Otaki estuary, north of Wellington, one of a wide variety around New Zealand’s coastline. A major research effort is investigating the efffects of increasing sediment inputs in many estuaries. In this issue “How will habitat change affect intertidal animals in estuaries?” focuses on forecasting long-term effects, and identifying very sensitive areas and habitats.
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Kelly Merrin
New Zealand’s waters, especially the deep sea, remain one of the world’s reserves of yet-to-be discovered biodiversity.
A new species of Joeropsis (Joeropsididae) taken from coralline turf algae collected from Island Bay, Wellington. (Photo: K. Merrin)
It has been said that more is known about outer space than the depths of our oceans. So it’s not surprising that the huge diversity of deep-ocean habitats may not be appreciated as much as, for example, the Amazon rainforest.
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Cindy Baker
Video monitoring is helping to solve the mystery of the diappearing inanga eggs.
The inanga, Galaxias maculatus, is the main species in New Zealand’s recreational and commercial whitebait fishery. Like many fish in the genus Galaxias, inanga lay their eggs on riverbanks. The eggs are deposited amongst intertidal vegetation during spring tides and they are re-immersed only during floods or on the following spring tide.
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Kevin Collier
Ude Shankar
Peter Smith
The success of stream restoration projects may depend on understanding the links between landscape patchiness and aquatic insect dispersal.
New Zealand’s landscape has become highly fragmented over the last century with the clearance of large tracts of forest and the conversion of land to pasture. The remaining patches of forest are often isolated from each other, and populations of some sensitive terrestrial animals have suffered as a result.
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Dave Kelly
Don Jellyman
What is causing slow growth of young shortfin eels in Te Waihora?
Adult shortfin eels. (Photo: D. Jellyman)
Te Waihora (Lake Ellesmere) is one of the largest lakes in New Zealand and has long been recognised as a valuable fishery and wildlife resource. There are large populations of waterfowl, as well as eels and flounder.
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Jane Halliday
Simon Thrush
Judi Hewitt
Greig Funnell
Climate change has been predicted to make our estuaries muddier. How will this affect the species living within the sediment?
Collecting samples in Kawhia estuary. (Photo: J. Ellis)
Increasing inputs of mud are probably one of the most serious threats to our estuaries. A range of research projects has looked at the effects of excess fine sediment on individual estuarine animals and animal communities.
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Michael Reid
Clues about conditions in lakes are hidden in the lake sediments.
Lake Paringa (Photo: M. Reid)
How have New Zealand lakes changed since European-style agricultural practices began in New Zealand? This is basic information needed by lake managers and researchers aiming to preserve or restore lake ecosystems. For most lakes, we don’t even know how they have changed over the past 5–10 years: only a few lakes have been monitored regularly for 5 years or more.
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Ian Hawes
Wendy Nelson
Steve Mercer
Lessonia variegata is the dominant kelp on many wave-exposed New Zealand rocky reefs. How does this plant do so well in such rough conditions?
The trade-offs of life in a kelp forest in the ocean are a little like those in forests on land. To be a winner you need to get your photosynthetic tissues up into the canopy and make space for yourself. But the bigger you get the more vulnerable you are to catastrophe during violent storms.
On this page
February’s phenomenal flood
NASA helps with measuring phytoplankton growth
Society for Conservation Biology (Marine Section) presidency
Where do larvae come from and where do they go?
The ecology of a disappearing river
That’s our buoy!
Estuary fish survey goes south
New snails in New Zealand
UV measurement: an international comparison
Recent publications by NIWA staff
February’s phenomenal flood
Inundated areas remaining on 24 February 2004 west of Palmerston North.
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Carolyn Lundquist
Sara Hatton
Can estuaries recover from sedimentation? Models and field experiments are starting to provide some answers.
There is little doubt that New Zealand’s estuaries are getting muddier (see “How will habitat change affect intertidal animals in estuaries?”). Several research projects have examined the direct effects of fine sediment on the animals that live in estuaries (for example, see “Determining impacts on marine ecosystems” in an earlier issue of Water & Atmosphere).
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Dave Rowe
Joshua Smith
Bredna Baillie
Mark Meleason
From a fish’s point of view, logging debris in streams can be good or bad. A series of studies is aimed at finding the right balance.
Fallen trees and branches can create pools and backwaters in streams – the perfect home for some native fish. But too much wood can have the opposite effect. It can block small streams completely. In larger streams, wood-debris dams can blow out when the stream floods.
