Category: Science

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Tonga eruption caused fastest ever underwater flow

Source: NIWA – National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research

As material from the volcanic eruption collapsed into the ocean, this triggered a huge surge of rock, ash, and gas that caused extensive damage to Tonga’s underwater telecommunication cables some 80km away.  

Dr Emily Lane is NIWA’s Principal Scientist for Natural Hazards and is a co-author on the paper. She said the timings and locations of the damage to two subsea cables allowed them to determine the speeds of flows. 

“Just a few months after the eruption, our team set sail to find out what caused it and what the impacts were. Surveys showed that Tonga’s domestic cable was buried under 30m of material, which we sampled and confirmed as containing deposits formed by a powerful seafloor flow triggered by the eruption. 

“What’s impressive is that Tonga’s international cable lies in a seafloor valley south of the volcano, meaning the flow had enough power to go uphill over huge ridges, and then back down again,” said Dr Lane. 

Kevin Mackay is a NIWA marine geologist and voyage leader of TESMaP. He says that this is just another record ticked off the list for this astonishing event. 

“The seafloor flows were one of the big unknowns from this eruption – with it being an underwater volcano, it’s something you rarely get to study just after the fact. With atmospheric pressure waves circling the globe multiple times, and it being the largest atmospheric explosion on Earth in over 100 years, this just adds to that impressive list,” said Mr Mackay. 

Dr Isobel Yeo is a volcanologist at the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) and joint-lead scientist on the paper. She said this work is helping us to better understand the hazards of submerged volcanoes worldwide.  

“A huge number of the world’s volcanoes lie under the ocean, yet only a handful of those are monitored. As a result, the risk posed to coastal communities and critical infrastructure remains poorly understood, and more monitoring is urgently needed,” said Dr Yeo. 

  Dr Mike Clare a geohazards researcher, also at NOC, said “Findings from this important study not only improve our understanding of one of the largest events on our planet, but are already being used by the subsea cable industry to design more resilient communications networks in volcanically active regions. Subsea cables are a critical part of all of our lives, so making sure global connections stay secure is important”.  

  The paper was part of a joint international project including NIWA, The Nippon Foundation, and the Natural Environment Research Council in collaboration with 13 partners from Tonga, New Zealand, Australia, Germany, USA, and the UK. 

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Lumi™ Drug Scan shortlisted for KiwiNet Award

Source: ESR

ESR’s Lumi™ Drug Scan has been shortlisted for a prestigious KiwiNet Research Commercialisation Impact Award.

The shortlisting comes hot off the heels of Lumi™ winning the Excellence in Forensic Science Award(external link) at the 2023 World Police Summit in March, and is further validation of the difference this game-changing illicit drug detection service is making to communities.

Lumi™ brings together the power of a lightweight device that can scan for traces of cocaine, MDMA and methamphetamine using infrared lights, giving instantaneous results via Bluetooth to the powerful Lumi™ mobile app. These insights are also available in the sophisticated Lumi™ dashboard, which charts regional drug trends.

With 18 finalists in total, the 2023 KiwiNet Awards will be announced in Auckland on 28 September. The other finalists in the MAS Commercialisation Impact Award category are:

  • TDRIand Lincoln Agritech: Reducing roading costs with rapid subsurface moisture detection
  • XFrame and Wellington UniVentures: Reusable framing for the next generation of sustainable construction.

You can find out more on KiwiNet’s website(external link).

Lumi™ has been co-developed by New Zealand Police.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment’s Strategic Science Investment Fund (SSIF) has provided invaluable funding to this project. SSIF enables the prioritisation and purchase of science in areas that ensure the long-term stability and impact of the science system.

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Early and long-lasting ozone hole, forecasts NIWA

Source: NIWA – National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research

NIWA scientists are predicting that this year’s ozone hole will stay around for longer than usual, potentially lasting into early summer. 

NIWA’s Principal Scientist – Atmosphere and Climate, Dr Olaf Morgenstern, says this is largely due to a combination of climate change and the 2022 Tonga volcanic eruption. 

“Hunga-Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai blasted an astonishing amount of water into our atmosphere. In fact, we are seeing around 10% more water vapour than usual. Water vapour is a greenhouse gas that causes cooling of the stratosphere and enhances depletion of ozone by forming clouds above Antarctica.  

