MUDDY FEET - Auckland Regional Council

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Stella Frances, Jan Coates, Warwick Murray, Bec Stanley, Annie Wheeler, Rau Kapa, Ian Bradley, Marie Alpe, Linda Bercusson, Roger Grace and Marilyn Fullam (DoC Auckland), Chris Hendy, Conrad Pilditch, Brendan Hicks, Catherine Beard, Rebecca Cheatley, Hilke Giles and Willem de Lange (Waikato University), Marjorie van Roon, Bob Creese and Bert Mom (Auckland University), Kathy Walsh (Kaiaua Citizens’ and Ratepayers’ Association, Auckland Conservation Board) Rex Smith, Mark Aislabie, Bert Laing, Ted Howard, Stephen Lane, Jocelyn Lane, Peter Thorburn, Doug Pulford and Jagindar Singh (local residents), David Medway (NZ Ornithological Society), Eric Souchon (H.G. Leach, Paeroa), Mike Tuohy and his students of remote sensing (Massey University) The EcoQuest team, all of whom assisted in various ways in the field and at the EcoQuest headquarters: Holly Bogle, Scott Bogle, Brian Coffey, Tony Cummings, Donna Dowal, Nigel Keeley, John Longden, Peter Maddison, Elizabeth Jones, Rob Ruzicka, Patrick Stewart, Jae Strommer, Stephanie Todd, Bruce and Meg Wildblood-Crawford, and numerous students who contributed to the ecological studies of wader birds, mudflats and mangroves. And, most of all, to John Clark, an immense and persistant source of inspiration and encouragement to so many of us who are passionate about the whenua of Hauraki and the moana of Tikapa, and who was the principal kaitiaki of the wairua of this and many other similar initiatives over the past 14 years. Appropriately muddy feet of the Summer Bird Course - Miranda Naturalists’ Trust (photo K. Woodley)
Preface Muddy feet. All resident and visiting species (plant, animal and human) in the Firth of Thames Ramsar Site have them, except for the ones that only swim. This vast intertidal area at the southern (hereafter referred to as ‘upper’) end of the Firth of Thames (Tikapa Moana) is mainly composed of muddy sediments that have built up there over time. Many species (such as mangrove, ducks, herons, flounders, eels, mud crabs, oysters and mud snails) thrive in the mud. The original flood plain forests and savannah of the Hauraki and Hunua coastal plains used to absorb it and replenish it. Adjoining ocean and riparian systems depend on it in many ways. Stop banks now defend against it. Humans tend to avoid it, unless they are shellfish gatherers, fishers, ornithologists, estuarine ecologists, duck hunters, farmers rescuing stray cattle, mud castle-building children or those passing through it by boat at high tide on their way to somewhere else. In spite of having been extremely modified by human activity, particularly over the past 130 years, the upper end of the Firth of Thames remains an exceptionally productive ecosystem that provides quality shelter and abundant food for a great diversity of estuarine, coastal and avian species. Land use in the catchment is predominantly agricultural. Since the late 1970s, the intertidal zone of the upper Firth had been seriously considered for specific national protective status. Although a significant portion of this coast, extending from Kaiaua in the west around to the Waihou River in the southeast, was officially recognized as an internationally important wetland habitat by its designation as a Ramsar site in January 1990, no integrated ecosystem research was carried out in the area either before or after the designation, and no specific national protective status has been granted. There have been a number of isolated studies on the ecology, natural history and hydrology of the area. The primary focus of specific biological and ecological studies of the Ramsar site has been on the waders and their habitat. The goals of the present study were to gather and review existing information about the southern Firth of Thames ecosystem, and about the Ramsar Site in particular. Selected field investigations into aspects of the current state of the Ramsar Site were carried out. Findings of the literature review, local knowledge and field investigations, including the appraisal of conservation issues and increased pressures for development in the surrounding area are presented in this report. In addition, gaps in existing knowledge have been highlighted. Research for the Hauraki Customary Indicators Report (1999) was underway when our study of the Ramsar Site began. In parts, the Customary Indicators Report and Muddy Feet are complementary. A workshop on “Biological Investigations of the Firth of Thames”, organized by the Waikato Conservancy of the Department of Conservation, was held in May 2001 at the Miranda Shorebird Centre, followed closely by the Ramsar Site Workshop at the same venue in November (proceedings reported here as chapter 12). Management issues, current risks and priorities for further research and policy development that were identified at these workshops have been incorporated in this report. We have drawn ideas and inspiration from many residents, visiting naturalists and researchers who collectively have a wealth of experience and vision about this upper Firth of Thames environment. All who have hands-on involvement with this area (and the inevitable muddy feet) recognise that this ecosystem is evolving very rapidly, and the changes are profound. These changes are begging to be documented and evaluated in terms of ecosystem evolution, and the existing and potential human impacts. We hope that this work will encourage all concerned Ramsar Site stakeholders to contribute to a greater collective understanding of how it functions, and how to achieve integrated and sustainable management of it. Bill Brownell – December 2004
Page 1 and 2: MUDDY FEET FIRTH OF THAMES RAMSAR S
Page 3 and 4: MUDDY FEET FIRTH OF THAMES RAMSAR S
Page 5 and 6: Contents List of Figures List of Ta
Page 7 and 8: 11.7 Current Research in the Firth
Page 9 and 10: List of Tables Table 5-1 Comparativ
Page 11: Acknowledgements This report was ma
Page 15 and 16: 1 Introduction by Ria Brejaart and
Page 17 and 18: Figure 1-1 Southern Hauraki Gulf an
Page 19 and 20: Wind and tidal currents cause a net
Page 21 and 22: Figure 1-4 continued. EcoQuest Educ
Page 23 and 24: studies, some of which use the Chen
Page 25 and 26: providing for the drainage and sett
Page 27 and 28: 2 Hydrology by Ria Brejaart, Bill B
Page 29 and 30: 2.2 Summary of Cheatley (2000) Grou
Page 31 and 32: 3 Vegetation by Peter Maddison and
Page 33 and 34: mangroves positioned between the ma
Page 35 and 36: and available habitat types for wad
Page 37 and 38: Family Asteraceae *Aster subulatus
Page 39 and 40: Though creeping musk is of widespre
Page 41 and 42: Future Work: Spartina is a recognis
Page 43 and 44: *Trifolium glomeratum - clustered c
Page 45 and 46: 4 Terrestrial Invertebrates & Mamma
Page 47 and 48: Heteronychus arator (Fabricius) - B
Page 49 and 50: The extensive mangrove community th
