Whakaraupō Fauna

Observing small marine invertebrates in the Ōtautahi Christchurch area

We are using simple, low cost methods to observe small marine invertebrates in the area. Our current primary goals are:

Biodviersity monitoring
- In partnership with Whaka-Ora Healthy Harbour
Science communication
- We give public talks to educate folks on what lives in the harbour. Learn more about past and upcoming talks or request a talk via email.
Community-based science
- We want to show people what's living in their harbour and help get them involved. See some of the animals we've observed here.

We are also developing low-cost sensors for marine chemistry to pair with marine invertebrates—stay tuned or contact me to find out more.

Connecting communities and science

How it works

We place stacks of tiles, or settling plates, around Ōtautahi Christchurch in Whakaraupō Lyttelton Harbour and Ihutai/The Avon Heathcote Estuary. We tie these, when possible, to floating structures such as docks and leave them submerged. Over a period of months, small marine animals slowly come to live on the tiles. We can then pull the tiles apart, look at animals under a microscope, observe changing biodiversity through time, and watch animals grow through time.