Underwater sealife
Image:
DOC
Marine ecosystem infographics
Introduction
Download infographics about our marine ecosystem.All infographics listed on this page are JPEGs and 200-100OK in size.
They are Crown Copyright and can be reused with credit to the Department of Conservation.
Discover New Zealand's marine environment
- New Zealand EEZ is 15X greater than our land mass
- Over half of NZ's ocean is deeper than 2000 m with a seafloor bearing diverse geomorphological features
- Up to 80% of NZ indigeneous biodiversity could be in the oceans
- Our coastal waters harbours a diversity of ecosystems from subtropical to subantarctic
- We are still discovering new species in coastal habitats!
- Most of our deeper environment remains to be biologically explored
Habitats
- Marine habitats are as diverse as terrestrial ones and are used as proxies for biodiversity
- What are "biogenic habitats"?
- Marine biogenic habitats are very diverse and provide many ecosystem services
- Different type of substrate support different communities - soft sediment examples
- Habitats and their associated biodiversity vary with different wave conditions
- Habitats and their associated biodiversity vary with depth
Key Ecological Areas (KEA)
KEA overview and their nine ecological criteria
KEA criteria:
- Naturalness: example of a pristine versus impacted ecosystem
- Unique or endemic ecosystems: example of an hydothermal vent and its associated biodiversity
- Biological diversity: example seamount communities
- Vulnerable and fragile ecosystems: example longevity of deep sea organisms
- Threatened or declining ecosystems
- Life stages: example of shellfish spats using specific species of seaweed at one stage of their life cycle
- Biological productivity: example of the ecosystem productivity in the Kaikoura Canyon (JPG, 338K)
- Ecosystems function and their benefits using a soft sediment community: example
Marine Protected Areas and Marine Protected Area networks design
- Definition and benefits of an MPA network
- Factors taken into considerations when designing an MPA network
- For an MPA to be viable it must provide adequate protection to the target species and habitats within
- The connectivity criteria ensures that MPAs are not too spread out to to enable species and larvae to travel between MPAs
- The representation criteria ensure that each habitat type present within a region is include in the MPA network
- The replication criteria ensures that each habitat type is present in at least two different MPAs within the network
- Species, habitats and ecosystems resilience is one of the goals of well designed and effective MPA network
- The role of MPAs and MPA network in climate change adaptation and mitigation
Green-lipped mussel beds
- Green-lipped mussel reefs are biogenic habitats with high associated biodiversity
- Green lipped mussel reefs provide a multitude of ecosystem services: example water filtration
- Green lipped mussel reefs provide a multitude of ecosystem services: example provides sustainance for many sea creatures and humans
Threats
Land-based runoff
- Sediments from land erosion can harm marine habitats
- Excess of land-based nutrients affects marine ecosystems
Impacts linked to direct human activities
- Physical impacts are damaging to sensitive seafloor communities
- Overfishing key predators affects the balance of healthy ecosystems
- Plastic pollution - microplastics can have devastating consequences on ecosystems: example of their impacts on the foodchain
- Invasive species disrupt the balance of indigenous ecosystems
- There are several types of species extinction - global, local and functional extinctions
Climate change
- Marine climate change predictions for the year 2100 if carbon emission are not adressed
- Climate change impacts marine biodiversity. examples - species distribution, migrations, abundance, behaviour, physiology etc
- Species extinctions linked to marine heatwaves: example bull kelp habitat
- Sea level rise destroys coastal habitats: example shorebirds
- Acidification of the ocean affects marine life with calcium-carbonate skeletons and shells
- How to manage the effects of climate change on the ocean-adaptation and mitigation
