Ian Duggan
@icdugg.bsky.social
#Freshwater #Invasion biologist, #zooplankton ecologist, and sometime environmental historian. Ngāi Tahu. Keyboards at Bitter Defeat and tweet for @gardhistnz.bsky.social
The Giant Penguin fossil at Waikato Museum - Kairuku waewaeroa - (= food-diver long-legs). It lived in the Oligocene, at a time when Zealandia was almost fully submerged, with small islands and shallow seas prefect for coastal marine life evolution.
February 6, 2026 at 3:16 AM
The Giant Penguin fossil at Waikato Museum - Kairuku waewaeroa - (= food-diver long-legs). It lived in the Oligocene, at a time when Zealandia was almost fully submerged, with small islands and shallow seas prefect for coastal marine life evolution.
At Waikato Museum, where we stumbled across a virtual microscope display of what's in the Waikato River, featuring a bdelloid rotifer! It's turned my day around!
February 5, 2026 at 11:47 PM
At Waikato Museum, where we stumbled across a virtual microscope display of what's in the Waikato River, featuring a bdelloid rotifer! It's turned my day around!
Reposted by Ian Duggan
Go for length, Ian.
It's Bug of the Year time in NZ! Despite all being 'macroinvertebrates', there are some really good selections this year! Am I on team NZ Flatworm for being one of the invaders we have had go the other way? Or go aquatic Team Tadpole Shrimp or Intertidal Caddisfly...?
www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro...
www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro...
Which bug is the mightiest of the year?
You've probably all heard of Bird of the Year, but Bug of the Year might be new to you. Much like the name suggests, it is a competition pitting critters against each other. (Yes, we know the word "bu...
www.rnz.co.nz
February 4, 2026 at 8:56 PM
Go for length, Ian.
It's Bug of the Year time in NZ! Despite all being 'macroinvertebrates', there are some really good selections this year! Am I on team NZ Flatworm for being one of the invaders we have had go the other way? Or go aquatic Team Tadpole Shrimp or Intertidal Caddisfly...?
www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro...
www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro...
Which bug is the mightiest of the year?
You've probably all heard of Bird of the Year, but Bug of the Year might be new to you. Much like the name suggests, it is a competition pitting critters against each other. (Yes, we know the word "bu...
www.rnz.co.nz
February 4, 2026 at 9:39 AM
It's Bug of the Year time in NZ! Despite all being 'macroinvertebrates', there are some really good selections this year! Am I on team NZ Flatworm for being one of the invaders we have had go the other way? Or go aquatic Team Tadpole Shrimp or Intertidal Caddisfly...?
www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro...
www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro...
This is so crazy! Invasive mallards in NZ have been observed preying on the chicks of our "bird of the century", pūteketeke. "This duck behaviour was unknown to DoC experts, and there was a concern that it would spread, as ducks learned from each other".
www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/doc-fears...
www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/doc-fears...
'We were horrified': DoC shock as ducks filmed eating native chicks alive
DoC has euthanised three mallards from Lake Alexandrina to stop copycat attacks.
www.nzherald.co.nz
February 4, 2026 at 4:44 AM
This is so crazy! Invasive mallards in NZ have been observed preying on the chicks of our "bird of the century", pūteketeke. "This duck behaviour was unknown to DoC experts, and there was a concern that it would spread, as ducks learned from each other".
www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/doc-fears...
www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/doc-fears...
It's been a few months since the last dragon fruit update, but they have now been planted in a bigger pot outside.
November 29, 2025 at 11:24 PM
It's been a few months since the last dragon fruit update, but they have now been planted in a bigger pot outside.
Pleated inkcaps growing on the lawn.
November 29, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Pleated inkcaps growing on the lawn.
Uh oh... Corbicula has spread byond the Waikato River to Lake Rotomanu in Taranaki.
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
Lake Rotomanu closed to motorised boats after discovery of invasive clam
Taranaki Regional Council said it was unknown how the clams got into the lake, but the focus now was making sure they did not spread to other Taranaki lakes or rivers.
www.rnz.co.nz
November 11, 2025 at 11:41 AM
Uh oh... Corbicula has spread byond the Waikato River to Lake Rotomanu in Taranaki.
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
Separated at birth. Ruud Kleinpaste's 'Scratching for a Living' and Witi Ihimaera's 'The Matriarch'.
