Freshwater Update 80 brings you the latest information from our Freshwater & Estuaries Centre, with articles that cross a broad spectrum of freshwater research. This edition has articles about the sources of plastics in our waterways, the discovery of long-lost lake plant species and a breakthrough in research about freshwater mussels/kākahi.

In this issue

  • Slowing the mud invasion

    New Zealand's estuaries were once sandy, forest-lined gems.
  • The search for a long-lost plant to bring life back to our coastal lakes

    The plight of some coastal lakes in Canterbury is well-known. Many were once abundant mahinga kai site for local Māori, some are now the most polluted waterbodies in the country.
  • Scientist collects rubbish to rid river of plastics

    It may be rubbish to everyone else, but to Amanda Valois each little scrap of plastic on a river bank or in a waterway tells a valuable story.
  • Glass eel ear bones could reveal migration patterns

    The ear bones of tiny eels might hold clues to their largely secret life.
  • Scientists make break-through in saving freshwater mussels

  • The New Zealand Water Model (NZWaM) – a new water modelling approach

    Models have an important role to play in water management in New Zealand. To be useful, models need to be both flexible and complex; flexible because they are needed for a wide range of purposes, and complex because they need to simulate complex natural and man-made systems