It has been a busy summer for research and collaboration. Regular sampling of the Waikato River, with plankton tows and water samples, has provided a timely reminder of the clam breeding season and the heightened risk this poses for the accidental transfer of the unseen juvenile hitchhikers.
In collaboration there is research on detection methods, including training ‘scent detector dogs’, an iwi-led project Urutaa Whakahaere that is just underway, and the potential impacts of the invasive gold clam on water security and species interactions.
Decontamination has been at the forefront of everyone’s mind, because decontamination done well reduces the risk of spread. The Earth Sciences NZ team has been working on the MPI-BNZ funded project to develop methods for the decontamination of ballast tanks in boats. Integral to this project has been the close collaboration with Surf Ski Ride in Cambridge.
While decontamination manages transfer risk, we also need methods to control adult clam populations. The team have control trials using benthic barriers underway and in a science first, hydrophones are now listening in underwater as research starts on acoustic disruption.
Deborah Hofstra - Programme lead