pensoft Publishers.
INFORMATION:
Original Source
de Lange PJ (2014) A revision of the New Zealand Kunzea ericoides (Myrtaceae) complex. PhytoKeys 40: 1-185. doi: 10.3897/phytokeys.40.7973
Additional Information:
This publication was made possible by the generous support of the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network (http://www.nzpcn.org.nz).
And then there were 10 -- unexpected diversity in New Zealand kanuka genus Kunzea
2014-08-26
[Attachments] See images for this press release:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Best view yet of merging galaxies in distant universe
2014-08-26
An international team of astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) -- among other telescopes -- has obtained the best view yet of a collision between two galaxies when the Universe was only half its current age.
To make this observation, the team also enlisted the help of a gravitational lens, a galaxy-size magnifying glass, to reveal otherwise invisible detail. These new studies of galaxy HATLAS J142935.3-002836 have shown that this complex and distant object looks surprisingly like the comparatively ...
Surgery to repair a hip fracture reduces lifetime health care costs by more than $65,000 per patient
2014-08-26
ROSEMONT, Ill.—Each year, more than 300,000 Americans, primarily adults over age 65, sustain a hip fracture, a debilitating injury that can diminish life quality and expectancy, and result in lost work days and substantial, long-term financial costs to patients, families, insurers and government agencies. And while surgery, the primary treatment for hip fractures, successfully reduces mortality risk and improves physical function, little is known about the procedure's value and return on investment.
A new study, appearing in the journal Clinical Orthopaedics and Related ...
Ames test adapted successfully to screen complex aerosols
2014-08-26
The Ames test, a widely used method to determine whether a chemical has the potential to cause cancer, has been successfully adapted for use with cigarette smoke and other complex aerosols.
The traditional Ames test is not suitable for use with aerosols and gases, which means that in the past, the toxicity of cigarette smoke was tested using just the particulate extract from smoke and not the whole smoke, thereby giving an incomplete picture of the toxic profile. The particulate fraction is only a small part of the whole-smoke aerosol, which also comprises a vapour phase ...
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia reports on 100 recent fetal surgeries for spina bifida
2014-08-26
Philadelphia, Aug. 25, 2014 – Reporting on 100 recent cases of fetal surgery for spina bifida, specialists at a premier fetal surgery program achieved results similar to those published three years previously in a landmark clinical trial that established a new standard of care for prenatal repair of this birth defect.
Specialists from the Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) published their findings online August 15 in Fetal Diagnosis and Therapy. The single-center results comprised the largest series reported since ...
Fiber-based satiety ingredient shown to make you eat less
2014-08-26
Scientists from the University of Liverpool have demonstrated the effectiveness of a fibre-based dietary ingredient that makes people feel less hungry and consume less food.
Hunger is a major barrier to successful weight control and consumers need healthy foods that will help them control their appetite. Although fibres have the potential to modulate appetite without adding additional calories, they can make foods less appealing. Moreover, most studies employing fibres have failed to demonstrate positive effects on either appetite or food intake, and certainly no effects ...
Education and dog-friendly neighborhoods could tackle obesity
2014-08-26
A study from the University of Liverpool has recommended investing in dog owner education and facilities as a strategy to target physical inactivity and problems such as obesity in both people and their pets.
In a review of scientific papers published since 1990, the researchers found that access to dog-friendly walking environments and better education about dogs' physical needs, could all motivate people to get out and take more exercise with their pets.
It is estimated that 40% of dog owners don't take their dogs for a walk. In the UK, almost a quarter of households ...
Symphony of nanoplasmonic and optical resonators produces laser-like light emission
2014-08-26
By combining plasmonics and optical microresonators, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have created a new optical amplifier (or laser) design, paving the way for power-on-a-chip applications.
"We have made optical systems at the microscopic scale that amplify light and produce ultra-narrowband spectral output," explained J. Gary Eden, a professor of electrical and computer engineering (ECE) at Illinois. "These new optical amplifiers are well-suited for routing optical power on a chip containing both electronic and optical components.
"Their ...
Change in tube feeding practice improves nutrition for ICU patients, audit finds
2014-08-26
While the importance of enteral nutrition (EN), or feeding patients through a tube, in an intensive care unit is well understood, underfeeding is still common. A practice of a certain amount of feeding per hour can be interrupted by tests, procedures, or emergencies. Changing to a volume-based system, which calls for a certain nutrition volume per day, could reduce underfeeding.
Such a system was found to be effective in ICU patients according to a quality improvement audit published in the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition's (A.S.P.E.N.) Nutrition ...
Study finds less domestic violence among married couples who smoke pot
2014-08-26
BUFFALO, N.Y. – New research findings from a study of 634 couples found that the more often they smoked marijuana, the less likely they were to engage in domestic violence.
The study, conducted by researchers in the University at Buffalo School of Public Health and Health Professions and Research Institute on Addictions (RIA), appeared in the online edition of Psychology of Addictive Behaviors in August.
The study attempted to clarify inconsistent findings about domestic violence among pot-smoking couples that primarily has been based on cross-sectional data (i.e., ...
Study finds young driver's gender linked to crash type, injury severity
2014-08-26
MANHATTAN, Kansas — Gender is often related to what type of severe or fatal crash a young male or young female driver will be involved in, according to a Kansas State University study.
The university's Sunanda Dissanayake, professor of civil engineering, and Niranga Amarasingha, doctoral student in civil engineering, looked at the gender differences and similarities of young drivers involved in all motor vehicle crashes in Kansas across five years. Their findings may help reduce the number and severity of these crashes by improving educational material used in young driver ...