Date: |
18 May 2023, 11.00AM – 12.00PM |
duration: |
1 hr |
Location: |
Online |
Cost: |
Free event |
Estuaries are coastal waterbodies where freshwater meets the ocean. They host a diversity of flora and fauna, act as conduits for migratory species, and are transition zones where transformations of energy and matter occur. In addition to their ecological importance, estuaries are places of significance for the people of Aotearoa, delivering substantial economic and cultural value. This talk will review key ecological functions in estuaries and how they translate to goods and services that we value. The influence of land-based contaminants delivered to estuaries via freshwater and the difficulties of managing these ecosystems will also be covered.
Dr Drew Lohrer has been working as an estuarine and coastal seafloor ecologist at NIWA since 2002, and is now Principal Scientist and Strategy Manager of NIWA’s Coasts & Estuaries Centre. Drew’s research specialty is ecosystem functioning—how seafloor invertebrate communities influence important ecosystem processes such as primary production and organic matter breakdown—and how loadings of sediments and nutrients from land impact estuarine health and functioning.
The Rivers Group will be hosting the River Ecology series, boasting a variety of topics and presenters throughout the month of May. This programme is sponsored by Regional Councils River Managers Special Interest Group and Te Uru Kahika and Kanoa.
Estuaries are coastal waterbodies where freshwater meets the ocean. They host a diversity of flora and fauna, act as conduits for migratory species, and are transition zones where transformations of energy and matter occur. In addition to their ecological importance, estuaries are places of significance for the people of Aotearoa, delivering substantial economic and cultural value. This talk will review key ecological functions in estuaries and how they translate to goods and services that we value. The influence of land-based contaminants delivered to estuaries via freshwater and the difficulties of managing these ecosystems will also be covered.
Dr Drew Lohrer has been working as an estuarine and coastal seafloor ecologist at NIWA since 2002, and is now Principal Scientist and Strategy Manager of NIWA’s Coasts & Estuaries Centre. Drew’s research specialty is ecosystem functioning—how seafloor invertebrate communities influence important ecosystem processes such as primary production and organic matter breakdown—and how loadings of sediments and nutrients from land impact estuarine health and functioning.
