Date/Time
Date(s) - Wed 20 May
13:00
Plant disease outbreaks are occurring more frequently across the world. This is due to a combination of environmental change and people moving plants, pathogens, and their vectors beyond their natural ranges. The emergence of new disease epidemics can be extraordinarily disruptive to natural and productive ecosystems alike. As such, understanding how to effectively mitigate the effects of plant diseases is an increasingly pressing issue.
The myrtle family contains some of our nation’s most beloved plants: pōhutukawa, mānuka, and feijoa. However, Aotearoa New Zealand’s myrtles are threatened by myrtle rust, a disease caused by the invasive fungal pathogen Austropuccinia psidii.
In this webinar, Dr Herbert explores two possible strategies for protecting our indigenous myrtles from the worst effects of myrtle rust. Both strategies use a new approach for integrated species distribution modelling combined with climatic models of myrtle rust risk. The first strategy identifies priority areas for the endangered wetland tree maire tawake (Syzygium maire) based on environmental suitability, myrtle rust infection risk, and site accessibility. The second strategy investigates whether disease impact could be reduced by decreasing the number of non-indigenous myrtles in our landscapes. The modelled scenarios highlight that a one-size-fits-all approach to mitigating the effects of myrtle rust is unlikely to be efficient. Rather, she suggests that interventions will be more effective if they are adapted to local conditions.
About the presenter
Dr Sarah Herbert is an early-career researcher at Victoria University of Wellington. She has worked with a diverse range of organisms with the overarching aim of contributing to the advancement of the science and practice of conservation and resource management. Sarah’s research is focused on understanding the effects of perturbations on populations, communities, and ecosystems – whether these be negative impacts from invasive organisms, or positive impacts stemming from conservation interventions. Her favoured approach is to combine empirical study with statistical modelling to understand the consequences of these perturbations over long time frames and large spatial scales.
Sarah holds a PhD (Ecology and Biodiversity) from Victoria University of Wellington and an MSc (Ecology) and BSc (Ecology and Zoology) from the University of Otago. Since completing her postdoctoral fellowship with Bioprotection Aotearoa at the end of 2024, she has been contributing to interesting work on monitoring and modelling native frog populations and improving mitigation outcomes for lizards. She is currently on maternity leave to look after her baby daughter.