Biological control (biocontrol) in our marinas – making it a reality
Learn why our scientists design Japanese obstacle courses for predatory snails and investigate nutritional value of marine biofouling.
Meet Gerd Banke – Nelson science teacher on a marine biosecurity mission
With the experienced science teacher onboard we are aiming to develop an engaging educational toolkit that brings eDNA technologies into the classroom, introducing students to the cutting edge molecular technologies and building up a strong sense of kaitiakitanga for their local environment.
From forensic science to marine biosecurity – a new PhD researcher Michelle Scriver joins the team!
Welcome our new PhD researcher - Michelle Scriver. By answering critical questions regarding eDNA distribution in coastal waters and where, when, and how to sample, her project will contribute to optimized and more efficient detection of marine pests.
The journey of eDNA marine intruder to the classroom
In the last two years the Detect team worked towards integrating DNA (eDNA) tools into New Zealand schools’ curriculum. The scientists have actively engaged with a range of schools and year groups to showcase a variety of marine biosecurity concepts and detection tools, including eDNA technologies.
To clean or not to clean: views of boat owners in keeping boat hulls free of biofouling organisms
Researchers from the MANAGE AND RESPOND and ECONOMICS AND DECISION SUPPORT teams have joined forces to work towards an understanding of the factors that encourage or discourage hull cleaning behavior of the recreational boat owners in New Zealand.
Where do mussels like to call home?
To find out what features of the reef attract mussels, we dropped baby green-lipped mussels on several types of 3D printed tiles representing rocky reef structures in seawater tanks and saw where they went. This experiment will help us designing eco-engineered structures that would give this native species a competitive advantage over invasive species on artificial structures.
Mapping nationwide movements of New Zealand’s recreational vessels
The MANAGE & RESPOND TEAM developed a web-based survey that uses interactive maps to capture the movement of recreational boats in New Zealand. The collected data will be used to create a network model of recreational vessel movements to understand places of particular importance for biosecurity pathway management and response.
The increasing issue of coastal hardening and its associated socio-economic risks
We mapped coastal hardening associated with 30 international urban centres and, using machine-learning algorithms, developed a model to forecast the regional expansion of 4 globally common coastal infrastructure types. We applied this model to New Zealand for anticipating regional distributions and future hotspots of socioecological risks over a 25-year period.
From North to South – scientists set sail for two collaborative expeditions
In 2021, the DETECT team had a big year on the water participating in two research expeditions, in two very distant and ecologically different areas of Aotearoa: Northland and Fiordland. These expeditions allowed us to collect valuable data on distribution of the high-profile non-indigenous species while testing our optimized molecular surveillance tools and protocols.
A review on managing biofouling on submerged static artificial structures in the marine environment
This review and synthesis collates the range of methods and tools that exist or are emerging for managing biofouling on submerged static artificial structures for a variety of sectors, highlighting key criteria and knowledge gaps that affect development, and uptake to improve operational and environmental outcomes.