estuaries

With 75% of New Zealanders living within 10 km of the coast, many students will be familiar with estuaries. In...

Mātauranga Māori and science are helping to solve a few questions in Ōhiwa Harbour: What has caused the mussel beds to disappear? Can we restore the...

This Connected article is based on an interview by Susan Paris with environmental scientist Dr James Ataria (Rongomaiwahine, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Tūwharetoa). James’s work focuses on...

Wetlands are ‘in between’ areas – they are permanently or intermittently wet areas on the margins of drier land or along the margins of water bodies...

The Kaituna River flows through the Bay of Plenty, winding its way from Lakes Rotorua and Rotoiti to its outflow at Te Tumu. However, Te Tumu...

This article recounts the conversation between Tane, his dad and the scientists they find testing the health of their local river. It looks at the information...

Kei te rauemi nei ētahi whakamārama mō ngā karangatanga matua ka kitea i a koe e tūhura ana i ngā kōawa wai māori, i ngā awa...

The seas surrounding New Zealand are complex. They are a connected and dynamic mix of chemical, physical and biological processes. The sheer size of the ocean...

As New Zealanders, we love our oceans. Coastal and offshore waters are our playgrounds and sustain us spiritually and economically. As a nation, we want this...

Simply defined, a tipping point is the point when a number of changes or incidents become significant enough to cause a large change in the way...

This resource provides explanations of the key terms encountered when exploring freshwater streams and rivers and native fish. This resource is intended to be used alongside...

The sea is our taonga. Our connections to it are strong. More than 75% of New Zealanders live within 10 km of the coast, and the...

The Sustainable Seas National Science Challenge’s vision is for New Zealand to have healthy marine ecosystems providing value for every New Zealander. It has seven research...

Estuaries are extremely valuable. They: are nurseries – breeding grounds for fish and birds maintain the health of coastal fisheries and waters are a buffer between...

In the past, many New Zealanders have not understood the value of estuaries. Many European settlers initially viewed estuaries as unproductive wastelands. Land was reclaimed for...

People like to live near estuaries. In pre-European times, estuaries were favourite places for Māori to gather – particularly to harvest and enjoy kaimoana. Today, there...

Estuaries connect land and sea. They are partly enclosed bodies of water situated at the edge of the land – a mixture of freshwater from streams...

Estuaries have a life cycle. They form, they age as they infill with sediment and they transform to other environments, such as freshwater marshes. They are...

As New Zealanders looking to the future, we are faced with many opportunities – and challenges. These include improving the health of all our people, advancing...

Position: Principal Scientist – NIWA Coasts and Estuaries, Freshwater. Field: Coastal and Estuarine Physical Processes. Andrew Swales is a scientist and group manager with NIWA. His...

Coastal marine ecosystems balance on a fine ecological edge. They are dynamic and can easily be disturbed by human impact such as contamination from pollution or...

Biodiversity is short for biological diversity. It refers to the number and variety of living things (animals, plants or microorganisms) found within a particular area. There...

Any group of living and non-living things interacting with each other can be considered as an ecosystem. Within ecosystems are habitats. A habitat is the natural...

Cath Battersby Ever since I started working for the Science Learning Hub, I wanted to create a series of articles about the marine environment. In 2009,...

An inquiry approach is a method often used in science education. This question bank provides an initial list of questions about life in the sea and...