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Conserving native birds – introduction

New Zealand is world famous for its unique birdlife. In our resources on conserving our native birds, we look at the issues surrounding the conservation of some of our threatened bird species ...

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ARTICLE

Predation of native birds

New Zealand native birds have been greatly affected by predation. For millions of years, they lived in an environment without natural predators. Many species developed traits like flightlessness ...

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ARTICLE

Native bird adaptations

New Zealand separated from Gondwana around 65 million years ago. Due to the geographical isolation and a lack of ground-dwelling predators, our birds evolved unique characteristics. Flight was ...

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Explore related activities

ACTIVITY

Finding a female

In this activity, students play a card game that models the journey of a male pea crab (a parasite of green-lipped mussels) from his mussel host and back again. Purpose This activity will help ...

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ACTIVITY

How small is that?

In this activity, students fill a matchbox (or other small container) with tiny items to gain a greater appreciation of the tiny size of crab larvae and the relatively huge distances they swim to ...

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ACTIVITY

Freshwater fish of New Zealand quiz

In this activity, students can test their knowledge of freshwater fish online or in a paper-based quiz. The quiz can be used as an introductory tool to gauge students’ prior knowledge, as a ...

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Explore related citizen science projects

CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECT

Adrift

Although invisible to the naked eye, marine microbes drift continually in our ocean systems, quietly consuming up to 50% of the Earth’s CO₂ through photosynthesis and producing nearly as much ...

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CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECT

Spyfish Aotearoa

Come and visit Aotearoa New Zealand’s underwater world in this online citizen science project. Discover, count and identify unique fish species that live within our marine reserves ...

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CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECT

Instant Wild

Instant Wild is an initiative by the Zoological Society of London. Photos or videos of animals are recorded using hidden cameras in a range of worldwide locations. The aim is to increase the ...

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Explore related PLD

TEACHER PLD

Science in New Zealand contexts: perspectives of ...

School science is engaging when it makes connections to students’ everyday lives (Osborne & Collins, 2001) and when they have an opportunity to experience physical phenomena first-hand – the ...

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TEACHER PLD

Living World – The rocky shore

The rocky shore is a popular topic in primary school science. Below are some Science Learning Hub resources for primary teachers related to the rocky shore in the Living World strand of the New ...

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TEACHER PLD

Diving into marine resources

In this recorded professional learning session, Lyn Rogers and Steve Hathaway from Young Ocean Explorers introduce some exciting marine teaching and learning resources and: chat about Steve’s ...

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Explore related videos

VIDEO

Honeydew: The Food of the Ngahere

Our native forests – ngahere – have complex ecosystems. These ecosystems are under threat from introduced wasp species. In this episode of Project Mātauranga, Associate Professor Jacqueline Beggs ...

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VIDEO

Scale insects

Researcher Rosa Henderson from Landcare Research NZ Ltd introduces the tiny scale insects and talks about their role in the ecosystem.

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VIDEO

Culverts, ramps and baffles

Researcher Cheri van Schravendijk-Goodman discusses the problem with culverts that disconnect habitats of fish from the main river. She describes the use of fish ramps and baffles and how they ...

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Explore related interactives

INTERACTIVE

He painga mō te pāmu, he painga mō te ika

Tirohia ngā rautaki e ora tonu ai ngā arawai mō ērā kei te taha whakararo o te wai me ngā ika taketake, waihoki ka whaihua hoki ngā pāmu, e kore ai hoki e heke iho ngā putanga. Hei tirotiro i te ...

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INTERACTIVE

Life cycle of kākā

Explore the life cycle of the kākā from egg to adulthood by selecting the labels for further information.

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INTERACTIVE

Marine ecosystem

Explore this interactive diagram to learn more about life in the sea. Click on the different labels to view short video clips or images about different parts of the marine ecosystem. Select here ...

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