October 26, 2025 at 1:03 AM
Separated at birth. Ruud Kleinpaste's 'Scratching for a Living' and Witi Ihimaera's 'The Matriarch'.
Reposted by Ian Duggan
A great initiative from Te Tira Whakamātaki - peltswithpurpose.raiselysite.com/en/
What is unwanted here (possums) is a taonga (treasure) in Te Whenua-a-Moemoeā (Australia). Māori possum hunters supply Aboriginal communities (for cultural revitalisation). Donations enable rangatahi exchanges.
What is unwanted here (possums) is a taonga (treasure) in Te Whenua-a-Moemoeā (Australia). Māori possum hunters supply Aboriginal communities (for cultural revitalisation). Donations enable rangatahi exchanges.
(Re)storying the Possum - Pelts with Purpose
Possums destroy native species. But what is unwanted here is a taonga across the Tasman. Help us gather and prepare possum pelts for Aboriginal communities to use, all while restoring biodiversity at ...
peltswithpurpose.raiselysite.com
September 29, 2025 at 4:55 AM
A great initiative from Te Tira Whakamātaki - peltswithpurpose.raiselysite.com/en/
What is unwanted here (possums) is a taonga (treasure) in Te Whenua-a-Moemoeā (Australia). Māori possum hunters supply Aboriginal communities (for cultural revitalisation). Donations enable rangatahi exchanges.
What is unwanted here (possums) is a taonga (treasure) in Te Whenua-a-Moemoeā (Australia). Māori possum hunters supply Aboriginal communities (for cultural revitalisation). Donations enable rangatahi exchanges.
Reposted by Ian Duggan
I know a man who is a university lecturer doing Proper Science with zooplankton, and is also New Zealand's leading garden gnome historian. This seems fine to me.
August 12, 2025 at 11:22 AM
I know a man who is a university lecturer doing Proper Science with zooplankton, and is also New Zealand's leading garden gnome historian. This seems fine to me.
Reposted by Ian Duggan
Nice work Simon Stewart @troybaisden.bsky.social @icdugg.bsky.social et al. #Lakes are Earth’s eye indeed. 🧪
Read more about this research at @aunz.theconversation.com → theconversation.com/lakeshore-sh... #complexsystems @troybaisden.bsky.social
Lakeshore shallows can be biodiversity hotspots – but warming is changing their complex ecology
Climate change is already affecting lake stratification, the seasonal layering of water into distinct temperature bands, which is crucial for nutrient flows.
theconversation.com
September 15, 2025 at 7:07 AM
Nice work Simon Stewart @troybaisden.bsky.social @icdugg.bsky.social et al. #Lakes are Earth’s eye indeed. 🧪
New paper! "Hypolimnetic Nutrient Subsidies to Surface Waters of a Large Lake: A Coupled Hydrodynamic Modelling and Nitrogen Isotope Field"; Upwelling of hypolimnetic water is important for lake littoral food webs, including for our freshwater mussel, kākahi (Echyridella menziesii) in Lake Taupō.
August 29, 2025 at 9:18 PM
New paper! "Hypolimnetic Nutrient Subsidies to Surface Waters of a Large Lake: A Coupled Hydrodynamic Modelling and Nitrogen Isotope Field"; Upwelling of hypolimnetic water is important for lake littoral food webs, including for our freshwater mussel, kākahi (Echyridella menziesii) in Lake Taupō.
"A small live snake has been found at the home of a Christchurch traveller who had just returned home from Bali."
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
Live snake found in Christchurch traveller's suitcase
It slid past customs.
www.rnz.co.nz
August 29, 2025 at 8:58 PM
"A small live snake has been found at the home of a Christchurch traveller who had just returned home from Bali."
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
"Populations of the New Zealand flatworm are growing in Scotland and northern England... The sharp increase in non-native species in recent decades is attributed to global trade, particularly in potted plants and soils..."
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Pot-plant trade is ‘hitchhiker pathway’ for invasive flatworms, say UK experts
Rise in sightings prompts call for ban on soil imports, to prevent entry of more species that eat earthworms and degrade soil
www.theguardian.com
July 4, 2025 at 12:57 PM
"Populations of the New Zealand flatworm are growing in Scotland and northern England... The sharp increase in non-native species in recent decades is attributed to global trade, particularly in potted plants and soils..."
