Coasts

At the base of the ocean’s food chain are algae. Algae feed the krill that feed the whales.

The mottled brittle star Ophionereis fasciata, known as weki huna in Māori, lives under rocks in the low intertidal or shallow subtidal right around New Zealand.

Ice pilot Scott Laughlin is on the New Zealand - Australia Antarctic Ecosystems Voyage to guide RV Tangaroa through the Antarctic waters.

A state-of-the-art underwater research glider has been unveiled by NIWA scientists in Wellington.

Over the last 50 years the atoll of South Tarawa, in Kiribati has experienced large increases in population.

NIWA research vessel Tangaroa, down in Antarctic waters, received some welcome visitors yesterday

NIWA scientists aboard RV Tangaroa have been trawling the central Ross Sea calculating the abundance of the prey species.

The region around the Balleny Islands is a known foraging area for humpback whales. Objective one of the Antarctica voyage aimed to determine why the Islands are such a popular spot for humpback whales.

Antarctic blue whales were severely depleted during the industrial whaling era, when the population declined to only a few hundred individuals. Scientists believe the Antarctic blue whale population has been recovering, albeit very slowly, since the 1960s.

The deepsea squid Bathyteuthis abyssicola Hoyle, 1885 has a circumpolar oceanic distribution, which means that it is commonly found right around the Southern Ocean, and in depths from 100-4200 m deep.

NIWA marine geologist Dr Geoffroy Lamarche was made a Knight of the National Order of Merit by French Ambassador H.E. M. Laurent Contini, at a special ceremony at the Embassy of France in Wellington on 13 February.

A new foraminiferan has been discovered in moderately deep water (110 metres) northwest of the Bay of Islands in New Zealand.