Biosystematics
Introduction
The Biosystematics Team brings together over 40 science staff researching New Zealand's most diverse groups of life on land and in freshwater. Research addresses our native and introduced plants, insects and other arthropods, fungi, and plant-associated bacteria, to describe New Zealand's biodiversity and species interrelationships and to make that information readily accessible. Currently, less than 50% of New Zealand's estimated total biodiversity in these groups has been recorded. Research is supported by Landcare Research's five national and international collections of these organisms, along with specialised databases and libraries. The biological collections also hold voucher specimens that authenticate biological studies in diverse branches of science. Biosystematists link with colleagues in ecology, conservation, genetics, weed and pest control, plant pathology, bioprospecting, and biosecurity to provide authoritative names and specimen-linked information integral to the applied sciences. Increasingly, species identification and determination of species relationships involves DNA analyses in addition to morphological and biochemical approaches. Holdings of the national collections are a key source of DNA for these studies.
Research themes
- Fungal Biosystematics
Primary contact: Peter Buchanan
Underpinning research, describing and cataloguing New Zealand's indigenous and introduced fungi, the biological roles they play in New Zealand's environment, and their phylogenetic and biogeographic relationships. - Invertebrate Biosystematics
Primary contact: Marie-Claude Lariviere
Our taxonomic research focuses on identifying, naming, describing and cataloguing New Zealand's indigenous and introduced insects, spiders, mites, nematodes, etc., documenting their biological roles in the environment, and understanding their phylogenetic and biogeographic relationships. - Plant Biosystematics
Primary contact: Ilse Breitwieser
New Zealand has a unique and diverse indigenous flora and an ever-increasing introduced flora. Work in this area includes work on species and relationships between species, floras, identification, anatomy of plants and classification.
Research collaborations
While most staff in the team are located at Auckland and Lincoln, we work both locally and nationally in collaborations with Māori, education agencies, and the wider community. We also work internationally to assist developing nations to establish infrastructure and knowledge systems for biosystematics, biosecurity, and quarantine. Long-standing collaborations have been developed with New Zealand and overseas researchers, and we welcome further collaborations. Revenue for this research comes from the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology (FRST), biosecurity and conservation agencies, collaborating research agencies, industry, and international funding bodies.
Tools & Services
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NZAC Biological Control Voucher Collection
List of the voucher specimens representing natural enemies imported into New Zealand to control various arthropod and weed pests. Arranged by target organism.
Science leader
 | Peter Buchanan Email  |
Landcare Research | |
Phone: 09 574 4100 |