This study explores the impact of climate change on biological control of the Woolly apple aphid (Eriosoma lanigerum, WAA) by its parasitoid Aphelinus mali. Changes in temperature affect the survival and development of A. mali, potentially influencing its effectiveness in controlling WAA populations. The study shows that temperature variations impact the survival and development of A. mali. While warmer conditions enhance parasitism rates, factors like extreme heat events and host population changes may counteract the positive effects. Highlighting the complex dynamics of climate change on insect pest control and emphasizing the need for a nuanced understanding of how climate change affects pest management strategies.

The impact of floods on the primary sector was first assessed nationally and then for the Awanui River Catchment in Northland. The analyses focused on the impacts of flooding on the primary sector, including changes in land uses as an adaption response to floods with climate change and subsequent changes in economic and environmental indicators. The specific objectives of the analysis are to:

1 quantify New Zealand’s primary sector exposure to flood hazards.

2 quantify the primary sector’s exposure and financial losses from floods in one catchment – the Awanui catchment.

3 analyse the impacts of flooding on land-use change and economic and environmental indicators.

4 evaluate economic and social welfare changes from floods-induced land-use change.

This report has two main objectives.

1) To present a new approach to documenting and predicting people’s willingness to manage invasive species and designing
appropriate public engagement strategies.

2) To present new simulation tools for modelling.

This Sustainable Land Management and Climate Change (SLMACC) project “Quantifying climate change adaptation plans” uses kiwifruit and avocado as exemplars of high-value crops. It aims to predict the performance of horticultural crops under climate change, to quantify growers’ exposure to climate change, and to model how this exposure is affected by adaptations designed to ameliorate climate impacts.

The Greenshell mussel (GSM) is a commercially, ecologically and culturally significant species to New Zealand. Summer die-offs, spat retention issues and a severe decline in GSM spat settlement have been reported in the Marlborough Sounds. The causes of these effects are unknown but preliminary evidence indicates that pressure from anthropogenic activities could contribute. The aims of this study were to

(1) test the toxicity of water and sediment extracts on early life stages of the GSM to identify potential sources of stressors affecting GSM recruitment, and

(2) investigate the effects of temperature on the toxicity of these stressors to help understand the potential impact of climate change and pollution on GSM.