Page 51 and 52: establishing in areas where tempera
Page 53 and 54: It appears from our observations an
Page 55 and 56: 41 Figure -5-1 June, 1963 aerial ph
Page 57 and 58: 43 Figure -5-3: Waitakaruru River t
Page 59 and 60: 45 1 Upstream view about 100m from
Page 61 and 62: 47 Looking west: 1 Dredge spoils af
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49 5.6 Revegetation of the Spoils A
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51 The five field investigations of
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53 issue of proper disposal, whethe
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55 Figure 6-1 Important Sites for w
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57 Figure 6-3 Changing habitats at
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59 • Over 1983-1994, rarer waders
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61 Thames, knots have been recorded
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63 stop-peck’. On pasture they fe
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65 6.5 Other Wader Species As in ot
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67 graze on grass and other low-gro
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69 Little black shag - Phalacrocora
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71 6.8 Terrestrial Species A few of
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73 Figure 6-4 Wader watchers: a com
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75 S. I. pied oystercatcher Torea H
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77 7 Estuarine Fish, Fisheries and
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79 firmer patches of bottom near th
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81 (between Kaiaua and Orere Point)
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83 large quantities of unwanted har
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85 Only four or five of the small b
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87 stage in the sea. These species
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89 Appendix 7.1 Fishes of the South
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91 8 Benthic Ecology Part 1 - A pre
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93 at a size that would have allowe
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95 8.3.2 Across-shore trends Simila
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97 Relative abundances m 2 30 25 20
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99 from fine silts to sandy mud in
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101 cumulative downstream effects f
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103 8.7 Study site Sampling took pl
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105 Table 8-8 Total for organisms c
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107 should be mapped :physical and
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109 including scenery, ecological s
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111 Important resource management a
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113 • Relevant provisions of the
Page 129 and 130:
115 Figure 9-1 Zoning map of Thames
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117 Figure 9-2 Zoning map of Kaiaua
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119 The decision to impose a tapu i
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121 9.9 Discussion The coast road t
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123 10 Raising Conservation Awarene
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125 10.2.4 Waikato Conservancy In 2
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127 • Is there a need for more ef
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129 The Kaiaua Citizens’ and Rate
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131 • What are the causes of the
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133 • Formation of a better pictu
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135 11.4.2 Marine farming Mussels a
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137 Five permanent sites in the upp
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139 • Uptake of nutrients by muss
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141 12 Firth of Thames Ramsar Site
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143 regard to substrates that norma
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145 The construction of the stop ba
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147 Physical (toxic chemicals, nutr
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149 The jurisdictional boundary (be
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151 What are the preferred food spe
Page 167 and 168:
153 How to attract a “manageable
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155 Local involvement It was noted
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157 Sedimentation: particle size di
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159 Melville David Ornithological S
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161 Firth toward a few species that
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163 A clear, consistent definition
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165 14 Bibliography By Marie Buchle
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167 Keywords: Waihou and tributarie
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169 Copy held and available from th
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171 Subject: Vegetation Keywords: L
Page 187 and 188:
173 Subject: Birds, mangroves Cox,
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175 de Lange, P.J., & Lowe, D.J. (1
Page 191 and 192:
177 Estcourt, I.N. (1976). Bibliogr
Page 193 and 194:
179 Subject: Fish Keywords: new gob
Page 195 and 196:
181 Harris, R.W. (1975). Summary of
Page 197 and 198:
183 Jillett, J.B. (1966). Plankton
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185 landform which holds valuable i
Page 201 and 202:
187 Copy held: EQ McKenzie, H.R. (1
Page 203 and 204:
189 mixed terrigenous-carbonate gra
Page 205 and 206:
191 accounts for water movement at
Page 207 and 208:
193 Pierce, R. J. (1999). Regional
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195 Subject: Benthic ecology Keywor
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197 Subject: Birds. Record of occas
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199 Keywords: dredge disturbance, b
Page 215 and 216:
201 Keywords: environmental managem
Page 217:
203 Zharikov, Y. & Skilleter, G.A.
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MUDDY FEET - Auckland Regional Council

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