A habitat is the area where an organism or group of organisms live and breed. Kelp forests are biogenic habitats. Biogenic habitats can be compared to underwater forests with different species living together in thriving communities. You could think of biogenic organisms – in this case rimurimu – as the architects and construction workers who turn the seafloor into living cities.
Get to know your local rimurimu species with a visit to your coast or from home or school with identification guides and online resources.
Related articles
- Marine habitats
- Habitats in the Bay of Plenty
- Marine organisms and adaptations
- Love Rimurimu teacher preparation – term 1: Seaweed biodiversity and its importance in the marine environment (PDF, 839 KB)
- Kelp forests after the Kaikōura earthquake
Related activities
- Seaweed harvesting and storage guide (PDF, 794 KB)
- Seaweed pressing method (PDF, 910 KB)
- Growing rimurimu experiment (PDF, 1.1 MB)
- Seaweed photosynthesis experiment (PDF, 1.1 MB)
- Beach visits – habitats and food webs
- Where do I live?
- Changes on the beach
Related media
- New Zealand marine habitats – interactive with infographics
Rimurimu identification guides – Wellington region
- Love Rimurimu seaweed identification guide – Wellington’s top seaweeds (PDF, 3.2 MB)
- Wellington Underwater Club seaweed identification guide (PDF, 7 MB)
- Wellington Underwater Club infographics in te reo Māori and English (PDF, 1.8 MB)
Marine identification guides – whole of Aotearoa New Zealand
