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Language connects cultural and biological diversity and can contribute to both big data and localised approaches to improve conservation. Analysing Indigenous languages at regional level supports understanding of local ecologies and cultural revitalisation. Collated linguistic datasets can help to identify large-scale patterns, including extinctions, and forge robust multidisciplinary approaches to biocultural decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many youths today are disconnected from nature. Although technology cannot substitute for real-life connection of youth to the environment, it can enable nature connectedness, a key factor in reclaiming cultural identity which is intrinsically embedded in nature for Indigenous Māori people. We explore Indigitization as a mechanism for transferring Indigenous ecological knowledge (mātauranga) through digital platforms: virtual reality (VR), and graphic novel (GN) in Māori and English. We used these technologies to capture the pūrākau (story) of a sacred area for Te Rarawa iwi (tribe) in New Zealand, to transfer Indigenous ecological knowledge (mātauranga) about Au Warawara Forest to youth. We assessed the impact of these digital resources on 122 students from Te Rarawa, from both local schools and the wider North Island, who attended a culturally based environmental program. The aim was to increase student levels of mātauranga in ecology. We surveyed students before and after exposure to VR and GN. Students responded positively to the VR, but student enthusiasm for both resources was high. After these experiences, students reported deeper connections to their history and the environment, and with increased awareness of mātauranga. More than half of the youth preferred experiencing VR and GN in Māori. These results show that Indigenous narratives conveyed through digital media support the transfer of ecological mātauranga Māori. Use of technologies such as VR and GN are likely to be critical for future biodiversity conservation sustainability through reconnection of Indigenous youth to cultural and ecological knowledges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Determining diet and trophic position of species with stable isotopes requires appropriate trophic enrichment estimates between an animal and its potential foods. These estimates are particularly important for cryptic foragers where there is little comparative dietary information. Nonetheless, many trophic enrichment estimates are based on related taxa, without confirmation of accuracy using laboratory trials. We used stable isotope analysis to investigate diet and to resolve trophic relationships in a large endemic insect, the Auckland tree weta (Hemideina thoracica White). Comparisons of isotopes in plant foods fed to captive wetas with isotope ratios in their frass provided variable results, so frass isotope values had limited usefulness as a proxy indicator of trophic level. Isotopic values varied between different tissues, with trophic depletion of 15N highest in body fat and testes. Tissue fractionation was consistent in captive and wild caught wetas, and isotopic values were not significantly different between the two groups, suggesting that this weta species is primarily herbivorous. Whole-body values in captive wetas demonstrated trophic depletion (Δδ) for δ15N of about −0.77‰ and trophic enrichment of 4.28‰ for δ13C. These values differ from commonly estimated trophic enrichments for both insects and herbivores and indicate the importance of laboratory trials to determine trophic enrichment. Isotopic values for femur muscles from a number of local wild weta populations did not vary consistently with body weight or size, suggesting that juveniles eat the same foods as adults. Considerable variation among individuals within and between populations suggests that isotopic values are strongly influenced by food availability and individual foraging traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]