item details
Overview
Tuhinga 13: 117 - 152
ABSTRACT: The Fiordlan region covers an important part of New Zealand's South Island. The fourteen fiords included within the region are separated by sections of exposed coastline. High rainfalls are characteristic of the region, and the high freshwater input into the fiords creates salinity gradient both with depth and from the outer to inner fiords. The high tannin content of the run-off water changes the colour of the seawater, contributing to a unique marine environment. Observations carried out during collection and survey trips suggest a decline in biomass and species diversity from the outer coast to the inner sections of the fiords. Early European explorers in Fiordland collected some of the first marine algae described from New Zealand. Subsequently, there have been very few macroalgal collections made until the last 20 years. The species list reported here presents records of macroalgae from Milford Sound to Puysegur Point, and is compiled primarily from specimens housed in the herbarium of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (WELT). Collections held by the Department of Conservation in Wellington and the University of Copenhagen in Denmark are also cited. Relationships of the algae of Fiordland to the floras of the West Coast of the South Island north of Fiordland and to Stewart Island are discussed, and future areas of endeavour are suggested. Three adventive algae have been recorded from the area, species that were probably introduced through whaling and sealing operations in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
KEYWORDS: Marine macroalgae, seaweeds, Fiordland, New Zealand, species list.