Mātauraka Māori

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https://hdl.handle.net/10182/14153

This collection pulls together content included in other Research@Lincoln collections that has a mātauraka Māori focus. You may also be interested in:

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Māori branding in Aotearoa New Zealand’s horticulture sector : Starting dialogue with rural professionals
(2024) Rombach, Meike; Tangiora, Hiraina
The study is dedicated to rural professionals and aims to unpack indigenous branding in a tangible manner. It enable horticultural practitioners to make informed decisions on how to respectfully incorporate Māori cultural elements into branding. The work includes best practice examples from the horticultural and beverage industry.
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Navigating by the stars: A critical analysis of Indigenous events as constellations of decolonization
(Taylor & Francis on behalf of Australia and New Zealand Association of Leisure Studies, 2021) Walters, Trudie; Ruwhiu, D
This paper cultivates an approach to leisure scholarship which is more responsive to Indigenous peoples and responsibilities of translation. This study is grounded within kaupapa Māori, an Indigenous perspective specific to Aotearoa New Zealand that privileges Māori epistemology. We apply this to a longitudinal analysis of media representations of an Indigenous event (Puaka Matariki) held annually since 2004 in Ōtepoti/Dunedin, Aotearoa New Zealand. We find that media narratives surrounding the event use te reo (Māori language) in a way that demonstrates its acceptance in the wider non-Māori community, a clear respect for Te Ao Māori (the Māori world) through the incorporation of identity and values, the manifestation of whanaungatanga (collectivity and social relationality), and the assertion of tino rangatiratanga (sovereignty). We conclude that events such as Puaka Matariki can act as expressions of empowerment for Indigenous communities traditionally marginalized through experiences of colonization.
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A critical analysis of indigenous events as expressions of empowerment
(University of Otago: Department of Tourism., 2019-12-10) Walters, Trudie; Walters, T; Kerr, R; Stewart, E
This paper cultivates an approach to leisure scholarship which is more responsive to Indigenous peoples and responsibilities of translation. This study is grounded within kaupapa Māori, an Indigenous perspective specific to Aotearoa New Zealand that privileges Māori epistemology. We apply this to a longitudinal analysis of media representations of an Indigenous event (Puaka Matariki) held annually since 2004 in Ōtepoti/Dunedin, Aotearoa New Zealand. We find te reo (Māori language) being used in a way that demonstrates its acceptance in the wider non-Māori community, a clear respect for Te Ao Māori (the Māori world) through the incorporation of identity and values, the manifestation of whanaungatanga (collectivity and social relationality), and the assertion of tino rangatiratanga (sovereignty). We conclude that events such as Puaka Matariki can act as expressions of empowerment for Indigenous communities traditionally marginalised through experiences of colonisation.
Open Access
Māori values and agricultural value chains
(2023) Tangiora, Hiraina
Presentation given at Research-Policy Nexus Workshop : Nutrition for ALL: What can we learn from communities in Mountain and Hill Region?
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Māori prosperity through agrifood innovation: Success stories in Aotearoa New Zealand's food and fibre sector
(2024) Jahnke-Waitoa, S; O'Connor, Chrystal; Tangiora, Hiraina
We will discuss mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) from a recent survey asking Māori which plants, vegetables, and rākau rongoā (medicinal plants) are significant to them, and some of their current uses today. We will explain the significant role that insects play in Māori culture as food, medicine, and cultural narratives. Finally, we'll discuss how revitalising potential future food sources like insects benefits from Indigenous knowledge and the care that should be taken when integrating it into Western science.
