Research

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

An experiment in Henderson Creek, Auckland, has demonstrated how tidal creeks variously import, export and deposit sediment, depending on the wind and freshwater runoff, and modulated by the tide.

Mangrove forests, which are important parts of estuarine ecosystems in a number of ways, are sensitive to changing sea level.

Aquatic systems are under threat due to the introduction of invasive exotic species such as water weeds. Modelling work by NIWA has provided new information on which water bodies may be at greatest risk.

NIWA has developed a rapid, desktop model which assesses the potential impact of introducing new fish species to New Zealand. The model is customised to New Zealand's unique environment and endemic fish.

The seaweed known colloquially as nori in Japanese - used for making sushi - or karengo in Maori has been reclassified by an international team of scientists including NIWA's Dr Wendy Nelson.

New Zealand's geographic isolation and relatively recent colonization provide the opportunity for a unique genetic analysis of plant movement patterns to be explored.

Estuaries in New Zealand are experiencing sedimentation at higher rates than before humans arrived here: this represents a loss both for land and estuary productivity. We need to better understand what has been happening so that we can predict the future and fight these losses.

A significant threat to the biosecurity of New Zealand's freshwater habitats comes from plants that have been intentionally introduced.

River plumes form one of the primary connectors between river-estuary systems and the coastal ocean.

The Ocean Survey 20/20 (OS 20/20) programme aims to provide NZ with better knowledge of its ocean territory.

A Ministry for Primary Industries-funded study has shown that grass carp, in enclosures, can be used as an effective means of controlling invasive plant species in our waterways.