The ciliary marginal zone (CMZ) is a region in the peripheral-most retina that displays ongoing retinogenesis during growth and expansion of the eye in adulthood. While there is evidence that this capacity also exists in birds and mammals, it is far more robust in fish and amphibians. The process of CMZ retinogenesis is essentially equivalent to that seen early in the central retina; however, its regulation is not fully unders...

The kelp Lessonia variegata J. Agardh (Lessoniaceae) is a potential aquaculture target for bioactive compounds. We investigated the control and management of Lessonia gametogenesis, the settlement and retention of sporophytes on various culture strings, and the upscaling of string settlement for field trials. In the laboratory we held gametophytes at low light conditions for 2.5 months before altering conditions to stimulate t...

To support ongoing marine spatial planning in New Zealand, a numerical environmental classification using Gradient Forest models was developed using a broad suite of biotic and high-resolution environmental predictor variables. Gradient Forest modeling uses species distribution data to control the selection, weighting and transformation of environmental predictors to maximise their correlation with species compositional turnov...

Rhodoliths are recognised as providing critical ecosystem services in nearshore systems through habitat provision. We tested the influence of rhodolith hosts and habitat on the diversity and composition of sessile and motile invertebrates found associated with two species of rhodolith. Investigations of cryptofauna were undertaken at three beds within the Bay of Islands, northern New Zealand. Lithothamnion crispatum , which wa...