Textural, mineralogical and chemical data are presented for glauconites and illites from the Lower Cretaceous Glauconitic Sand Formation, Alberta, Canada. Single crystal analyses by scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) indicate that both glauconite (29 analyses) and illite (44 analyses) correspond very closely to ideal dioctahedral structures. Al dominates the octahedral sheet in illite. Very extensive A1 for FeIII substitution was also found in some of the glauconites, much more than previously recorded. The dioctahedral mica structure is clearly very stable and flexible with respect to A1 for FeIII substitution. Iron‐poor glauconites were found associated with pyrite. We believe that glauconites tend to lose iron progressively during burial diagenesis, especially where pore water iron activities are low (high HS− activity and low Eh). It seems probable that A1 for Si tetrahedral substitution also takes place during diagenesis with consequent loss of swelling properties. This is the same trend which is responsible for conversion of smectite to illite. Glauconite forms only where sediments reside for lengthy periods at the interface between oxidizing and reducing environments, where Fe3+ is transiently available in solution. Related marine and terrestrial nontronites also form only in similar ‘interface’ environments.

Analytical transmission electron microscopy was applied to some authigenic chlorites occurring as grain coatings in sandstones. Compositional variation proved to be relatively slight: all were magnesian chamosites. The coating chlorites were often intimately mixed with extremely fine-grained (0·01–0·2 µm) hematite but analytical ‘contamination’ was avoided because of the very high resolution of both observation (spot location) and analysis. One example of a water-sensitive (‘swelling chlorite’) coating was also studied. This proved to have a very much more variable composition even within a single section. The coating appeared to include both chloritic and vermiculitic components. The effect of this on structural formulae is discussed and a model proposed in which the ‘talc’ layer may be common to both components.

Wildlife populations around the world are declining and becoming increasingly fragmented, and management efforts to support them have become more intensive. This means that the delineation between extensive wildlife‐management systems (e.g. in national parks or large wildlife reserves) and intensive systems (e.g. zoos and aquariums) is becoming increasingly blurred. Furthermore, attitudes about how people fit into a traditional conservation or ecosystem‐restoration framework are being challenged. In partnership with the Rotoroa Island Trust, Auckland Zoo in New Zealand is delivering a project on Rotoroa Island, which is located in the Hauraki Gulf. The aim of this project is to contribute to the conservation of wildlife, through education, training and visitor‐engagement activities. To this end, Auckland Zoo has translocated seven native species to the Island, all selected to demonstrate a range of techniques across the spectrum of intensive and extensive wildlife‐management systems. The creation of a designed ecosystem, primarily directed towards servicing education and training programmes, is unique in New Zealand. This project also aims to demonstrate an ecosystem where human intervention is integral to enabling higher levels of biodiversity in the available area than would otherwise be possible. At the time of writing the Rotoroa Wildlife Management and Translocation Plan 2013–2038 is being used to work towards the translocation of an additional 13 species to Rotoroa Island, which would expand the number of techniques and management systems that could be demonstrated to visitors.

Twenty Greater flamingo Phoenicopterus ruber roseus eggs, originating from a flock held at the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, Slimbridge, UK, were hatched in incubators. The chicks were hand‐reared in a pre‐export isolation facility before being successfully translocated to Auckland Zoo, New Zealand, at 33–71 days of age. At Auckland Zoo the flamingos were held in a quarantine facility for 30 days prior to being introduced to an enclosure on view to the public.