Aquatic Environment and Biodiversity Annual Review 2012

AEBAR 2012: Marine Biodiversity
data layers. Having a third model meant that model performance could be compared based on
the use of different environmental data layers. Three model types for all VME taxa have been
completed and the performance of the different modelling approaches and usefulness of the
environmental data sets described.
The next phases of the project will be undertaken as part of a MBIE-funded project that will
revise models that predict the sites of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems from existing data by
conducting a ground truthing survey of benthic biodiversity on the Lewisville Ridge in
2013/14 (Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment project code C01X1229). This
will be used to inform New Zealand and South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management
Organisation initiatives on spatial management in the South Pacific region, and potentially the
New Zealand EEZ.
Other research relevant or specifically linked to the projects above, is listed in Table 11.1.
Table 11.1: Other research linked to Objective 1 habitat classification and characterisation.
MPI HAB2007-01 Biogenic habitats as areas of particular significance for fisheries
management
ZBD2006-02 NABIS ongoing development
Useful data related to defining potential VMEs are collected by MPI scientific fisheries
observers working on NZ authorised fishing vessels that operate on the high seas in the
South Pacific.
CRI core C01X501 Coasts & oceans Centre (NIWA) ecosystem based management, habitat model
purpose development with Auckland Regional Council
funding C01X0907 Coastal Conservation Management (fish habitat classification)
DOC
(NIWA)C01X502 Biodiversity & Biosecurity (NIWA)
C01X0508 Seamount fisheries (linking acoustic backscatter to habitat type and biota)
(NIWA)
CO1X0906 Vulnerable deep-sea communities (mapping and sampling a range of deep-sea
habitats (seamounts, slope, canyons, seeps, vents) (NIWA)
CO1X0702 Kermadec Arc minerals (mapping and sampling the biodiversity of several
Kermadec Arc seamounts) (NIWA)
MEC development and application to MPAs, Regional surveys
OTHER University studies, Regional Council studies
ZBD2010-40 Mapping VMEs in the SPRFMO area Part 1. Predictive modelling desktop study
EMERGING ISSUES
What portion of a given habitat type should remain intact to support sustainable ecosystems?
What are the most effective predictive tools for predicting biodiversity in areas as yet unsampled?
Can ecological mapping used in OS20/20 projects to date be extended to other areas of New Zealand?
11.3.2. Progress on Science Objective 2. Ecosystem-scale research
Marine ecosystems influence, and are influenced by, a wide array of oceanic, climatic, and ecological
processes across a broad range of spatial and temporal scales. Marine communities are generally
dynamic, can occur over large areas and have strong links to other communities through processes
such as migration and long-distance physical transport (e.g. of larvae, nutrients, and biomass).
Patterns observed on a small scale can interact with larger and longer-scale processes that in turn
result in large scale patterns. Marine food webs are usually complex and dynamic over time (Link
1999). To distinguish useful descriptors of long-term ecosystem change from short-term fluctuations
requires innovative approaches to integrate broad-scale correlative studies from smaller scale
manipulative experiments (Hewitt et al. 1998, 2007).
Recent theoretical and technical advances show great promise toward the goal of understanding the
role of biodiversity in ecosystems. Technologies for remote sensing and deepwater surveying,
combined with powerful integrative and interpretive tools such as GIS, climate modelling, qualitative
ecosystem modelling, and trophic ecosystem modelling, will contribute to the development of an
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