New Zealand is surrounded by the sea, and scientists estimate that as much as 80% of our known species are found in the seas around New Zealand. This marine environment not only provides a ...
New Zealand has approximately 300 estuaries. They are historically important cultural sites – Māori settlers valued estuaries as an important source of fish and shellfish, and European settlers ...
Feeding relationships are often shown as simple food chains – in reality, these relationships are much more complex, and the term ‘food web’ more accurately shows the links between producers ...
In this activity, students discuss how a variety of everyday objects can serve as metaphors for the important characteristics and functions of estuaries. By the end of this activity, students ...
In this activity, students take on the role of migrating birds. By participating in a physically active simulation, they experience the journey from summer breeding grounds to winter feeding ...
In this activity, students take on the role of a stakeholder in New Zealand fisheries. In their role, they decide whether they agree or disagree with the statement ‘there are plenty of fish in ...
Marine Metre Squared is a New Zealand citizen science project that supports communities to monitor their local seashore. The project has been designed to provide meaningful, valid environmental ...
iNaturalist logs hundreds of thousands of photos of flora, fauna and fungi. There are even sound recordings too. Each is described and geo located. iNaturalist is used by citizens and scientists ...
This comprehensive worldwide online citizen science (OCS) project collates bird species, numbers, locations and times of sightings into a large database. You can create a class as a user and, by ...
The rocky shore is a popular topic in primary school science. Below are some Science Learning Hub resources for primary teachers related to the rocky shore in the Living World strand of the New ...
With 75% of New Zealanders living within 10 km of the coast, many students will be familiar with estuaries. In scientific terms, estuaries are the interface between the land and the sea – the ...
In ecological terms, wetlands are ecotones – transitional habitats between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. They provide a mixture of habitats and are capable of supporting a diverse range of ...
Andrew Swales and Weno Iti from NIWA take a core sample in an estuary in Kawhia. Sediment cores can show changes in estuarine ecology over hundreds of years, giving scientists an idea of the ...
Dr Candida Savage, from the University of Otago, talks about her research into the effect of land use change on coastal areas and the organisms that live there. In particular, Candida focuses on ...
In this video, Associate Professor Stephen Wing, from the University of Otago, talks about how our understanding of food webs has changed over the years. We now have a much better understanding ...
Explore this interactive diagram to learn more about life in the sea. Click on the different labels to view short video clips or images about different parts of the marine ecosystem.
Dr Candida Savage explains the clues she collects in estuaries and fiords, to understand how changes in land use affect these environments.
Human actions at sea and on land are putting increasing pressure on the ocean and the species that live there.
