Project Hotspot

Project Hotspot
Project	Project Hotspot
Group	Nga Motu Marine Reserve Society
Topic	Natural history, Beach and coastal
Resources online	yes
School sessions	yes
Level	Primary, Intermediate, High School
Phil Bendle pages	https://www.citscihub.nz/Category:Phil_Bendle_Collection
Web address	https://seasense.org.nz
Location

This Curious Minds project was designed to investigate the distribution and threats to four species in Taranaki,

• Korora/little blue penguins,
• Reef herons,
• Orca
• Seals

Project Overview

Using citizen science to better protect coastal threatened species. If we know more about where coastal threatened species occur we can use this information to better protect them. Help us by reporting your sightings on i-Naturalist and the projects for each species.

Project Partners

The Nga Motu Marine Reserve Society are the lead group and have had many partners, participating school and community assistance during this time. See the Project Hotspot 'Partners' page

Project Report

"Using Project Hotspot findings to better protect"

In addition to providing a resource for the community, the project outputs are also of value to decision makers, government authorities, conservation groups and industry (end users), and relevant to a wide variety of applications including oil spill response, environmental impact assessment and resource management. Improved knowledge of threatened species hotspots enables end users to better implement measures to protect these species.

The maps of each species are automatically updated through I-Naturalist and the recorded behaviours of the animals, or 'dead/alive' helps us to appreciate the threats to each. Orca travelling around the Taranaki coast are an example of how the records may be used.

Resources

• End User Workshop 2
• Komene Workshop
• Plastic Shotgun Wads
• Environmental Award
• End User Workshop
• Bell Block beach clean-up
• Waitara beach clean-up
• Downloadable Resources
• Schools' programme
• Informing Decision-Makers, a presentation to the Ecological Society Conference 2016

Gallery

The images show the individual 'tatoos' on heron legs which can be used to identify the birds.

• 

  ID Kelpie, Alfred etc herons Page 1.jpg

• 

  ID Kelpie, Alfred etc herons Page 2.jpg

• 

  ID Herons named from tatoos.jpg