Come along to this talk by Cindy Baker from NIWA on our amazing lamprey.
Lamprey (piharau/kanakana) are regarded as a ‘living fossil’, and representing over 360 million years of evolution, they are a key part of NZ’s biological heritage. Aside from their inherent value for native biodiversity, historically, lamprey were a very important mahinga kai for Maori. However, populations are in decline and lamprey are now classified as Threatened – Nationally Vulnerable.
To protect and restore lamprey populations, a better knowledge of their distribution, ecology and behaviour was required, and novel methods for detecting and monitoring lamprey populations was essential. Biotelemetry techniques were developed to successfully track adult lampreys over 15 months to spawning habitat – these were the first observations of lamprey spawning sites within the Southern Hemisphere.
This proved that our lampreys are unique in their spawning behaviour and identified important differences in the reproductive behaviour between Northern and Southern Hemisphere lamprey species, which will be critical in helping us protect lamprey populations. Through the identification of critical life-stage habitats, potential restoration and protection options can be developed and management strategies devised to ensure spawning and rearing habitats are retained within our rivers and streams.
Venue: Grasslands Lecture Theatre, Auckland Zoo, 99 Motions Road, Auckland
Admission: $10 General admission, $5 Concession, Free entry for ZSA members & Zoo staff
For further information: www.facebook.com/events/182274972433521
Related content
Find out more about our freshwater fish and how special they are.
There are a number of actions we can take to help our native fish – learn about these in Stream works for fish, Native fish in the city, Healthy farms, healthy fish and Planning for change.
