Like many scientists working on coastal areas, we have years of observations and data that have never been published. We have set up this website to put into the public domain, our unpublished work and ongoing field observations.
Many parts of the New Zealand coast are remote and difficult to visit. We hope those working on the intertidal and shallow subtidal areas can make the most of our observations at such places.
To aid this, we are creating digital snapshots of intertidal zonation of selected localities, in the spirit of the work done by T.A and Anne Stephenson for South African and British coasts. Click Sites to see this site data and visually analyse it.
As sea surface temperatures warm, NZ can expect significant changes in the distribution of its coastal species, latitudinally and within harbours and embayments. It's important to plot the distribution and abundance for key species in detail now, and to record any changes over time. We have created the Coastal Observations app for this, and are starting with the kelps.