Kauri create shelter and nourishment for other species to grow, but now, a disease without a cure is killing these forest giants one by one. In the past five years, the infection rate of kauri has more than doubled in the only forest where it’s monitored—the Waitakere Ranges. At least one in five trees there are doomed. Can we save the species?


	What's killing our kauri? And why can't we fix it? Kauri create shelter and nourishment for other species to grow, but now, a disease without a cure is killing these forest giants one by one. In the past five years, the infection rate of kauri has more than doubled in the only forest where it’s monitored—the Waitakere Ranges. At least one in five trees there are doomed. Can we save the species?


	Now, you be the judge There is one prize still to be awarded in Photographer of the Year—the Panasonic People's Choice award. Cast your vote either at the exhibition at Auckland Museum, where all 65 finalists are now on display, or view the finalists on our website and vote online. Photo: Yan Zhang

A hitchhiker's guide to the Pacific Ocean

Hundreds of Japanese species have now floated to the United States on debris following the 2011 Tōhoku tsunami—the biggest biological rafting event ever witnessed.

Gone to pieces

Half of the world’s forests lie within 500 metres from an edge—and this is affecting forest species, because a remnant doesn’t function in the same way as a larger piece of forest.


	What's the deal with medical cannabis? The government is planning to make medical cannabis easier to access, but campaigners say doctors are still unwilling to prescribe it, and would like to see an option to waive charges against people who grow weed for medicinal purposes. Why is cannabis being used medically? Who does it benefit? Do the claims of its helpfulness stack up, or does it do more harm than good?