“Additionally, the stratosphere is very sensitive to changes in temperature, with climate change causing a long-term cooling trend. This may be contributing to the cold and stable conditions we are presently seeing,” said Dr Morgenstern. 

The Antarctic ozone hole typically reaches its greatest extent in September or October and disappears in November or December. However, there were signs that the ozone hole could have formed earlier this year. 

Dr Richard Querel is a NIWA atmospheric scientist based in Lauder, Central Otago. He says NIWA is measuring the chemistry in the atmosphere to understand what exactly is going on. 

“We are working with others such as NASA and Antarctica NZ to see how the make-up of the atmosphere is reacting. We have balloon launches planned in Antarctica to take further measurements, which we will combine with NASA’s satellite data.  

“We will use this information to see how things such as the Tonga eruption may be influencing the ozone hole, which has been recovering ever since we introduced the 1987 Montreal protocol to ban human-produced ozone-depleting chemicals like CFCs,” said Dr Querel. 

Ozone molecules absorb ultraviolet radiation from the sun, acting like sunscreen for life on Earth. Too much UV can cause problems such as skin damage and a fall in ocean phytoplankton, which can impact the food chain. 

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Higher and drier – the cost of raising homes

Source: NIWA – National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research

Construction cost experts WT Partnership were commissioned by NIWA to provide cost estimates for different types of building. They found that for buildings of timber and pile construction, lifting them by 2m would be more cost effective than constructing new builds. However, this method would not be financially viable for buildings of concrete construction.

NIWA coastal and estuarine physical processes scientist Dr Christo Rautenbach led the study. He says it will provide another option for homeowners who live in coastal lowlands who wish to stay in their property as long as possible.  


“We know that the impacts of flooding have been felt by many, and the risk isn’t going away. Communities must adapt, but certain solutions like relocation inland can be unpopular and seen as a last resort, so it’s important to assess alternative coastal adaptation options.  

“These initial findings indicate that some property owners may be able to stay put for longer, even taking into account future exacerbation from climate change, albeit with extensive modifications,” says Dr Rautenbach. 

This work is part of the NIWA Future Coasts Aotearoa (FCA) programme. FCA is investigating how rural lowland communities can prepare and adapt to the impacts of accelerating sea level rise, which is projected to be upwards of 0.3m by 2040 and 1m by 2100.

However, Dr Rautenbach cautions that the study highlighted the complicated nature of such preparations, including the limited number of specialised houses lifting contractors in New Zealand and although raised homes remain dry, the surrounding land and services will still be affected.  

“The study also did not include hidden expenses, such as temporary accommodation, storage costs, and the development of supporting community infrastructure such as roads, water and wastewater services.  

“With storms intensifying, rainfall increasing and sea levels rising, we must get creative with how we adapt our coastal communities. Transformation requires developing the right tools and it will be a multifaceted approach, and this study contributes one more piece to this complex adaptation puzzle, spanning over the social, economic, environmental and cultural landscapes.” 

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Wellington study could improve worldwide access to coastal freshwater

Source: NIWA – National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research

For the first time, NIWA used several techniques to map and understand the Waiwhetu Aquifer. This is a reservoir of drinking water that lies beneath the Hutt Valley and Wellington Harbour, and it releases freshwater from deep under the seabed via natural springs.

NIWA Marine Geoscientist Dr Joshu Mountjoy designed the study. He said it was motivated by the lack of knowledge about large coastal aquifers around New Zealand, with Wellington Harbour being the perfect test site. 

“Up to 70% of Wellington’s drinking water comes from the Waiwhetu Aquifer. A lot of work has been done over the years to understand where the aquifers are and where the freshwater is, but until now, we didn’t know where in the seabed the freshwater was leaking through. 

“Due to Wellington’s vulnerability to earthquakes, ensuring access to drinking water is a priority in case a source is cut off or damaged, and the Waiwhetu Aquifer is a critical resource for our resilience,” said Dr Mountjoy. 

Natural freshwater springs are located in the ocean as well as on land. They provide a window into submarine aquifers but finding them is challenging.  

To bypass costly drilling, NIWA showed that other techniques can be harnessed to track ocean-based freshwater springs and sample the water, helping scientists to understand a huge amount about submarine aquifers.  