Open Access
The role of landscape architecture at public open-air rock art sites - case studies in Canterbury, Aotearoa New Zealand : A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Landscape Architecture at Lincoln University
(Lincoln University, 2024) Smart, Gwen
Rock art is a valuable and vulnerable taonga | treasure both in Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally. The theory and practice of landscape architecture and rock art conservation and management hold many of the same values and concerns. However, very little research addresses the specific overlap between these fields. From the literature, it is difficult to gain an idea of the reality of the situation: what role do landscape architects have in the conservation and management of open-air rock art sites? This dissertation aims to explore the overlap between these fields from a landscape architectural perspective and to begin to bridge this gap in the literature. While the international context of rock art conservation and management informs this project, its focus is on a specific subject and geographic area: publicly accessible open-air Māori rock art sites of Waitaha | Canterbury in Aotearoa New Zealand. This allows for a detailed and context specific investigation. A novel, holistic, hybrid methodology was developed and applied. This included a specialist interview with Amanda Symon, Trustee of the Ngāi Tahu Māori Rock Art Trust, a multiple case study protocol, including the development and application of a case study framework, and the hybrid, critical discussion of the resultant findings. The research demonstrates that landscape architects have had a limited role at public, open-air rock art sites in Waitaha | Canterbury, but that there are many avenues by which landscape architecture may be able to make a contribution to the conservation and management of such sites, as part of a transdisciplinary, tangata whenua led team. These may include responding to the unique risks and opportunities these sites present, finding visitor management solutions, potential involvement in landscape assessment for planning or legislative purposes, facilitating transdisciplinary research or development, and the possibility of mutually beneficial educational and research relationships between rock art conservation and management and landscape architecture institutions. This dissertation has a specific regional focus on Waitaha| Canterbury’s historical, cultural, and environmental context. This research, however, is nested within the global context, and many of the topics addressed, methods discussed, questions raised, and further research opportunities proposed could be adapted to be more broadly applicable.
Open Access
Social discount rates in cost benefit analysis of regional pest management plans: Guidance and recommendations for the uninitiated
(AERU, Lincoln University | Te Whare Wānaka o Aoraki, 2023-07) Tait, Peter
Decisions concerning pest management frequently carry long-term consequences for the environment and human interests. This situation then leads to a pertinent question: should we value future outcomes equally with immediate ones in our current decision-making processes? This is the question of discounting. • A central purpose of Regional Pest Management Plans (RPMP) is to provide a framework to manage identified pests efficiently and effectively. Within a limited budget, RPMP decision-makers are tasked with determining which pests to focus response resources on, and the tools of Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) or other related analytic approaches to analysis of benefits and costs (ABC) can contribute information to inform how to best allocate response budget. • Discounting in CBA converts future costs and benefits into present value (PV), enabling consistent comparison across different time periods. Discounting is particularly important in determining the PV of environmental projects with significant timing differences between costs and benefits, where benefits are delayed, or where benefits accrue over a long time horizon. • An important implication of the exponential discounting approach currently used by New Zealand Treasury (TSY), is that this can substantially undervalue long-term benefits, contradicting pest management strategies emphasising preventative actions, and diminishing the role of future societies’ wellbeing. • An important limitation of the TSY approach, is that discount rates are based in estimates of the government's cost of capital using market rate of return data. This approach has limited applicability to environmental decision making and is unlikely to capture the full range of relevant social preferences. For example, the market rate of return is unlikely to reflect the non-market values of environmental goods and services. That is, there are no markets for most of the environmental goods and services society benefits from such as those provided by natural ecosystems, and therefore no relevant market rate of return is directly observable in many instances. • An alternative approach to setting discount rates is based in maximising the wellbeing of society through time, explicitly considering the importance of future generations’ wellbeing. This is known as the social rate of time preference (SRTP). This approach allows for the incorporation of society's preferences for environmental outcomes into the discount rate, is consistent with ethical principles of intergenerational equity and sustainability, and promotes transparency and stakeholder engagement in rates setting. • The SRTP approach is able to incorporate te ao Māori considerations regarding the choice of discount rate. Discounting from a Māori perspective is relevant because Māori conceptualisations of time may differ from what may be considered as Eurocentric time preferences. The principle of tauutuutu (reciprocity) ethics highlights the obligation Māori have to future generations and the importance of creating and maintaining intergenerational equity. Through whakapapa (genealogy), Māori identify the natural world as a continuum of both ancestors and family through time. This means that the future value of environmental quality to future Māori generations should be considered equally valuable to present generations. Applying te ao Māori considerations to discounting supports the use of lower rates. • Alongside an increase in the use of SRTP discount rates, in high income countries, is a move toward implementing declining discount rates over time. This differs from the current TSY approach applying a constant rate in each year. A declining discount rate can promote intergenerational equity by recognising the rights and interests of future generations in decision making. This can help ensure that environmental resources are shared fairly over generations and are more responsive to indigenous world views/te ao Māori. A declining discount rate can reflect the uncertainty associated with long-term decision-making, such as climate change. By reducing the discount rate over time, decision-makers can account for the uncertainty associated with long-term projections.
