Science Centres: Aquatic Biodiversity and Biosecurity

This foreign barnacle Austromegabalanus psittacus can grow to 20 cm long.

NIWA is now handling all identifications of marine species for Biosecurity New Zealand under a four-year contract. This includes non-urgent identifications of specimens from contracted surveys, plus urgent identifications of suspected invasive species from diverse sources.

The project involves receiving, identifying, cataloguing, and dispatching specimens to taxonomists in New Zealand and overseas, as well as storing large volumes of both data and specimens for Biosecurity New Zealand projects. These include port baseline surveys, surveillance for particular species such as Styela clava, hull fouling projects, and identification of specimens sent in from a variety of other sources.

Several thousand samples have been received since October. About 20% of the species so far identified are non-native, and 6% are new records for New Zealand, including this giant South American barnacle found in Wellington Harbour in February.