NORFANZ marine biodiversity survey uncovers mysteries of the deep
Mapping seafloor ecology and biodiversity
Filming yacht hulls from around the world – the Biosecurity HullCam
Floundering in the mud – can we predict estuarine fish diversity and numbers?
Seeps – a new frontier in freshwater biodiversity?
Stopping the freshwater wild rice invader
Rare bug in Auckland region raises many questions
On the lookout for introduced marine isopods
Working with the HullCam in an Auckland marina.
The HullCam is easy to operate in the field, and has been used to sample yachts ranging from 10 to 25 m in length.
A look at a boat hull through the HullCam’s ‘eye’.
The past 50 years have seen major advances in the development of toxic antifouling paints to prevent the growth of marine species on ship and boat hulls.
Manchurian wild rice herbicide trial site: haloxyfop (left), control (green), and imazapyr (right).
Flowering Manchurian wild rice.
Manchurian wild rice or Manchurian rice grass (Zizania latifolia) is a giant semi-aquatic grass that has smothered riverbanks, invaded pastures, and run rampant through drainage channels in parts of the North Island from Northland to the Kapiti Coast.
The new species of Cirolana found at Island Bay.
How much do we really know about what lives on our shores? Well, not as much as we might like to think. Recently a common grey isopod crustacean was found while turning over rocks at low tide during a routine search at Island Bay in Wellington. A check through the literature suggested it might be Cirolana australiense, a common Australian species – but it was not.
Sediment microtopography caused by polychaete worms.
A patch of sponges in Kawau Bay.
NIWA’s National Centre for Aquatic Biodiversity & Biosecurity is investigating how we can speed up mapping the distribution of life on the seafloor to better meet the needs of those managing our marine environment.
The distribution of habitats across the seafloor plays an important role in the functioning and diversity of marine assemblages. Resource managers, conservation biologists, and biodiversity scientists are all concerned about how fragmented or connected habitats are.
Yellow-eyed mullet distribution and abundance.
Snapper
Sand goby
Grey mullet
Beach-seine catch of snapper, kahawai, globefish, trevally, garfish, and yellow-eyed mullet.
It would be great if we could preserve or enhance the diversity and numbers of fish in New Zealand’s estuaries and harbours, but to do this we need to know which habitats within estuaries and harbours are important for which fish species.
Sulcanus conflictus
A rare oar-footed planktonic bug, thought to be a possible alien species, seems to have settled in Auckland’s Orakei Basin and the Mahurangi Harbour. The small (1.5 mm), very rare crustacean Sulcanus conflictus belongs to the subclass Copepoda, and was put in its own family (Sulcanidae) by Australian A.G.Nicholls in 1945. This species is very unusual because it is the only calanoid copepod that does not have an outer branch on its antenna. The only other place where this species is found is Australia (New South Wales, western Australia, and Tasmania).
Zephlebia nebulosa.
Previously unrecorded cased chironomid.
Unidentified centric diatom.
Unidentified centric diatom.
Brian Smith sampling a seepage on a vertical rock.
Recent research by NIWA’s National Centre for Aquatic Biodiversity & Biosecurity has highlighted the surprisingly important role that small streamside and rock-face seepages can play in harbouring aquatic biodiversity. These habitats often consist of thin films of water that barely flow over rock surfaces, sometimes with a covering of leaves and moss.
This 3-D image of Seamount 7 from Tangaroa’s multibeam system shows the rugged nature of the seafloor at some of the survey sites.
Blue skates
Ballina angelfish
Batfish
Hump-back angler fish
Scientists are excited by the huge number and variety of fish and invertebrate species sampled on a recent 4-week survey of the Norfolk Ridge and Lord Howe Rise.
The survey, termed NORFANZ, was a collaborative effort between New Zealand and Australia, largely funded by New Zealand’s Ministry of Fisheries and Australia’s National Oceans Office.
