Seaweed sampling

Transcript

Dr Candida Savage

We sample several different levels of the food chain as well as actual water column samples. So we sample nutrients from the water column, which tells us how much nitrogen is in the system, how much phosphorus. We’re also interested in seaweeds, which are the primary producers of the ecosystems. The seaweeds are largely sampling the environment for us all the time. They are growing in this water and so they are basically sucking up those nutrients and reflecting the light conditions as well. And so by sampling those seaweeds, we can tell a little bit about what the nutrient conditions have been like over longer periods of time than just from the water column.

Video: University of Waikato