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Longfin eels

The Aotearoa New Zealand longfin eel tuna (Anguilla dieffenbachii) is New Zealand’s only endemic freshwater eel. Our shortfin eel (Anguilla australis) is also found in Australia and some Pacific ...

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ARTICLE

Conserving native birds – introduction

New Zealand is world famous for its unique birdlife. In our resources on conserving our native birds, we look at the issues surrounding the conservation of some of our threatened bird species ...

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ARTICLE

Predation of native birds

New Zealand native birds have been greatly affected by predation. For millions of years, they lived in an environment without natural predators. Many species developed traits like flightlessness ...

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ACTIVITY

Freshwater fish of New Zealand quiz

In this activity, students can test their knowledge of freshwater fish online or in a paper-based quiz. The quiz can be used as an introductory tool to gauge students’ prior knowledge, as a ...

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ACTIVITY

Classifying bird adaptations

In this activity, students classify the different types of adaptations that New Zealand native birds have. Rights: Image courtesy of Ngā Manu Images Kiwi adaptations Structural adaptations that ...

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ACTIVITY

Prey behaviour: freeze or flee

In this activity, students take on the role of a native frog, native bird or introduced mammalian predator and participate in a physically active simulation. The activity highlights different ...

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CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECT

Instant Wild

Instant Wild is an initiative by the Zoological Society of London. Photos or videos of animals are recorded using hidden cameras in a range of worldwide locations. The aim is to increase the ...

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CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECT

Adrift

Although invisible to the naked eye, marine microbes drift continually in our ocean systems, quietly consuming up to 50% of the Earth’s CO₂ through photosynthesis and producing nearly as much ...

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CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECT

Big Butterfly Count

This New Zealand-based citizen science project collects data about butterflies in our gardens, schools, parks and farms – any location in the country or on the outer islands. This annual event – ...

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Explore related PLD

TEACHER PLD

Earthworms (upper primary) – unit plan

To most of us, one earthworm resembles another. Although earthworms do have common characteristics, species differ widely in their size, skin colour and in the roles they play in the soil ...

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TEACHER PLD

Adapting SLH activities: changing the topic

It is necessary for teachers to adapt activities that are externally sourced and created by others to optimise their students’ opportunities for learning science. Activities are productive when ...

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TEACHER PLD

Earthworms (lower primary) – unit plan

Earthworms are of interest to most children, are easily accessible and are an animal species easily kept in the classroom for short periods of time. This makes them ideal subjects for exploring ...

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Explore related videos

VIDEO

The life cycle of eels

Researcher Erina Watene-Rawiri describes the life cycle of eels. Updated science: In this video Erina explains that the leptocephali – eel larvae – 'float' back upstream on the current. Current ...

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VIDEO

Honeydew: The Food of the Ngahere

Our native forests – ngahere – have complex ecosystems. These ecosystems are under threat from introduced wasp species. In this episode of Project Mātauranga, Associate Professor Jacqueline Beggs ...

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VIDEO

Scale insects

Researcher Rosa Henderson from Landcare Research NZ Ltd introduces the tiny scale insects and talks about their role in the ecosystem.

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INTERACTIVE

He painga mō te pāmu, he painga mō te ika

Tirohia ngā rautaki e ora tonu ai ngā arawai mō ērā kei te taha whakararo o te wai me ngā ika taketake, waihoki ka whaihua hoki ngā pāmu, e kore ai hoki e heke iho ngā putanga. Hei tirotiro i te ...

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INTERACTIVE

Life cycle of kākā

Explore the life cycle of the kākā from egg to adulthood by selecting the labels for further information.

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INTERACTIVE

Wormface – social networking for earthworms

After students have researched an earthworm of their choice they can use this interactive to complete a Wormface profile for their earthworm. You will need the Adobe Flash Player to view this.

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