NIWA is seeking citizen scientists to help it document large brown seaweeds in New Zealand

SHARE THIS: 

Anyone can participate, and all you need is access to the sea, a smartphone or a camera and computer.

The project, funded by the Ministry for Primary Industries, will assess the potential of large brown seaweeds (Fucales and Laminariales) as indicators of environmental change. Large brown seaweeds provide important coastal habitats but in some parts of the world they seem to be declining.

As they are difficult to press and preserve, large brown algae are not collected as much as smaller seaweed. That’s why NIWA is looking for good quality photos of them. To identify them, we need photos of the stem and reproductive structures among other things.

NIWA has set up a project in Nature Watch where you can find all the information you need check it out

Xiphophora gladiata found at Stewart Island [Kate Neill, NIWA]

Carpophyllum plumosum found in Whangarei. [Kate Neill, NIWA]

 

Contact

Marine Biologist
Durvillaea antartica found in Kaikoura. [Kate Neill, NIWA]