Dr Christopher Cornwall1, Erik Krieger1, Valerio Micaroni1, Kat Siegers1, Imogen Bunting1, Dr Roberta D’Archino2
1Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand, 2NIWA, Wellington, New Zealand
Giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) is a foundation species with immense ecological, cultural, and economic importance in Aotearoa New Zealand. However, in many locations giant kelp has undergone significant retractions in canopy biomass after marine heatwaves and are additionally impacted by sedimentation and low irradiance. M. pyrifera is near the northern most extent of its range in New Zealand in Wellington Harbour, the southern end of the North Island. This is a highly urbanised area where land derived inputs of sediments and chemical runoff are likely very high, but have not been monitored historically or presently. Consequently, M. pyrifera forests have declined in abundance. Here I will present some of the research from the scientific arm of a larger community led project Love Rimurimu (Te Reo for “seaweed”). The scientific work has so far focused on quantifying the baseline community composition within and outside giant kelp forests, as well as exploring the response of M. pyrifera sporophytes to marine heatwaves with differing intensities. Future work will attempt to explore the gamut of stressors that manifest on these communities, with a focus on restoration of these ecosystems.
Presentation Slides – Christopher Cornwall
Biography:
Christopher Cornwall’s work focuses on the impacts of climate change, ranging from physiology, geochemistry and ecology. He is the lab PI of a group at Victoria University of Wellington’s School of Biological Sciences in New Zealand where his group focuses kelp forests and coral reefs
