Welcome to the June edition of the Mm2 Newsletter.
Meet the wild things on your local shore!
Sunday 10th July, 1-3pm
Deborah Bay (near Port Chalmers, Dunedin)
Join a Marine Scientist from the NZ Marine Studies Centre for a walk on your local shore to discover what lives there. You will be amazed!
As well as finding some local wildlife we will look at issues that may put it under threat, including sediment deposition and increased water turbidity that may occur as a result of dredging.
Park near the orange flag in Deborah Bay, just past Carey’s Bay. All ages welcome. Come suitably dressed for a visit to the shore.
For further information contact the NZ Marine Studies Centre: phone 03 479 5826 or email marine-studies@otago.ac.nz.
Measuring percentage of seaweed cover
Here is a tool that is simple to make to help you to estimate the % coverage of seaweeds in your metre squared quadrat.
Cut out a 10 cm x 10 cm square from the lid of an ice cream container. This space is 1% of a square metre.
Easy!
Brown seaweed citizen science project
Help scientists find out more about the distribution of brown seaweeds around our coast. All you need to help with this project is a camera or cellphone. Brown seaweeds, or algae, include neptune's necklace, bladder kelp and bull kelp. Sign up to the project at Naturewatch.
What will be the impact of dredging and sediment disturbance on important rocky intertidal communities in the Otago Harbour?
How will these communities respond to sediment deposition and increased turbidity in the water column?
The NZ Marine Studies Centre and the Department of Marine Science gained funding earlier this year from the Participatory Science Platform - Otago Pilot - to investigate the consequences of dredging on Otago Harbour rocky shore communities.
The New Zealand Marine Studies Centre produces a range of resources to help you identify the animals and plants found between the tides on New Zealand's shores. Check out the resources on the www.mm2.net.nz website.