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Ian Duggan
Explore a Special Issue of Management of Biological Invasions (MBI) on advances in the study of the management of biological invasions in inland waters and the legacy of Gordon Howard Copp (1956–2023) 👇 buff.ly/yS9hwpf #INVASIVESNET #MBI #GuardIAS
April 18, 2025 at 6:00 AM
Explore a Special Issue of Management of Biological Invasions (MBI) on advances in the study of the management of biological invasions in inland waters and the legacy of Gordon Howard Copp (1956–2023) 👇 buff.ly/yS9hwpf #INVASIVESNET #MBI #GuardIAS
Reposted by Ian Duggan
April 12, 2025 at 11:57 PM
Reposted by Ian Duggan
Tardigrades are finally recognized for being awesome.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
It’s heroic, hardy and less than a millimetre long: meet the 2025 invertebrate of the year | Patrick Barkham
Guardian readers around the world voted in the this year’s contest, but which creature won, asks natural history writer Patrick Barkham
www.theguardian.com
April 8, 2025 at 12:33 AM
Tardigrades are finally recognized for being awesome.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Ian Duggan
Wanna come work with me? We're advertising a fixed term Lecturer in Animal Behaviour at Waikato. We're especially keen on someone who works on birds, reptiles, bats etc. Let me know if you have questions!
www.seek.co.nz/job/83279795...
www.seek.co.nz/job/83279795...
Lecturer - Animal Behaviour Job in Hillcrest, Waikato - SEEK
Seeking an enthusiastic Lecturer in Animal Behaviour to teach, research, and supervise in ecology, biodiversity, and animal behaviour.
www.seek.co.nz
April 5, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Wanna come work with me? We're advertising a fixed term Lecturer in Animal Behaviour at Waikato. We're especially keen on someone who works on birds, reptiles, bats etc. Let me know if you have questions!
www.seek.co.nz/job/83279795...
www.seek.co.nz/job/83279795...
As the temperatures start to cool, we are finally getting a few monarch caterpillars making it to a decent age, safe from the wasps.
March 30, 2025 at 8:09 PM
As the temperatures start to cool, we are finally getting a few monarch caterpillars making it to a decent age, safe from the wasps.
Reposted by Ian Duggan
I've nominated the bdelloid rotifer for The Guardian's "Invertebrate of the Year" and out of over 2000 nominations it got shortlisted... WOOHOO! Go see and vote: #InvertebrateOfTheYear #TheGuardian #bdelloid #rotifer www.theguardian.com/environment/...
All-female and able to survive 24,000 years on ice: all hail the resilient rotifer
Tiny aquatic animal can also withstand desiccation, radiation and extreme heat, and reproduces asexually
www.theguardian.com
March 29, 2025 at 8:20 PM
I've nominated the bdelloid rotifer for The Guardian's "Invertebrate of the Year" and out of over 2000 nominations it got shortlisted... WOOHOO! Go see and vote: #InvertebrateOfTheYear #TheGuardian #bdelloid #rotifer www.theguardian.com/environment/...
All hail the resilient rotifer! All-female and able to survive 24,000 years on ice - the bdelloid rotifer in the running for The Guardian's 2025 invertebrate of the year!
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
All-female and able to survive 24,000 years on ice: all hail the resilient rotifer
Tiny aquatic animal can also withstand desiccation, radiation and extreme heat, and reproduces asexually
www.theguardian.com
March 30, 2025 at 1:41 AM
All hail the resilient rotifer! All-female and able to survive 24,000 years on ice - the bdelloid rotifer in the running for The Guardian's 2025 invertebrate of the year!
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Teaching zooplankton on the Tauranga campus today. These are some nice trophi ("teeth") eroded from the predatory rotifer Asplanchna priodonta.
March 7, 2025 at 3:19 AM
Teaching zooplankton on the Tauranga campus today. These are some nice trophi ("teeth") eroded from the predatory rotifer Asplanchna priodonta.
Reposted by Ian Duggan
Rotifers! Found in a marine turtle at the clinic today. Not strictly a parasite - they eat alge with their rotor shaped mouths but can cause G.I. blockage in turtles.
#turtle #parasites #microscopy
#turtle #parasites #microscopy
January 31, 2025 at 11:36 PM
Rotifers! Found in a marine turtle at the clinic today. Not strictly a parasite - they eat alge with their rotor shaped mouths but can cause G.I. blockage in turtles.
#turtle #parasites #microscopy
#turtle #parasites #microscopy