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Chatham Islands
Map ID number:
19b
Location: The Chatham
Islands are at the eastern
end of the Chatham Rise and
are an intermixing zone of
subantarctic and subtropical
elements. They are the most
easterly island group in the
New Zealand marine zone.
Approximate area: Not
delineated by benthic group
during the workshop.
Description of area:
The Chatham Islands has a complex marine
habitat of intermixing currents and eddies
associated with shelf edges and subterranean
features.
Biological attributes:
The islands have a good diversity of
seaweeds and crustose coralline algae
species. There is reasonably high endemism
of ascidians, molluscs, and seaweeds.
Criteria applied:
Endemism; species richness; representation;
extremities of range; meeting ground; habitat
complexity/diversity.
Status and management:
The low human impact on some shores
allows protection of crustose coralline
habitat and delicate fossil sponges.
State of information:
Not recorded during the workshop
References and further reading:
Hay (1989), Knox (1957), Nelson et al.
(1991), Schiel et al. (1995), Schiel and
Hickford (2001).
Chatham Island
©2004 DOC, Te Papa Atawhai
Fiordland
Map ID number:
20
Location: Southwest region of
the South Island
Approximate area: 5,196km 2
Description of area:
This area contains New Zealand’s only
fiords. There are a variety of physical
gradients among them. Notable features of
the area include a very narrow continental
shelf and a near-permanent, low-salinity
surface layer within the fiords.
Biological attributes:
Fiordland is a special marine environment in
that species normally found in deep water,
such as sea pens, glass sponges, and certain
corals, emerge in shallow water. The area
has high cnidarian faunal diversity including
habitat-forming black corals (Antipatharia)
and red corals (Stylasteridae).
Bryozoan thickets (Adeonellopsis) are found
on entrance sills of the fiords. Fiordland also
has high algal diversity, a fact that has been
largely overlooked until recently. Crustose
coralline algae are important in the rock wall
communities.
Criteria applied:
Species diversity; special conditions and
specialised organisms.
Status and management:
There are two marine reserves, one in
Milford Sound and the other in Doubtful
Sound. A comprehensive management
strategy has been developed to protect the
fisheries resources and marine environment,
but this has yet to be formally approved in
legislation.
State of information:
Large number of scientific papers. University
of Otago holds a living bibliography of
studies.
References and further reading:
Glasby (1978), Grange (1985, 1988, 1990,
1991b), Grange and Goldberg (1992, 1993a,
1993b), Grange and Singleton (1988),
Nelson et al. (2002), Schiel and Hickford
(2001), Skerman (1964), Wing (2003).
Red coral, Fiordland
BIODIVERSITY – NEW ZEALAND’S MARINE ECOREGION ■ 61
©2004 DOC, Te Papa Atawhai