Aquatic Environment and Biodiversity Annual Review 2012

AEBAR 2012: Marine Biodiversity
Over 600 targets of interest were identified and marked on marine charts, with more than 200
of these targets being biogenic in nature. Fieldwork has been completed to verify and quantify
biodiversity in biogenic habitats using Ocean Survey 20/20 vessel days on Tangaroa and a
new MSI project to extend the survey potential of the project. New biogenic habitats have
been identified, including extensive worm tube ‘meadows’ off the east coast of the South
Island (“the Hay Paddock” and “Wire-weed”), with associated relatively high epi-faunal
invertebrate diversity compared to adjacent bare sediments. Over 60 new species were also
collected (dominated by sponges), along with range extensions of many other species.
Analyses are underway for key selected areas included in the Tangaroa voyages, including
offshore North Taranaki Bight, Ranfurly Bank, the polychaete meadows mentioned above,
and the Otago Peninsula bryozoan fields.
IPA2009-11. Trophic Review.
This project publishes a report prepared on the feeding habits of New Zealand fishes 1960 to
2000 (Stevens et al. 2011)
Other research relevant or specifically linked to the projects above, is listed in Table 11.2.
Table 11.2: Other research linked to ecosystem scale understanding of biodiversity in the marine environment.
MPI ENV2006-04 Ecosystem indicators for New Zealand fisheries
ENV2007-04 Climate and oceanographic trends relevant to New Zealand fisheries
ENV2007-06 Trophic relationships of commercial middle depth species on the Chatham Rise
CRI Core C01X501 coasts & oceans productivity plankton-mesopelagic fish trophic relations Chatham Rise
purposes IO 2. Second Fisheries Oceanography voyage to Chatham Rise: mesopelagics and hyperbenthics
OTHER AUT deepsea and subtidal food web dynamics; offshore & coastal biodiversity post graduate
studies
11.3.3. Progress on Science Objective 3. The role of biodiversity in
the functional ecology of nearshore and offshore communities.
An identified outcome of the Biodiversity Strategy is that by 2020 “New Zealand’s natural marine
habitats and ecosystems are maintained in a healthy functioning state. Degraded marine habitats are
recovering.” Sustaining ecosystem integrity in marine habitats requires a thorough understanding of
the ecological and anthropogenic drivers affecting biodiversity and ecosystem function, and the ability
to manage human impacts in marine environments.
Near-shore environments range from wetlands to estuaries, coasts and continental shelf ecosystems,
they contain a variety of habitats and often contain species that are particularly important, either for
cultural, recreational, and commercial reasons, or because the species exerts disproportionate
influence on community structure and ecosystem function. Near-shore ecosystems are the multi-use
ecosystems most subjected to multiple stressors. Due to ocean-coast and land-coast interactions these
ecosystems will be subjected to the greatest range of stresses associated with global warming. Nearshore
environments may also contain habitats that are particularly important for biodiversity in other
environments, for instance by providing larval/juvenile nursery areas or by exporting nutrients. The
MPI Biodiversity Programme has directed funds into research examining the implications of
environmental and human impacts on the functional ecology of these key species and habitats.
Near-shore ecosystems are complex and changes in diversity and community composition may be
driven by multiple variables. Interactions between variables are likely to be non-linear, with
disturbance thresholds and the potential for multiple stable states. As a consequence, it is often
difficult to distinguish ‘natural’ from ‘anthropogenic’ impacts affecting ecosystem dynamics. MPI
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