NIWA

Biodiversity

Latest news

Watch out for jellyfish blooms

28 December 2020

Jellyfish blooms are likely to be a common sight this summer with rising ocean temperatures one of the main causes of substantial population growths.

Chance find leads to first look at coral larvae

Media Release

12 November 2020

Small orange flecks spotted floating around in a respiration chamber at a NIWA laboratory have led to a discovery about the spawning habits of a deep-sea stony coral in New Zealand waters.

Researchers on hunt for fish nurseries

Media Release

7 August 2020

NIWA researchers are heading out from Tasman early next week to survey an area thought to be home to important juvenile fish nurseries.

Squat lobster memoir hot off the press

Media Release

6 August 2020

After a decade-long effort, NIWA’s latest Biodiversity Memoir has just rolled off the presses. Written by marine biologist Kareen Schnabel, the 350-page treatise presents everything we currently know about the different kinds of squat lobster living in New Zealand’s waters.

Our work

Mapping our freshwater biodiversity

The ability to properly manage our freshwater resources requires a solid understanding of the flora and fauna which live in and interact with them.

IPBES Nature Futures Workshop

NIWA hosted an IPBES workshop entitled “Visions for nature and nature’s contributions to people for the 21st century” held from 4-8 September 2017 in Auckland.

Plankton biodiversity in the Southern Ocean

NIWA is conducting a five–year study to map changes in the distribution of plankton species in surface waters between New Zealand and the Ross Sea.

Effects of ocean acidification on plankton in New Zealand waters

Our oceans are expected to become more acidic as carbon dioxide concentrations rise. This will likely have impacts on the plankton, which play a major role in ocean ecosystems and processes.

Latest videos

Critter of the deep - Episode 3: Sea spider

Sea spiders look similar to land spiders, but they are in their own special group.

Dr Jade Maggs talks about reef sharks

A global survey involving 123 scientists from 58 nations raises concerns about the global status of reef sharks.

Journey under the ice - with Peter Marriott

Chill-proofed divers plunge in the Ross sea, Antarctica.

Tour of the NIWA invertebrate collection

The NIWA Invertebrate Collection (NIC) holds specimens from almost all invertebrate phyla.

Important submarine canyon ecosystems at risk

3 February 2017

A NIWA scientist is calling for greater protection of submarine canyons around New Zealand as their rich marine life comes under increasing threat from human activity.

Exploring the deepsea

Despite many centuries of maritime exploration, only a fraction of our planet's seafloor has been observed. NIWA Deepsea Scientist Di Tracey tells us what it feels like to probe deep beneath the waves to see what's living on the ocean floor.

New e-guide on the common starfish of the Ross Sea region, Antarctica

16 November 2016

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.

The Fishes of New Zealand — the first comprehensive catalogue of New Zealand Fish for more than 140 years

Media Release

17 November 2015

Te Papa has released a publication containing information, including pictures, distribution maps for all 1,262 known fish species found in our waters.

Southwestern Pacific Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) Node

The Southwestern Pacific OBIS Node site is a gateway to marine biodiversity data from Antarctica to as far north as Fiji.

New hi-tech tool helps identify what’s in your stream

Media Release

3 August 2015

Identifying creepy crawlies in your local stream just got a whole lot easier and faster, thanks to a new 3D identification system developed by a NIWA researcher.

Taking the pulse of Antarctica’s ocean ecosystem

Niwa scientists have anchored an echosounder to the sea floor of Terra Nova Bay that could reveal the mystery of silverfish reproduction under the Antarctic ice.

Taking the pulse of Antarctica’s ocean ecosystem

Media Release

12 March 2015

NIWA scientists have anchored an echosounder to the sea floor of Terra Nova Bay that could reveal the mystery of silverfish reproduction under the Antarctic ice.

Voyage leader's final update

Blog

11 March 2015

Now back on dry land, Voyage Leader Richard O'Driscoll reflects on the final days of RV Tangaroa's 2015 Antarctica expedition.

BLOG: Sir Peter Blake Trust Ambassador Blake Hornblow - Enounters with Antarctica's animals

Blog

26 February 2015

It has been another amazing week here on the Tangaroa. On Saturday we saw Antarctica which was an absolutely breath-taking experience that I’ll remember for the rest of my life!

Explaining the blue whale research onboard the Tangaroa

Blog

22 February 2015

Scientists from the Australian Antarctic Division explain the blue whale research they are leading onboard the New Zealand-Australia Antarctic Ecosystems Voyage 2015.

Travelling with the blues

Blog

16 February 2015

NIWA voyage leader Dr Richard O’Driscoll updates the Tangaroa’s encounter with the planet’s largest living beings – the Antarctic blue whales – and discovers what’s on their menu.

Balleny Islands humpback research success

Media Release

9 February 2015

The first objective of the New Zealand- Australia Antarctic Ecosystems Voyage was successfully achieved with the completion of the research at the Balleny Islands.

Specimens Photography

A selection of the best invertebrate specimen photography – here you will find images of Octopus, Crabs, Starfish and more.

Extraordinary Echinoderms

An interactive guide to the sea stars, brittle stars, feather stars, sea eggs, and sea cucumbers (echinoderms) of New Zealand.

‘Supergiant’ amphipods discovered 7 kilometres deep

A recent expedition to one of the deepest places on Earth has discovered one of the most enigmatic creatures in the deep sea: the 'supergiant' amphipod.

Default Aquatic Biodiversity & Biosecurity Gallery

NIWA’s Kaharoa sets sail for the Kermadec Trench, in search of new and strange deep-sea fish

Images accompanying the NIWA media release "NIWA's Kaharoa sets sail for the Kermadec Trench, in search of new and strange deep-sea fish ".

New finds from the deep sea off New Zealand - Jan 2013

Images accompanying the NIWA news release 'New finds from the deep sea off New Zealand'.

A deeper understanding

The sea might seem a distant, even hostile, place. But our coasts and oceans – and the creatures in them – not only grant us wealth, sustenance and pleasure, they keep our planet functioning, finds Aimee Whitcroft.

In brief: New sea pens write themselves into the records

The discovery in Fiordland of two more marine creatures new to science has researchers pondering just how many more unknown species await in its dark, undiveable depths.

Aquatic Science at the interface

19 August 2013 to 23 August 2013

NIWA is sponsoring Aquatic Science at the interface, a joint conference for the:

New Zealand Freshwater Sciences Society

New Zealand Marine Sciences Society

Australian Society for Fish Biology

The conference is being held in Hamilton, for more information see the Aquatic science at the interface website

Fiordland’s depths reveal more new-to-science wonders

2 April 2013

Scientists from NIWA and the Department of Conservation (DOC) have used a remote operated vehicle (ROV) equipped with cameras and a grappling arm to locate and sample specimens of sea pen previously unknown to science, hidden in the undiveable depths of remote Fiordland.

Mapping our freshwater biodiversity

The ability to properly manage our freshwater resources requires a solid understanding of the flora and fauna which live in and interact with them.

New finds from the deep sea off New Zealand

4 February 2013

Scientists have returned from a two-week survey to the north of New Zealand, near the Kermadec Islands, with photos and footage of new-to-science fish.