Monitoring

Measuring the benefits of the marine reserve

How has marine reserve status helped the sea life in the area? DOC is monitoring the changes in the Motu Manawa (Pollen Island) Marine Reserve to measure the project's results.

Motu Manawa (Pollen Island) Monitoring

The Motu Manawa (Pollen Island) Marine Reserve was created in 1995 as a representative example of inner harbour ecosystems. Benthos and sediments of Pollen Island Marine Reserve were evaluated during May 2002. A survey was conducted on the non-vegetated intertidal and shallow subtidal areas of the reserve using a small hand-hauled dredge to collect samples of sediment and benthos.

Results illustrate that the marine reserve has two main benthic associations. To the south of the embankment, the enclosed inlet contains soft muds with relatively few species, including polychaetes and the introduced bivalve Theora lubrica. To the north of the embankment, shelly sandy sediments occur along the northeast side of Pollen Island, with higher diversity of marine life. There are extensive beds of small cockles, with associated polychaete worms and large numbers of the small bivalve Nucula hartvigiana. Towards and below low tide softer mud occurs with relatively low diversity of marine life.