Under the sea

This Connected article by Sophie Fern, reports on a survey of a 100-metre long rocky reef located 11 kilometres off the Taranaki coast. Students from local high schools partnered with divers, biologists, engineers, fishers and local iwi to discover and record the plants and animals that make the reef their home. The article focuses on the survey methods being used and the different technologies involved in each method.

To ensure that as much of the reef could be covered as possible, four different survey methods were used to collect data:

• underwater camera surveys – a specially designed camera was fixed on the reef floor and film footage collected every few weeks
• diver transects surveys – divers took photos and samples from sections of the reef floor and students helped identify species from these photos
• hook-and-line surveys – students used barbless hooks to catch fish, record information and then return them to the sea
• acoustic surveys – used underwater microphones called hydrophones.

This article supports the science capabilities gather and interpret data and engage with science.

Check your school library for the article from the 2018 level 4 Connected journal ‘Digital Space’ download it as a Google slide presentation or order it from the Ministry of Education.

The teacher support material (TSM) can be downloaded from TKI (Word and PDF files available, click on 'Look inside this issue'). It has three learning activities that support the exploring the science, technology and mathematics and statistics aspects of the New Zealand Curriculum – Ordering our world, Satisfying our curiosity and Listening to the ocean.