“We used every tool we had available to understand the nature of these natural springs, including acoustic measurements, seafloor samples, remotely operated vehicles, and seawater sampling. We wanted to see which techniques worked best with a mind to apply them to other locations in the future,” said Dr Mountjoy.  

Through many novel methods, NIWA recorded video footage and acoustic soundings of freshwater flowing out of various pockmarks in the Harbour. There are several hundred of these, the largest of which are over 100m across. 

“We managed to create a detailed map of freshwater springs in the Harbour, which will be important for managing the aquifer as a drinking water resource for Wellington.  

“We can start applying the techniques we used here to find freshwater leaking out of other aquifers, such as in Marlborough, Canterbury, and Hawke’s Bay. These are barely understood beyond the coastline but are vitally important. 

“We are at the beginning of understanding offshore groundwater systems around the world, which that might be the most important resource some countries have. The implications are huge, especially for drought prone and water scarce areas,” said Dr Mountjoy. 

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Immune cells present long before infection predict flu symptoms

Source: ESR

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital scientists, in collaboration with the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR) Limited, found that immune cells present in people months before influenza (flu) infection could more accurately predict if an individual would develop symptoms than current methods which primarily rely on antibody levels. The study found certain immune cells were associated with increased protection, while other immune cells were associated with increased susceptibility to developing symptoms after catching the virus. The findings have implications for new approaches to public health and were published today in Nature Immunology. 

“We’ve been struggling for decades, if not centuries, with why some people get sick with infections and some don’t,” says co-corresponding author Richard Webby(external link), Ph.D., St. Jude Department of Host-Microbe Interactions(external link). “This is one of the best attempts to try and figure that out for influenza. We were able to measure many different immune parameters from a single blood draw and correlate them with protection from, or susceptibility to, infection symptoms.”

Functional diversity improves anti-influenza immune performance

The researchers found that having a more functionally diverse set of immune cells was correlated with increased protection from flu symptoms. The group identified these cells by comparing the immune cells present in the blood of patients who had symptoms from flu infection to those who were asymptomatic or uninfected. The blood samples, taken up to six months before that flu season, showed very different sets of immune cells in the two groups. Those without symptoms not only had a more functionally diverse set of immune cells but those cells were also associated with an influenza-specific long-term response, sometimes called the memory response. Patients with symptoms tended to have a more similar set of inflammatory immune cells, which are more likely to be involved in a nonspecific, functionally narrow and short-term response.

The analysis included volunteers in the surveillance for a community cohort-based influenza-like illness (SHIVERS-II) study in New Zealand. SHIVERS-II includes a unique cohort of volunteer patients that the study tracks over time, including their health information. For this study, the volunteers regularly had their blood drawn so the scientists could characterize their immune cells and find which were associated with protection from flu symptoms. 

“The SHIVERS platform, which represents a long-running collaboration between St. Jude and ESR, has been tremendously successful because of the willingness of participants to stay engaged in the study,” sasy co-corresponding author Sue Huang, Ph.D., principal investigator for SHIVERS-II and the World Health Organization National Influenza Centre director at ESR. “It is great to see their efforts coming to fruition.”

“Our results show that the balance of different immune cells in people can be extremely biased,” says senior and co-corresponding author Paul Thomas(external link), Ph.D., St. Jude Department of Immunology(external link). “You might build up an immune cell army that is exceptional at fighting off one kind of infection, but then that can make you feel sicker from another kind of infection. By understanding which immune cells are the best for fighting the flu, we can start designing vaccines to push for those populations that are most protective.” 

“The baseline immune state before vaccination is known to significantly vary across age, sex, vaccination status, infection history and more,” says co-first author Aisha Souquette, Ph.D., St. Jude Department of Immunology. “By understanding the different types of immune profiles that can provide protective responses, we can tailor and optimize our vaccine platforms for populations with distinct baseline immune states.”

For developing future tailored approaches, pushing for a particular type of cell or particular immune proteins, such as antibodies, is less important than evaluating the collective contributions of all the immune cells, which may be easier than current methods. 

“We observed that the protective, or susceptibility, cell profile’s makeup is less important than the overall, often converging, function,” says co-first author Robert Mettelman, Ph.D., St. Jude Department of Immunology. “This means that we can more broadly evaluate protection or susceptibility at the level of a cell profile, making it easier to evaluate across studies.” 

