Science Centres: Aquatic Biodiversity and Biosecurity

A modelling career as a port piling was probably not what Dr Ameer Abdulla (IUCN) had in mind when he went to Dr Oliver Floerl’s workshop on baseline survey techniques in the Seychelles. Here Oli demonstrates how to sample fouling assemblages.

The Seychelles archipelago in the Indian Ocean is a remarkably diverse ecosystem. Its main island, Mahé, also serves as one of the world’s hubs for tuna ships, so there’s a risk that unwanted marine creatures will be introduced via ships’ ballast water or hull fouling.

The IUCN (World Conservation Union) has contracted NIWA to organise and run a port and reef baseline survey, searching for introduced marine species in the Seychelles.

Dr Oliver Floerl (project leader) went there earlier this year to examine the field sites, develop a survey plan, and train Seychellois in baseline survey techniques.

The baseline survey itself will be conducted in May, and will be a concerted effort by NIWA, the Seychelles Centre for Marine Research and Technology, the Seychelles Marine Park Authority, and Samaki Consultants from Tanzania. Several introduced species appear to be living in the main shipping port, and this survey will generate a better picture of what and where they are.