Open Access
An investigation of systematic camera trap monitoring for kiwi (Apteryx spp.) : A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Lincoln University
(Lincoln University, 2023) Tansell, A Jane S
Introduction: Kiwi (Apteryx spp.) are one of New Zealand’s national taonga/taoka (treasures) that are our responsibility and privilege to protect. To inform protective management, we need to monitor kiwi population responses to management, for which a non-invasive method that can detect all age classes has been lacking. Camera traps are non-invasive monitoring devices, which are increasingly used with recently developed analyses to monitor cryptic terrestrial species around the world. To apply these methods to kiwi, standardized methods need to be developed and benchmarked against existing methods. Aims: The aims of this study were to 1) summarise previous monitoring work on kiwi to develop a draft systematic camera trap monitoring method for kiwi, 2) determine optimal site selection and camera trap set-up, 3) determine optimal survey length and camera trap spacing for use with spatial presence-absence (SPA) analysis and identify whether realistic population estimates are obtained, 4) compare camera traps with a current noninvasive method using acoustic recorders to determine if they give realistic and comparable estimates when used with SPA, 5) compare camera traps with dog survey and an observer listening survey to assess kiwi population health, 6) trial alternative analyses for use with camera traps in high density sites, 7) investigate stereo cameras for their potential to add value to camera trap surveys. Materials and methods: We summarised the current literature on monitoring kiwi and the use of camera trap surveys. We deployed 34 camera traps over six seasons in Orokonui Ecosanctuary. We deployed 29 acoustic recorders and carried out detector dog surveys to compare the number of juveniles detected. We deployed 17 camera traps in Rotokare Scenic Reserve and 18 camera traps in the Cape Sanctuary to examine their effectiveness in high kiwi density areas. We constructed a stereo camera by chaining two off-the-shelf trail cameras together to trigger from one PIR sensor and briefly trialled the stereo camera at Orokonui. Results: Cameras were able to detect kiwi of all age groups and to provide credible population densities and trends. Kiwi detections can be maximised by using a detector dog team to select camera sites and through camera orientation. Comparable population estimates were obtained using spatial presence-absence (SPA) analysis with an optimal survey length of four months, during peak incubation, and optimal camera spacing of 350 m. Cameras and acoustic recorders gave comparable population estimates using SPA. Estimates were realistic based on matrix population model projection. Camera traps and detector dog surveys found a similar number of juvenile kiwi. Estimates obtained using Royle-Nichols analysis likely underestimated population size but correctly indicated population trend direction and magnitude, while the index-manipuation-index method did not give a biologically possible estimate of population density. The stereo camera method using two trail cameras was capable of giving surprisingly accurate bill measurements, but further work in necessary to achieve repeatability. Discussion and conclusions: Systematic camera trapping is capable of monitoring the whole kiwi population, including female and young kiwi that are usually under-recorded by other methods. Systematic camera trapping paired with spatial presence-absence analysis performed well in a low density population. Camera monitoring shows much promise as another useful noninvasive tool in the kiwi monitoring toolbox.
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Connecting people to soil: The role of food landscape networks in promoting improved care of the soil resource
Gillespie, Julie; Smith, Carol; Edwards, Sarah; Payne, Dione; Cavanagh, Jo
While many people understand the connection between soil and human health through the conduit of food in terms of nutrient supply and growth of crops, the connection back to the soil is not as strong. There is a growing disconnect between people and the soil and this disconnect is more noticeable in urban populations. If people can see the positive health benefits of the connection between food and soil and hence the benefits of caring for soil, then they are more likely to manage and understand the soil resource in a better way (Brevik et al, 2018). Recently, there has been a noticeable momentum building in Aotearoa New Zealand around the potential for more ’holistic’ farm systems; and central to this is enhancing food and environmental quality through enhancing soil health. “Te Mahi Oneone Hua Parakore” perspectives on Māori soil sovereignty and wellbeing (Hutchings and Smith, 2020), outlines that a paradigm shift is needed to encourage care for the soil resource. In te ao Māori, soil is part of a wider whakapapa that connects in this context: whenua, takata whenua and mahika kai to hauora. Our research posits that there are 7 factors that influence Food-Landscape Networks. We use mahika kai and terroir frameworks, plus conceptual frameworks of soil health and well-being to inform ways to reconnect people with the soil. Our specific research question is how does a better understanding of Food-Landscape Networks enable soil-food-human connections to be understood and potentially enhanced?