Indeed, this study showed that those vaccinated for the flu generally had increased protective anti-flu immune cells, improving their chance of avoiding symptoms. Those rarer individuals who were unvaccinated and avoided symptoms seemed to have a set of immune cells that mimicked the functions of the protective cells in the vaccinated population. This may explain why some people are less affected by the flu, even when unvaccinated, than others, but it still suggests vaccination creates the best chance of avoiding symptoms. One way to encourage this vaccine uptake is to determine the inherent risk in staying unvaccinated accurately. 

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Extreme weather research gets a boost

Source: NIWA – National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research

NIWA has launched a $5 million per year package of new projects aiming to tackle some of New Zealand’s most pressing challenges, including responding to and preparing for extreme weather events.  

NIWA already undertakes extensive research in forecasting, climate change and extreme weather, natural hazards, atmospheric science and Māori environmental research. This new investment will allow NIWA to double down on efforts in these areas. 

The new package includes an additional $2.3 million per year for extreme weather-related research, including forecasting impacts from extreme weather and also to support climate change resilient infrastructure development. 

An additional $1.85 million per year has been allocated to work with Māori on climate adaptation and to better deliver NIWA science to iwi/hapu and Māori businesses. NIWA is also investing in new projects to fast-track solar and wind forecasts for renewable energy production and to measure and verify agricultural greenhouse gas emission reductions.

“Following Cyclone Gabrielle and other extreme weather events in early 2023, NIWA urgently reprioritised some of our research to gather data in the immediate aftermath and to help affected communities recover from these events. This was complemented shortly afterwards by additional government funding to expedite our research into flood prediction and hazard risk assessment,” says NIWA Chief Executive John Morgan.

“These new investments will accelerate our efforts to increase New Zealand’s ability to respond to and prepare for future extreme weather events. As we have seen across the world in recent years, some of the biggest impacts of climate change have been increases in extreme weather events – such as storms, floods, droughts and wildfires.

“We know that such extreme events are going to become more frequent and more intense, and we need to be better prepared. Advanced, high-precision forecasts that link different hazards, such as rainfall with river flooding, will help all New Zealanders – including iwi, emergency managers, government, councils and the public – to face the challenges our changing climate brings,” says Mr Morgan. 

Notes: 

The funding for these new projects is coming from NIWA’s Strategic Science Investment Fund (SSIF). This is government funding that focuses on research programmes and scientific infrastructure that have long-term beneficial impact on New Zealand’s health, economy, environment and society. Each year NIWA re-evaluates how its SSIF is best used. 

Some of the current NIWA research in this area: https://niwa.co.nz/natural-hazards/research-projects/responding-to-and-preparing-for-extreme-weather-events-niwa-led-research. 

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New disease surveillance tool to transform public health responses

Source: ESR

UC researchers and collaborators create world-first statistical model with potential to better inform public health responses to infectious diseases.

A team of researchers, including Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury (UC) Dr Leighton Watson(external link) and Professor Michael Plank(external link), combined wastewater data with reported case numbers to create a statistical model that could be used to inform public health responses to infectious diseases worldwide.

Their study is based on data from the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR)(external link) wastewater COVID-19 surveillance programme and Covid-19 data collected in Aotearoa New Zealand.

The disease surveillance tool analyses data in a way no other study has previously done – combining wastewater data and reported case numbers to estimate how the case ascertainment rate, or proportion of infections reported, has changed over time. The model also estimates the effective reproduction number.

School of Mathematics and Statistics Lecturer Leighton Watson(external link)’s model provides a clearer picture of the state of an epidemic, disease dynamics and infections in the community.

“While the results are not the only piece to the puzzle, the model could be used as an additional source of information to inform public health policy decisions and hospital capacity planning,” Watson says.

He explains the model could be used by any country where most people are connected to the wastewater system. The model could be applied nationally or regionally and help inform planning of public health responses to multiple infectious diseases.

Watson noted that over time government restrictions and testing guidelines have been eased. “At first, people would test every time they got a sore throat. Anecdotally, now it seems like many people are assuming they are just under the weather because, for example, their kids bring every single bug possible home from school.”

Watson says fewer cases could mean fewer infections or fewer people reporting. Reported cases during the second wave in July 2022 were significantly lower than in the first wave in February and March 2022. However, the model suggests that there was a substantial drop in case ascertainment between the waves and that true numbers of infections were actually similar.

