Take a look into lakes
Science Centres: Aquatic Biodiversity and Biosecurity
Tracey Edwards (NIWA) surveying vegetation in a lake.
NIWA’s latest web-based resource shows the condition of more than 50 lakes around the country.
The lake assessments were produced using the LakeSPI (Lake Submerged Plant Indicators) management tool developed by NIWA.
The web-pages include a LakeSPI summary for each lake, where bar graphs (see diagramto the right) show how close a lake is to its best possible condition (smiley face icon), or how badly the lake has deteriorated (frowned face icon).
For example, this LakeSPI summary for the badly degraded Rotorua lake, Lake Rotoiti, in 2003, shows it is in poor condition overall, with few native plants and extensive invasion by other plants.
Further details on freshwater biodiversity in lakes and other waterways can be found at NIWA’s web-based Freshwater Biodata Information System (FBIS).
These resources were partly funded by DOC’s Terrestrial & Freshwater Biodiversity Information System Programme.