Open Access
Community-led in-stream habitat creation to protect taonga species
(2023) Barrett, Isabelle; Solomon, R; Nutira, T; Robilliard, R; Robilliard, J; O'Connell, D
Iwi and community groups are at the forefront of river restoration, driving planting and bank restoration initiatives. These efforts are important and can yield significant water quality improvements, however, many aquatic species also suffer from poor structural habitat beneath the water surface. By targeting in-stream habitat (which is often neglected), we hope to facilitate significant improvements in ecological health. This project brings together science, kaupapa Māori, and collective enthusiasm for the rivers of Aotearoa New Zealand to advance restoration practice, using proactive habitat additions which anyone can help build. In-stream habitat structures focussed on fish and invertebrate refuge were collaboratively designed and trialled in Canterbury, New Zealand by Te Taumutu Rūnanga and the Waterways Centre. Inspired by flax wahakura (baby bassinettes), these habitat structures aim to enhance our freshwater taonga (treasured) species, boosting diversity and nurturing mauri (the life force of the river). Importantly, they also provide a storytelling opportunity and analogy in the protection of both babies and young fish, which is an effective tool to inspire and engage. Weaving and restoration wānanga were held at Te Pa o Moki Marae, close to Waikēkēwai Stream. These meetings brought the community together to create and deploy habitat structures, and also facilitated storytelling and sharing of Mātauranga Māori. Ongoing monitoring includes both ecological and cultural assessments, supporting the holistic nature of this project. This collaborative approach holds great promise for ecological health outcomes, and subsequent restoration of mauri will benefit all who interact with the water. Through sharing of knowledge, skills and Mātauranga Māori, we hope to kickstart ongoing, holistic restoration initiatives for years to come, and inspire kaitiakitanga (guardianship) in future generations.
Open Access
Community-led in-stream habitat creation to protect taonga species
(2024) Barrett, Isabelle; Solomon, R; Nutira, T; O'Connell, D
Iwi and community groups are at the forefront of river restoration, driving planting and bank restoration initiatives. These efforts are important and can yield significant water quality improvements, however, many aquatic species also suffer from poor structural habitat beneath the water surface. By targeting in-stream habitat (which is often neglected), we hope to facilitate significant improvements in ecological health. This project brings together science, kaupapa Māori, and collective enthusiasm for the rivers of Aotearoa New Zealand to advance restoration practice, using proactive habitat additions which anyone can help build. In-stream habitat structures focussed on fish and invertebrate refuge were collaboratively designed and trialled in Canterbury, New Zealand by Te Taumutu Rūnanga and the Waterways Centre. Inspired by flax wahakura (baby bassinettes), these habitat structures aim to enhance our freshwater taonga (treasured) species, boosting diversity and nurturing mauri (the life force of the river). Importantly, they also provide a storytelling opportunity and analogy in the protection of both babies and young fish, which is an effective tool to inspire and engage. Weaving and restoration wānanga were held at Te Pa o Moki Marae, close to Waikēkēwai Stream. These meetings brought the community together to create and deploy habitat structures, and also facilitated storytelling and sharing of Mātauranga Māori. Ongoing monitoring includes both ecological and cultural assessments, supporting the holistic nature of this project. This collaborative approach holds great promise for ecological health outcomes, and subsequent restoration of mauri will benefit all who interact with the water. Through sharing of knowledge, skills and Mātauranga Māori, we hope to kickstart ongoing, holistic restoration initiatives for years to come, and inspire kaitiakitanga (guardianship) in future generations.
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A discourse on the nature of indigenous architecture
(Springer, 2018-06-26) Matunga, Hirini; Grant, E; Greenop, K; Refiti, AL; Glenn, DJ
This chapter offers a personal discourse on the nature of indigenous architecture framed as a response to architects Frank Lloyd Wright and Rewi Thompson. It investigates the notion of a ‘different approach’ to architecture grounded in indigeneity, an indigenous ontology, epistemology and ‘being indigenous’. I investigate this ‘different approach’ through a prism that is my interpretation of Maori architectural history—extrapolating from the local to the national then international context to give my take on the concept of indigenous architecture. I use the Maori concept of whakapapa to signify that indigenous architecture—as a people/placed based human endeavour with its own tradition and genealogy has always existed, and continues to produce a coherent corpus of architecture. I do this by positing the notion of indigenous architecture as both design process and outcome, sourced in unique indigenous narratives and archetypes for design. I also posit the idea of an indigenous architectural chronology and typology that challenges some of the universalising assumptions of ‘western’ architecture and spatial design.