Wastewater surveillance has proven to provide valuable data on COVID-19 trends in the community in New Zealand and overseas. This led the research team to investigate how clinical and wastewater data could be combined to provide a better overall picture of the pandemic.

“People infected with SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, generally shed it in their stools, whether they have symptoms or not. If they flush their stool using a toilet connected to the wastewater network,  genetic material of the virus (RNA) can be detected in the wastewater collected at the local wastewater treatment plant” says Dr Joanne Hewitt, who leads the COVID-19 in wastewater surveillance work at ESR.

“By sampling wastewater, we can pick the virus up independent of whether people are testing or not, allowing a much wider cross-section of the community to be included,” says Hewitt. SARS-CoV-2 viral levels in New Zealand wastewater, alongside reported cases, can be viewed on a public dashboard(external link).

“Everyone who lives somewhere that’s linked up to the town wastewater system is going to shed the virus into the wastewater if they have Covid. If they are plumbed into the wastewater system and we are sampling it, we can pick that up independent of whether people are testing or not” Watson says.

According to the researchers the model provides the most accurate source of data on case ascertainment rate and effective reproduction numbers currently available.

Watson and Professor Plank worked alongside research colleagues from ESR(external link) and the University of Oxford’s Department of Statistics(external link) for the study. Their research, Improving estimates of epidemiological quantities by combining reported cases with wastewater data: a statistical framework with applications to COVID-19 in Aotearoa New Zealand(external link), was funded by New Zealand’s Ministry of Health(external link), the Public Health Agency(external link) and the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet(external link).

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New creature catalogue compiled to aid conservation

Source: NIWA – National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research

A new database describing marine species has been released to assist conservation.

The New Zealand Trait Database – the first of its kind in NZ – provides information for more than 700 shallow-water seafloor invertebrates, such as snails, crabs, and worms. 

The database includes information on everything from the animals’ feeding method and body shape, to the ways they move and mix the sediment they live in.

NIWA’s Dr Drew Lohrer, Strategy Manager for Coasts and Estuaries, helped with database development. He says it will be a powerful tool for understanding and protecting our native ecosystems.

“This database brings together information provided by many New Zealand and overseas researchers. It fills a big knowledge gap and provides a standard set of information – in one accessible online location – for us all to work with.

The biological and functional traits information in the database opens doors to new types of analyses, which in turn will help us to protect species and their ecosystems,” said Dr Lohrer.

In recent decades, the use of trait-based analyses has advanced scientists’ understanding of marine ecosystem functioning, including how it will respond to environmental change.

“The NZTD enables us to describe the types of traits and functions that are likely to disappear if we lose species to pollution or disturbance. We can also gain insights into the resilience of animals living on the seafloor by examining how their traits overlap. For example, if one species is lost, ecosystem functioning may be maintained through the activities and traits of those remaining. However, if dozens of species are lost, we may lose critical functions entirely, which would have a bigger impact on the whole system.

Gathering this information together was no easy feat. NIWA Marine Ecologist Orlando Lam-Gordillo led the effort.

“Compiling the database was a substantial effort because we needed to describe around 18 traits with 77 sub-categories for each of the 700 animal types.

We did this by scouring hundreds of pieces of scientific literature and biological collections, which as you can imagine is difficult and time-consuming. Because of this, these databases are scarce or lacking in many parts of the world, which until now, included New Zealand,” said Dr Lam-Gordillo.

The New Zealand Trait Database is an ongoing project, with continuous updates and refinements as additional taxa and trait information becomes available.

It can be freely viewed and downloaded from the repository Figshare and the  NIWA website.

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New News Surprising discovery: parrots, pigeons and penguins Share Surprising Chlamydia Strain Connections Across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand

Source: ESR

Surprising discovery: parrots, pigeons and penguins share surprising chlamydia strain connections across Australia and New Zealand

In an innovative collaboration, a team of scientists from a range of institutions – including the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR), Massey University, Ministry for Primary Industries, NSW Department of Primary Industries, University of Amsterdam, and the University of the Sunshine Coast (lead) – has unveiled unexpected findings in the epidemiology of chlamydial infections.

