Lakes

A team of NIWA scientific divers have successfully searched for a freshwater freak of nature in Otago’s alpine lakes.

Bottom lining is the installation of a flexible covering over the top of beds of aquatic weeds, similar to using weed matting in home gardens. This control method is also called ‘benthic barriers’.

The project aim was to harness the filter-feeding capacity of native freshwater mussels on rafts to assist in lake restoration.

The Check Clean Dry Campaign aims to stop the spread of freshwater pests by encouraging people going through more than one waterway to check, clean and dry their gear in between.

A combination of artificial intelligence and scientific ingenuity looks set to be the next step forward in protecting Aotearoa New Zealand’s lakes and rivers from invasive aquatic weeds.

Susan Pepperell looks at some of the tough decisions looming around access to freshwater and how science is helping with solutions.

Diquat is a herbicide (chemical) that has been used in New Zealand for many decades for submerged (underwater) weed control and also on agricultural crops. It is registered for freshwater use in New Zealand.

A new study has identified seven freshwater species native to Aotearoa-New Zealand that will likely be highly or very highly vulnerable to climate change.

Te Nehenehenui (previously Maniapoto Māori Trust board) and NIWA are working collaboratively to support Ngāti Maniapoto whānau to reconnect with and participate in the assessment of their freshwater according to their values.

Constructed wetlands are a water quality restoration tool that can reduce levels of sediment, nutrients and microbes such as E. coli.

For more than 20 years NIWA scientists have been nurturing three plants that are the only examples of their kind in existence.

Scientists know so little about how storms affect the delicate balance of lake ecosystems that we may be unable to protect them from the effects of climate change, says a NIWA scientist.