Open Access
Māori cultural values and soil fertility management – An exploratory study
(New Zealand Grassland Association, 2023) Lucock, Xiaomeng; Moir, James; Ruwhiu, D
Highlights • There have been limited studies to date specifically relating Māori cultural values to soil fertility management practices on farms. • The deep-rooted connection between Māori people and the land is a critical feature of their land management decisions. • Farms are food baskets for whānau and the wider community, as well as sources of income to provide other services and desired outcomes (e.g., social, cultural, environmental). • Soil fertility maintenance is a high priority for Māori land managers, but there is a fine balance to strike between this, farm cashflow and other responsibilities (e.g., whānau, community, kaitiakitanga). • Current environmental regulations present many complex challenges to Māori farms. • Potential exists in unlocking Māori provenance through seeking business partners who share the same cultural values.
Open Access
Connecting through research: A collaborative autoethnography of a positive culture in an inter-institutional research group
(Otago Polytechnic Press, 2023) Olsen, P; Marshall, H; Choukri, M; Elliot, Catherine; Harris, H; Leong, C; Draper, N; Lizamore, C; Hamlin, Michael
The LUCARA (Lincoln University, University of Canterbury, and Ara Te Pūkenga) group is a thriving research group based in Ōtautahi Christchurch, New Zealand. The group consists of nine academics in sport and exercise science, health, and nutrition at the three tertiary institutions. The majority of the group members had previously been involved in collaborative research for over 10 years. Initially, the relationships during this time were largely transactional, for example, editorial feedback, funding support, data collection, and statistical support. However, in the last two-and-half years, the group has matured, and relationships have deepened with weekly meetings, connections, and partnerships, which has produced a large increase in the number of collaborations between researchers, sharing of resources, and hence increased research outputs. This narrative explores the organic researcher-led growth in the group, and uses the theme of connections to gain an understanding of how this culture has blossomed over a relatively short time in a sport and allied health research setting.
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Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War by Puawai Cairns, Michael Keith, Christopher Pugsley, and Richard Taylor
(University of Auckland, 2023-10) Coleman, Patrick
For over a hundred years, the Gallipoli Campaign has been part of New Zealand’s public myth and memory. In this public space, the Te Papa-Wētā Workshop exhibition ‘Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War Karipori: Te pakanga nui’ has sought to bring the campaign to life. The exhibition opened in 2015 and is scheduled to finally close on 25 April 2025 – this book seeks to preserve its memory.
Open Access
Participation, development and tensions in New Zealand donor engagement with non-secular recipients: A case for recognising post-secularity in practice
(Elsevier BV, 2024-06) Lewthwaite, W; Fisher, David; Rennie, Hamish
Many authors argue that we live in a post-secular world where religion persists, and where, in public affairs, religious views should have an equal voice with secularity. This article examines participation in international development through that post-secular lens: To what extent do the differing worldviews of the partners affect their relationships when designing and implementing development projects? Fieldwork for the research was conducted mainly through interviews with global donor and practitioner organisations working from New Zealand and with recipients on one project in Bangladesh. We used a typology of three different parties: recipients; secular donor and practitioner organisations; and faith-based donor and practitioner organisations (FBOs). In that triangle of relationships we found the three parties’ beliefs are intensely important to them. But we also found participation tends to be transactional in that the topic of religion is generally avoided, leading to unexplored assumptions and adverse consequences to development of trust between the parties. However, we observed that FBOs and recipients can, through religion, and regardless of what that religion is, have a natural rapport. This is important as less-developed countries are generally profoundly religious. Further, in an extension to some concepts of post-secularity, our research indicated there is value in not just listening but also in debating views in-depth as a pathway to creating common ground. This may be challenging for secular organisations, but facilitators who are accepted by the three parties as understanding and respecting their views could help achieve productive relationships.
