Research@Lincoln

Research@Lincoln is an open access institutional repository collecting the research produced by Lincoln University staff and students. You may also be interested in Data@Lincoln or Lincoln University Living Heritage.

Students wishing to submit a thesis or dissertation should see the Depositing theses and dissertations guide.

Recent Submissions

  • ItemRestricted
    Towards Transformative food system for tribal communities in the Global South: Insights from Hill and Mountain regions of Northeast India
    Ratna, Nazmun; Jamir, C; Jagannath, P; Longkumer, M
    While there is a rich body of gender, natural hazards, and displacement literature for the Global South countries, the literature on the food security and nutrition of tribal and/or indigenous communities in the Mountain and Hill regions remains opaque. Hill and mountain regions have been reported to be highly climate-vulnerable and food insecure. At the same time, they are home to many indigenous and/or tribal communities and host a wide range of crop biodiversity. These societies cut off from the mainstream population primarily due to complex topography and limited mobility, have evolved their traditional techniques of producing and meeting their nutritional requirements. Based on an estimation of dietary diversity among the Ao-Naga tribe in the eastern Himalayan foothills of Northeast India, in this paper we argue that food policies principally aimed at enhancing food security indicators, need to adopt transformative lenses by promoting dietary practices of the local tribes. Utilizing data from 404 households in Mokokchung district, the research compares dietary habits between urban and rural areas. Our preliminary analysis indicates that rural households have higher Food Diversity Scores (FDS) due to greater consumption of nutrient-dense traditional foods, such as organ meat and insects. Conversely, urban households show increased consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPF) and food away from home (FAFH), both of which are positively correlated with higher household income and education levels. The study highlights the complex relationship between socioeconomic factors, dietary diversity, and health outcomes in tribal communities, and necessitates the need for developing evidence-based food policies with more mixed-method research on mountain food systems in the Global South.
  • ItemOpen Access
    Rice blast in the Indo-Pacific Region impacting food security highlights the need for better biosecurity
    (Pensoft Publishers, 2025-09-05) Howard, K; Kachigunda, B; Spencer, R; Hewitt, Chad; Bayliss, KL
    Plant pests significantly reduce crop yield, which impacts access, availability and food utilisation. Rice is a staple crop for almost half of the world’s population. Asia (including the Indo-Pacific Region, IPR) contributes 90% and consumes 86% of global rice production, but is among the most food-insecure regions in the world, with an increase of 16 million (to 113 million) moderately/ severely food-insecure people in the region in the last 5 years. Outbreaks of the rice blast pathogen Pyricularia oryzae in the IPR could significantly affect global food security. Modelling indicates that an extreme case of 80% loss of rice crops across the IPR could increase global rice prices by 50–95%, increasing food insecurity for net exporter countries while creating price shocks in importing countries. This study used the four pillars of food security as a framework to evaluate the impact of rice blast on food availability, access, utilisation, and stability. The objective was to determine if biosecurity measures might be easily implemented to reduce the risk of the disease and increase food security in the region. Biosecurity was claimed as essential for managing rice blast across the pre-border/ border/post-border continuum to reduce the risk to food security. Australia and New Zealand may be able to assist with the implementation of biosecurity measures as they are the most significant leaders in this field in the IPR. Regional agencies such as the Asia and Pacific Plant Protection Commission might assist the IPR in identifying threats through intelligence gathering and pathway modelling for pre-border activities. To be effective, the biosecurity system needs all stakeholders to work together.
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    Toxicology of bromoform, a natural constituent of the seaweed Asparagopsis spp. used to inhibit methanogenesis in cattle, suggests negligible risks to humans
    (Academic Press Inc., 2025-09-08) Cressey, PJ; Gautam, A; Pearson, AJ; Fowles, J; Tyagi, P; Eason, CT
    The red seaweeds, Asparagopsis taxiformis and A. armata inhibit methane production in ruminants, considered to be mediated by bromoform. This review examines the toxicology, metabolism, epidemiology and pharmacology of bromoform. IARC concludes bromoform is not classifiable as a carcinogen to humans, whereas the US EPA classifies it as a probable human carcinogen based on a low incidence of intestinal tumours in female rats given high gavage doses chronically. Under the same conditions, mice exhibited no tumours, suggesting that tumour formation is secondary to localised cytotoxicity. While there is some in vitro evidence of mutagenic potential for bromoform, likely via a metabolic pathway involving GSTT-1, this pathway is unlikely to be relevant at low doses. The human evidence, from drinking water disinfection by-product studies, is inconclusive. While some residue studies find bromoform in milk, the concentrations approach background levels and pose no significant cancer risk. The collective implication of these findings is that bromoform, as an environmental inhibitor, does not pose a significant risk. A precautionary approach would ensure that bromoform intake does not exceed the capacity for rumen degradation such that concentrations of residues in tissues and milk and consequent dietary exposure are minimised and below relevant health-based guidance values.
  • PublicationRestricted
    The breeding biology of the Blue Penguin (Eudyptula minor) on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island - Steps towards the conservation of a declining population : Presented to the Faculty of Forest Science and Forest Ecology of the Georg-August University, Gottingen in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of M.Sc. International and Tropical Forestry
    (Georg-August University, 2007) Heber, Sol
    This study represents the first comprehensive study on the breeding cycle of the Blue Penguin (Eudyptula minor) on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island and was conducted during the 2006 breeding season. Anecdotal evidence indicates that there has been a population decline of Blue Penguins on the West Coast, and the main aim of this study was to obtain baseline data to document further population changes and to identify causes of the reported population decline. To achieve this goal, breeding success was determined, and threats to the Blue Penguin in the study area were identified. The timing and length of the breeding season of Blue Penguins on the West Coast was determined to provide guidelines for the timing of future counts and breeding surveys, and provide advice on the timing of effective conservation measures and potentially disruptive human activities.
  • ItemOpen Access
    An investigation of the role of Clockwork Orange (CWO) in circadian rhythms of Drosophila melanogaster: a mathematical modeling study
    (Intech Open, 2025-09-03) Kulasiri, Don; Ranganathan, J; Kulasiri, Don
    The daily behavioral cycles exhibited by nearly all living organisms, known as circadian rhythms, are a crucial feature of life shaped by the Earth’s rotation and regulated by internal biological clocks. These approximately 24-hour patterns reflect intricate biochemical and physiological processes. The fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, has emerged as a pivotal model for studying circadian rhythms, with its genetic and molecular underpinnings extensively characterized. Mathematical modeling is a common tool used to dissect these dynamic systems. This study presents three new models of the circadian pathways of Drosophila melanogaster, each integrating three separate transcriptional feedback loops: the classic PER-TIM and VRI-PDP1 cycles, as well as the newly identified Clockwork Orange loop. These models investigate three possible dual functions of the CWO protein, hypothesizing that it may simultaneously activate and repress key circadian genes. They combine established molecular insights with new hypotheses derived from both in vivo data and CWO’s protein sequence using bioinformatics tools. The models employ a probabilistic ordinary differential equation (ODE) grounded in chemical kinetics to describe how transcription factors bind to and dissociate from their targets. Rather than relying extensively on potentially inconsistent in vitro measurements, the study focuses on developing conceptual models and testing hypotheses. Available data were primarily utilized to refine parameter estimates and assess model validity. This methodological choice provided the flexibility needed to probe the molecular functions of CWO more thoroughly. Model behavior was evaluated and validated using mutant data, and the resulting simulations offer insights into circadian biology by clarifying the role of CWO at the molecular level.
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