Marine toxins are naturally occurring chemicals that can contaminate certain seafood. Naturally occurring toxins are produced by phytoplankton and move through the food web when zooplankton, fish ...
In 2009, some grey side-gilled sea slugs (Pleurobranchaea maculata) were found to be toxic following the deaths of several dogs on Auckland beaches. It was not previously known that these slugs ...
The resources in this collection are about where the land meets the sea. New Zealand has 15,134 km of coastline with extensive marine habitat. Land and sea are intricately linked, one impacting ...
In this activity, students model bioaccumulation of toxins in marine animals. They participate in a food web game where feeding decisions determine their survival. By the end of this activity ...
In this activity, students learn about toxins and poisons and research what’s poisonous in New Zealand. By the end of this activity, students should be able to: describe how at least one ...
In this activity, students consider short-term and long-term responses to an environmental disaster such as the Rena. By the end of this activity, students should be able to: describe what might ...
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 ...
This comprehensive worldwide online citizen science (OCS) project collates bird species, numbers, locations and times of sightings into a large database. You can create a class as a user and, by ...
Help scientists establish valuable baseline data about the numbers, locations, habits and health of penguins in a range of Southern Ocean sites. This information will enable better understanding ...
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 ...
New Zealand is well known for its unique bird life. Our endemic birds evolved in an isolated, island environment. The arrival of people, the deliberate and accidental introduction of mammalian ...
Students carry out a practical investigation to help AgResearch scientists monitor the spread of Microctonus aethiopoides (a tiny wasp) and its success as a biocontrol agent for clover root ...
Paul McNabb of the Cawthron Institute in Nelson describes the system they use to monitor shellfish safety. He explains how toxins are detected in shellfish using liquid chromatography-mass ...
Paul McNabb provides a short explanation on how an LC-MS functions.
Dr Susie Wood of the Cawthron Institute in Nelson talks about how toxic grey side-gilled sea slugs are. She explains that not all these sea slugs are toxic. It seems that North Island slugs are ...
This interactive demonstrates bioaccumulation of marine toxins. It shows how toxins move through a marine food web.
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.
Dr Candida Savage explains the clues she collects in estuaries and fiords, to understand how changes in land use affect these environments.