An area will have special ecological value if it is found to be crucial to the development of a species at any stage of its life. Some species have preferences for certain areas to feed or breed, while others require some places to carry out their life cycles.
Scallops and mussels rely on secure areas to settle their larvae and are unable to if these areas are buried under sedimentation. Mussel spat will initially settle on fine branching algae. After growth, the juvenile mussels will move to adult mussel beds.
Habitats where fish spawn are nurseries that support the wide distribution of adult fish and in turn support commercial and recreational fisheries.
Important areas for life stages are not just for breeding and spawning. About half of the world’s species of whales migrate through New Zealand’s oceans each year, so the corridors where they migrate would be considered for ecological importance.
Download the Department of Conservation infographic as a PDF.
Copyright: Department of Conservation