Their research, published with open access in the journal Microbial Genomics, showcases the use of whole-genome sequencing to unravel the DNA sequence of Chlamydia psittaci, a pathogen commonly found in parrots and pigeons, from various bird species in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand (1).

Chlamydia trachomatis, a type of bacteria, is commonly recognised as a sexually transmitted infection in humans. However, there is another species known as Chlamydia psittaci, which is responsible for causing psittacosis (also known as parrot fever and ornithosis), a disease affecting birds. In humans, psittacosis can manifest in different ways, ranging from asymptomatic infection or a mild flu-like illness to a more severe systemic condition, which may include atypical pneumonia.

Chlamydia psittaci was first identified in New Zealand in 1953 in recently imported Australian parrots and the keepers who cared for them (2). In a series of sporadic reports following the initial identification in 1953, Chlamydia psittaci has been detected in various exotic species of parrots (3,4) and feral pigeons (5).

Alarmingly, it has been linked to a mortality cluster among wild Malay doves in Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau (6). Notably, asymptomatic infections have been reported in native New Zealand birds like the Hihi (4) and Kea (7), even after their export to an overseas zoo. However, there are only a few studies in New Zealand that investigate Chlamydia psittaci in native and introduced birds. This is mainly because Chlamydia psittaci resides inside cells, making it challenging to study. The process of culturing and isolating Chlamydia psittaci is difficult and time-consuming, leading to limited amounts of chlamydial genetic material, which is often mixed with host DNA and contaminated.

The open access research paper ‘Whole-genome sequencing of Chlamydia psittaci from Australasian avian hosts: A genomics approach to a pathogen that still ruffles feathers’ sheds light on the presence of a specific Chlamydia psittaci type, known as sequence type (ST)24, in New Zealand parrots. Meanwhile, New Zealand pigeons exhibited a more diverse range of strains, aptly called the “pigeon clade” or “pigeon-type” strains. Molecular epidemiology reveals that these “pigeon-type” strains exist in various hosts across New Zealand. Surprisingly, these strains have been identified not only in pigeons themselves but also in other avian species, including a captive Zebra Finch, Diamond Dove, Superb Parrot, and our beloved Little Blue Penguin/Kororā.

To advance our understanding of the distribution of this pathogen amidst vulnerable populations in an ever-changing world, the researchers aim to study various avian environments throughout New Zealand, ranging from the open ocean to urban areas. Such research holds the potential to bolster our preparedness against infectious diseases in the country. However, this endeavour requires funding to investigate the prevalence and burden of Chlamydia psittaci in New Zealand.

With financial support, the researchers can embark on an ambitious journey to gather crucial information that will have substantial implications for public health, disease management, and avian conservation efforts – enabling us to develop effective strategies to protect the health of Aotearoa’s beloved birds.

This study was funded by Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Research Award (DECRA) awarded to Dr Martina Jelocnik from the University of the Sunshine Coast.

References

  1. Kasimov V, White RT, Foxwell J, Jenkins C, Gedye K, Pannekoek Y, Jelocnik M. Whole-genome sequencing of Chlamydia psittaci from Australasian avian hosts: A genomics approach to a pathogen that still ruffles feathers. Microbial Genomics 2023;9:001072.
  2. Fastier LB, Austin FJ. Psittacosis among Australian parrots imported into New Zealand. The New Zealand Medical Journal 1954;53:373-379.
  3. McCausland IP, Carter ME, O’Hara PJ. Clinical ornithosis in a New Zealand aviary. New Zealand Veterinary Journal 1972;20:53-54.
  4. Gartrell BD, French NP, Howe L, Nelson NJ, Houston M, Burrows EA, Russell JC, Anderson SH. First detection of Chlamydia psittaci from a wild native passerine bird in New Zealand. New Zealand Veterinary Journal 2013;61:174-176.
  5. Motha J, Reed C, Gibbons A. The prevalence of Chlamydia psittaci in feral pigeons and native psittacines. Surveillance 1995;22:20-22.
  6. Rawdon TG, Potter JS, Harvey CJ, Westera BF. Chlamydiosis (psittacosis) in Malay spotted doves Streptopelia chinesis. Kokako 2009;16:54–56.
  7. Johnson FW, Lyon DG, Wilkinson R, Bloomfield P, Philips HL. Isolation of Chlamydia psittaci from newly imported Keas (Nestor notabilis). The Veterinary Record 1984;114:298-299.