Heidi Meudt, Researcher Botany, specialises in the evolution and classification of native New Zealand flowering plants, especially forget-me-nots and foxgloves. Her talk for this session explores the research being conducted by Te Papa botanists to determine how many species of native forget-me-nots there are in New Zealand, how they are related to one another and how to identify them.
Phil Sirvid, Collection Manager Entomology, was terrified of spiders after a tunnel-web spider climbed up his leg when he was four years old. Nightmares followed that initial encounter, but as he grew up he learned to love them, even keeping a pet katipo by the side of his bed. He’s the ‘go-to guy’ for the many people who call up Te Papa with questions about spiders and other bugs. The subject of his presentation is, not surprisingly, an introduction to New Zealand’s…spiders.
Jean-Claude Stahl, Natural History Photographer, has experience as a researcher on New Zealand and Antarctic wildlife, working for many years on programmes of albatross, petrel and penguin research on isolated islands around the Southern Ocean. Over recent years he has worked as the photographer in the natural history area at Te Papa. His images include deliciously detailed images of forest ecosystems, as well as those unlocking the intricacies of minute invertebrates from the collections with 3-D digital reconstructions.
Image credits: Scientist photos – Heidi Meudt by Norm Heke, Te Papa, Phil Sirvid from “Tales from Te Papa” video, Jean-Claude Stahl courtesy Kennedy Warne.