Science Centres: Aquatic Biodiversity and Biosecurity

 

John Clayton records vegetation in Lake Dunstan. (Photo: Aleki Taumoepeau, NIWA)

Aquatic weeds pose a particular biosecurity problem in New Zealand. Plants are the key drivers of aquatic ecosystems, so the wrong plant in the wrong place can cause major disruptions to the natural ecological balance.

The NIWA freshwater biosecurity group, led by Dr John Clayton, has recently received $1.35 million from the Foundation for Research, Science & Technology to expand their programme on freshwater plants. The funding runs until June 2009 and is for research focused on both existing and potential freshwater biosecurity threats in high value areas.

Research will include developing tools for assessing the risk level of pest plant invasion, risk pathways and management, surveillance, incursion response, and control options. The team will also develop management tools for other priority freshwater pests, such as pest fish, invertebrates, and microorganisms.

The research will benefit those people involved in the management and protection of freshwaters, including conservation groups, iwi, community groups, regional and local authorities, and government agencies. The team has an impressive track record of developing practical tools to aid freshwater management, including LakeSPI, a method for monitoring freshwater ecology, and the Stream Evaluation Toolkit, a technique for assessing the relative ecological value of waterways (www.niwa.co.nz/ncwr/tools).