Jay Kuethe: exploration ecologist

In 1889, John Donnell Smith, a botanist and former US Confederate soldier, located a rare passionfruit species, Passiflora clypeophylla, in a remote, densely forested canyon in the Verapaz region of Guatemala.

No one ever reported another sighting and the species was eventually deemed extinct.

But 135 years after Smith’s expedition, University of Auckland scientist Jay Kuethe and his team negotiated the treacherous, slippery, narrow trail leading down into the canyon.

Suddenly, joy – they spied a butterfly known to lay eggs on this type of passionfruit.

“That’s when we knew we were going to make an amazing rediscovery,” says Jay.

A PASSION PROJECT

Jay is working on a monumental project, chronicling every species of passionfruit (Passiflora) in the world for a monograph – the term for a publication covering a discrete topic in great detail. So far, he’s at 704.

The plants most difficult to discover – or rediscover – hide in remote locations infrequently visited by botanists because of hazardous terrain, warfare, banditry, civil unrest or Indigenous tribes wary of interlopers.

During an expedition by boat in remote Venezuela in 2011, his local collaborator saw an object hanging from a tree in the distance and said it was time to leave; the dangling human head signalled a blunder into tribal territory. Alongside his botanical knowledge, diplomacy and survival skills come in handy for his expeditions – and a keen sense for when it’s time to skedaddle.

Unrest in Bolivia, attracting gunshots in Papua New Guinea, venturing into drug cartel territory in Mexico, an expedition member detained in Guatemala – he can certainly recount some adventures. If it all sounds like scientific colonialism or ‘parachute science’, where foreign researchers zip in and out pursuing only their own ends, Jay insists this isn’t the case.

“None of these expeditions, none of these successes, would have been remotely possible if it wasn’t for extensive collaboration with the Indigenous people.”

LOCAL ENGAGEMENT

Jay describes himself as an ‘exploration ecologist’, and field work is his joy.

Besides his devotion to botany, another of his key scientific interests is geomorphology, the evolution of landscapes. Studying at the University, he pursued both interests simultaneously.

On the one hand, he investigated the volcanology and eruption risks of Tūhua (Mayor Island) off the Bay of Plenty coast for a PhD in earth sciences in the School of Environment. The volcano has erupted many times – most recently only a few thousand years ago.

On the other, he was skipping off to far-flung passionfruit-growing destinations and publishing a stream of papers on previously unreported Passiflora species. Living in New Zealand facilitated expeditions to places like Papua New Guinea, Australia, Sāmoa, Fiji and Niue.

“New Zealand provided a unique base to study Pacific biodiversity that was far out of reach when I was based in the UK or Europe,” says Jay, who grew up on a farm in the UK.

To succeed where four previous expeditions had failed, the Guatemala expedition required two years of planning, an awareness of land disputes, and the endorsement of the local Mayan people, the Q’eqchi’ Maya, he says.

A Guatemalan biodiversity ranger with roots in the Q’eqchi’ culture negotiated access normally forbidden to extranjeros (foreigners). Once rediscovered, samples of Passiflora clypeophylla were delivered to the National Botanical Garden hosted by San Carlos University of Guatemala to be cultivated and preserved.

(The decayed specimen collected by John Donnell Smith and stored at the Herbarium at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew in London had a sole surviving leaf and was of limited botanical use.)

While mountaineering, navigation and four-wheel-drive skills have all been essential for Jay, the soft skills he’s developed over time related to Indigenous engagement, raising awareness with local communities, and stakeholder management are crucial, he says.

“An example of that would be the importance of publications in journals being co-authored with local people,” he says. “Highlighting their role in the research helps them in their funding campaigns, as well as building trust and long lasting friendships that continue long after the expedition is finished.”

Working with local universities to give their students practical field experience can help in generating ‘in-kind funding’, such as the use of four-wheel-drives, boats or even helicopter rides. “It’s like a circular economy, giving one benefit that leads to another.”

Tools like WhatsApp and iNaturalist are critical for maintaining these networks.

AN OBSESSION IS BORN

Most passionfruit species are found in Central or South America. The name references the Passion of Christ, after Brazilian missionaries cast the distinctive structure of its flower as symbolic of the story of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, with particular parts representing elements such the crown of thorns and the apostles.

Passionfruits are usually borne on creeping vines but sometimes on shrubs or trees. The fruits’ leathery skins enclose a fragrant, seed-filled pulp that is, unfortunately, usually inedible. New Zealand’s sole native passionfruit, Passiflora tetrandra or kōhia, is a forest vine beloved by native birds for its small orange fruit. Māori used oil from the seeds as a medicinal salve and trunk stems as binding materials.

Jay grew plants from an early age and, raised in a family interested in botany and science, he also collected samples of seeds, crystals and minerals. When, as a teenager, he became especially interested in passionfruit, no one could tell him how many species existed.

“There’s always one big question: how many species are there?’ he told New Zealand Geographic. “When can you consider your collection complete? And what really fascinated me was that there was no answer to that. No one had a clue.”

An obsession was born and, aged only about 19, he travelled to Miami to the annual meeting of the Passiflora Society International. His first expeditions were entirely self-funded, although 16 years later they are now partially funded by institutions or universities.

Jay remains connected to the University of Auckland as he completes the last stages of his PhD process and writes related research papers in the School of Environment. He also works as a senior environmental science officer for the Gisborne District Council.

So where will his passion for passionfruit send him next? Guyana, Cuba and New Caledonia are on his list.

“Ironically, it’s the rediscoveries that are often much harder than the discoveries; there are so many new and undescribed species out there,” he says.

“Often there’s a reason why a species needs to be rediscovered, a barrier that needs to be overcome. So, I expect my expeditions to get more and more extreme from here. The easy ones have been done; now it’s time for the challenging species.”

– Paul Panckhurst