Oceans

Huge mudslides from November’s earthquakes have wiped out all organisms living in the seabed of the Kaikōura Canyon.

Squat lobsters are known for their lengthy eyelashes and come in many different sizes from the mighty Munidopsis aries (90mm carapace length) to some species which have bodies only a few millimetres long.

A voyage to the Kermadec Islands has resulted in the discovery of many species either new to science or not previously found in the area.

This research project investigated whether the mechanisms for periphyton removal in rivers relate more directly to hydraulic and geomorphic conditions than flow metrics.

This year is the 2400th anniversary of the birth of Aristotle, a philosopher and scientist (384 BCE), who among other many great achievements was the first person to describe the structure, ecology, and diversity of sea urchins – way back in the 4th century BC.

A new fully illustrated electronic identification guide, Bountiful Bryozoans, has just been released to help people identify this group of marine creatures in the wild.

An interactive guide to the bryozoans of New Zealand

The seafloor of the Ross Sea region is covered in ice for much of the year, but many benthic sea creatures live and thrive there.

An interactive guide to the starfish of the Ross Sea

The main output of this voyage is providing data and fundamental base maps for future regional prospectivity surveys, tectonic plate reconstructions, and general understanding of the architecture of the Kermadec backarc.