News

News and updates about our research, outreach and engagement

Screenshot 2021 05 21 124651

Posted on 21 May 2021

New eDNA research helps uncover the health of our estuaries

Recent research in two Nelson estuaries shows that environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding offers a sensitive approach to detect nutrient enrichment effects.

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Stressor footprints and dynamics

Posted on 16 November 2020

Ocean robots show rivers flow further out to sea than expected

Aotearoa New Zealand's rivers don't just end at the coast, they travel much further than previously thought into our oceans, via eddies.

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Leonardo Durante diving
Credit: Leonardo Durante

Posted on 12 November 2020

Interview with: Leonardo Durante

Originally from São Paulo, Brazil, University of Otago PhD student Leonardo Durante recently submitted his thesis, funded through the Ecosystem connectivity project.

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Frameworks for achieving and maintaining social licence

Posted on 12 March 2020

Aquaculture – it’s not just business, it's personal

Building genuine relationships with the communities they operate in is more important for NZ aquaculture companies than environmental, social or economic factors in determining whether that company gains and maintains…

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Frameworks for achieving and maintaining social licence

Posted on 02 March 2020

Words matter when it comes to social licence

The term ‘social licence to operate’ (SLO) implies that communities have the power to grant or withhold approval for marine businesses, but new research suggests otherwise.

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West Coast, Wellington
Credit: Hamish McCormick

Posted on 04 December 2019

Decision-making in the face of uncertainty

The Tipping points team proposes harnessing expert opinions from scientists and mātauranga Māori holders to bridge key knowledge gaps so marine managers can plan for different outcomes and prevent tipping points.…

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Mudflats Credit Lundquist NIWA 2018
Credit: Lundquist NIWA 2018

Posted on 13 October 2019

New ways of defining seafloor resilience

A recent publication from the Tipping Points project identifies the factors that characterise how resilient a seafloor ecosystem is to change caused by stressors or disturbances.

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Ecosystem connectivity  tracking biochemical fluxes to inform ecosystem based management

Posted on 29 July 2019

Understanding food webs to help manage coastal resources

A study of coastal food webs has revealed how ecosystem-based approaches to marine management could improve management of fish stocks and biodiversity in our changing coastal ocean.

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Stressor footprints and dynamics

Posted on 16 May 2019

Better connections would benefit biophysical research

Biophysical scientists could “better connect their fields of endeavour” to maximise scientific advances say researchers Assoc Professor Craig Stevens and Dr David Plew from the Stressor footprints and dynamics project.

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Stressor footprints and dynamics

Posted on 16 May 2019

Ocean research in Aotearoa: prospects and predictions

To best manage a marine ecosystem we need to know how it works – and one of the foundation stones is understanding the mechanics of water, nutrient, sediment and pollutant…

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Tipping points in ecosystem structure function and services

Posted on 25 February 2019

Monitoring for tipping points in the marine environment

Councils are welcoming new research from Sustainable Seas National Science Challenge that recommends monitoring regimes for detecting tipping points in Aotearoa New Zealand’s marine environment.

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Valuable Seas

Posted on 06 December 2018

Developing ecosystem-based management principles for NZ

The Sustainable Seas National Science Challenge leadership team have proposed seven major principles for ecosystem-based management (EBM) in Aotearoa New Zealand.

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