Science Centres: Aquatic Biodiversity and Biosecurity

Genetic analysis can be used to rapidly identify unwanted marine organisms in ballast water and in environments that can’t be easily searched, by identifying larvae in samples of sea water.

New, more efficient, and sensitive ways to detect,rapidly identify, and count potentially harmful marine species are needed. NIWA and its Outcome Based Investment partners, the Cawthron Institute and Biosecurity NZ, recently hosted a workshop on developing new genetic tools to address this need.

Effective biosecurity rests on detecting unwanted exotic organisms before they arrive or can become widely established here. This presents a particularly costly and difficult challenge in marine environments, where survey teams must search for sparsely distributed organisms in a vast area, often hampered by poor visibility and difficult access.

Genetic analysis can be used to rapidly identify unwanted marine organisms in ballast water and in environments that can’t be easily searched, by identifying larvae in samples of sea water. It can also be used to distinguish between species that look very similar or to trace the origin of particular invasive species (see box).

Because these genetic tools are expensive to develop,the workshop brought together 21 scientists from New Zealand and Australia to coordinate their efforts. The resulting research plan will be used by NIWA and our collaborators to prioritise research over the next five years.