Open Access
Reconnecting to the social: Ontological foundations for a repurposed and rescaled SIA
(SAGE, 2024-07) Howitt, R; Jolly, Dyanna
Social Impact Assessment’s incorporation into neoliberal management systems did not enhance their capacity to actually respond to social impacts. Efforts to integrate ‘social’ and ‘environmental’ assessments largely assumed that Social Impact Assessment rightfully belonged to key practitioners (professionals, academics, and corporate and government decision-makers). This article advocates rethinking ontological foundations for a different sort of Social Impact Assessment. It starts from an understanding that the social domain is always and inescapably connected across scales from the microbial, through the global to the cosmological. Building from experience working with Indigenous peoples, it recognizes that although ontological separation of social, environmental and other categories of impact assessment may well facilitate project approval, it also renders industrial systems deaf and blind to many of the most pressing risks facing coupled human and natural systems at multiple scales.
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Social movements and the environment
(Auckland University Press, 2022-04-07) Kurian, P; Cretney, Raven; Munshi, D; Morrison, S; McArthur, J; Bargh, M
Concern for environmental conservation in some form in Aotearoa New Zealand – as elsewhere in the West – can be formally traced back to at least the mid nineteenth century (Young, 2004), although this was preceded by Indigenous values and practices around the use of natural resources (Gunn, 2007; Young, 2004). Legislation to protect forests and wilderness emerged in New Zealand around the 1870s, followed by the Scenery Preservation Act of 1903. This led to the compulsory acquisition of land to create scenic reserves, much of which land was owned by Mori, who were poorly compensated for their loss (Mills, 2009). At the same time, the dominant discourse of settler colonialism revolved around ‘productive’ land use, which saw large-scale deforestation, destruction of biodiversity and the draining of wetlands, and remained largely unquestioned by either the state or a majority of Pkeh society at large (Skilling et al., forthcoming). Thus both ‘conservationism’ and ‘preservationism’ – the forerunners of the modern environmental movement – did little to challenge the large-scale environmental change unfolding across the country, while remaining impervious to Mori rights and concerns.
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Influential indigenous voices? Evaluating cultural impact assessment effectiveness in Aotearoa New Zealand
(Taylor & Francis on behalf of the International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA), 2023) Jolly, Dyanna; Thompson-Fawcett, M
In Aotearoa New Zealand, Māori have prepared their own impact assessments for three decades. Yet, there has been no evaluation of effectiveness. Asking practitioners and experts to reflect on their experiences with Cultural Impact Assessment (CIA), we addressed the question ‘how far do CIA go to deliver outcomes Māori define as positive’? Interweaving Indigenous lived experiences with Indigenous theory, we undertook a critical analysis of CIA effectiveness. We found that CIA are delivering positive outcomes, but these are highly variable, and fall short of substantial outcomes consistent with the partnership and the dual planning framework envisioned by the Treaty of Waitangi.¹ To be effective, CIA functions best when it is Indigenous-led and – in the wider Aotearoa New Zealand planning and impact assessment framework – also Treaty-led. The Māori experience contributes to the developing international field of Indigenous IA.
Open Access
Indigenous food sources as vectors of Escherichia coli and antibiotic resistance
(Elsevier BV, 2023-10-01) van Hamelsveld, S; Kurenbach, B; Paull, DJ; Godsoe, William; Ferguson, GC; Heinemann, JA
The contamination of surface waters by fecal bacteria, measured by the number of Escherichia coli, is a significant public health issue. When these bacteria are also resistant to antimicrobials, infections are more complicated to treat. While water is regularly tested at recreational sites, wild-harvested foods, known as mahinga kai by the indigenous Māori people of Aotearoa New Zealand, are commonly overlooked as a source of exposure to potential pathogens and antimicrobial resistance (AMR). We investigate two likely sources of risk from harvesting aquatic wild foods. The first is water contact, and the second is contact with/ingestion of the harvest. We used E. coli as a proxy for microbial water quality at harvesting sites. Two popular mahinga kai species were also harvested and assessed. We found antibiotic-resistant bacteria on watercress (Nasturtium officinale) and cockles (Austrovenus stutchburyi). One-third of E. coli isolates were conjugative donors of at least one resistance phenotype. Tank experiments were used to track the internalization of E. coli by Greenshell/lip mussels (Perna canaliculus). Greenshell mussels kept at environmentally relevant concentrations of E. coli were colonized to levels considered unsafe for human consumption in 24 h. Finally, we measured horizontal gene transfer between bacteria within the shellfish, what we termed ‘intra-shellular’ conjugation. The transmission frequency of plasmid RP4 was significantly higher in mussels than in water alone. Our results indicate that shellfish could promote the dissemination of antibiotic resistance. They highlight the need to limit or reduce human pathogenic bacteria where food is gathered.

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