Mapping Key Ecological Areas in the New Zealand Marine Environment: Data Collation Prepared for the Department of Conservation (DOC)
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Mapping Key Ecological Areas in the New Zealand Marine Environment: Data collation Prepared for the Department of Conservation (DOC) November 2018 Prepared by: Fabrice Stephenson Ashley Rowden Tara Anderson Judi Hewitt Mark Costello Matt Pinkerton Mark Morrison Malcolm Clark Sanjay Wadhwa Theo Mouton Carolyn Lundquist For any information regarding this report please contact: Fabrice Stephenson +6478591881 [email protected] Gate 10 Silverdale Road, Hillcrest, Hamilton, 3216, New Zealand NIWA CLIENT REPORT No: 2018332HN Report date: November 2018 NIWA Project: DOC18204 Quality Assurance Statement Reviewed by: Alison MacDiarmid Formatting checked by: Alison Bartley Approved for release by: David Roper © All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced or copied in any form without the permission of the copyright owner(s). Such permission is only to be given in accordance with the terms of the client’s contract with NIWA. This copyright extends to all forms of copying and any storage of material in any kind of information retrieval system. Whilst NIWA has used all reasonable endeavours to ensure that the information contained in this document is accurate, NIWA does not give any express or implied warranty as to the completeness of the information contained herein, or that it will be suitable for any purpose(s) other than those specifically contemplated during the Project or agreed by NIWA and the Client. Contents Executive summary ............................................................................................................. 7 1 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 9 1.1 Background ............................................................................................................... 9 1.2 Key Ecological Areas ................................................................................................. 9 1.3 Aims and objectives ................................................................................................ 13 2 Methods .................................................................................................................. 14 3 Spatial data for mapping Key Ecological Areas .......................................................... 17 3.1 Overview of Data collated ...................................................................................... 17 3.2 Criteria: Vulnerability, fragility, sensitivity, or slow recovery ................................. 22 3.3 Criteria: Uniqueness, rarity and/or endemism ....................................................... 36 3.4 Criteria: Special importance for life history stages ................................................. 55 3.5 Criteria: Importance for threatened and/or declining species and habitats .......... 65 3.6 Criteria: Biological productivity .............................................................................. 71 3.7 Criteria: Biological diversity .................................................................................... 76 3.8 Criteria: Naturalness ............................................................................................... 82 3.9 Criteria: Ecological function .................................................................................... 95 3.10 Criteria: Ecosystem Services ................................................................................... 96 4 Discussion ............................................................................................................. 101 4.1 Critical appraisal of the datasets collated ............................................................. 101 4.2 Frameworks and tools for identification of KEAs ................................................. 108 4.3 Conclusions ........................................................................................................... 110 5 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................... 111 6 References ............................................................................................................. 112 7 Appendices ............................................................................................................ 123 7.1 File location paths and metadata ......................................................................... 123 7.2 Methods: Benthic invertebrate species richness and turnover ........................... 135 Mapping Key Ecological areas in the New Zealand Marine Environment 3 Tables Table 1-1: Criteria for consideration of Key Ecological Areas for marine protected area planning in New Zealand. 11 Table 2-1: Qualitatively defined data layer confidence score (table adapted from Ford et al. (2018)). 16 Table 3-1: Overview of data matching Key Ecological Area criteria. 18 Table 3-2: Matching significance criteria used by various regional and district councils. 25 Table 3-3: Benefits to biodiversity and mitigation of threats provided by a selection of Marine Protection Tools. 91 Table 3-4: ‘Principles’, rationale for their use and the GIS data layer used for predictive mapping of biogenic habitat provision (Townsend et al. 2014). 98 Table 4-1: Matching Key Ecological Area criteria with data layers collated. 103 Table 7-1: Categories used to reflect catchability of sampling gear types. 135 Table 7-2: Environmental variables used as predictors in the Boosted Regression Tree and Gradient Forest analyses. 137 Table 7-3: Model performance statistics from 200 bootstrap BRT model runs. 142 Figures Figure 2-1: Map template used throughout the report showing the extent of the study area. 15 Figure 3-1: Example significant coastal marine areas designated by New Zealand Regional Councils. 22 Figure 3-2: Probability occurrence (scale = 0-1) of Solenosmilia variabilis (SVA) and associated uncertainty measured as the coefficient of variation (CV) for depths 300 – 3000 m. 28 Figure 3-3: Probability occurrence (scale = 0-1) of Cellaria immersa to depths of 2500m (Wood et al. 2013). 31 Figure 3-4: Species records (locations) for all shark species with consequence scores greater or equal to 4 from the Qualitative shark risk assessment report for both Quota Management system and non QMS species (Ford et al. 2018). 34 Figure 3-5: Fish records (locations) extracted from OBIS, TRAWL & NIWA invert databases (Lundquist et al. 2015). 36 Figure 3-6: Benthic invertebrate records (locations) extracted from OBIS, TRAWL & NIWA invert databases (Lundquist et al. 2015). 38 Figure 3-7: Predicted distribution (occurrence) and relative abundance of Blue cod (Parapercis colias) on rocky reefs (Smith et al. 2013). 40 Figure 3-8: Locations of known hydrothermal vents from the Global Database of Active Submarine Hydrothermal Vent Fields. 42 Figure 3-9: Locations of cold or methane seeps from Greinhart et al. (2010). 44 Figure 3-10: Predicted demersal fish community assemblages to depths of 2500m (30-groups – from classification of species turnover) (Stephenson et al. 2018). 46 4 Mapping Key Ecological areas in the New Zealand Marine Environment Figure 3-11: Predicted benthic invertebrate community assemblages to depths of 2500m (50-groups – from classification of species turnover) (Stephenson et al. 2018). 49 Figure 3-12: Examples of 7 Naturally Uncommon Ecosystems in the coastal environment (Wiser et al. 2013). 51 Figure 3-13: Predicted non-breeding, at-sea distribution of Southern Royal Albatross (Diomedea epomophora). 53 Figure 3-14: New Zealand Seal breeding and haul-out grounds. 58 Figure 3-15: Example of annual spawning distribution of Anchovy (Engraulis australis – code: ANC) considered accurate to ± 15% (left) and hotspots of spawning grounds for commercially important species (the overlap of individual annual spawning distribution for 39 species) (right). 60 Figure 3-16: Bird colonies (terrestrial and marine species; red dots) with their associated seaward extensions used to identify marine Important Bird Areas (IBA – yellow polygons) (Forest and Bird, 2014). 63 Figure 3-17: Cetacean species listed as Threatened or Declining in the NZ Threat Classification system. 67 Figure 3-18: Annual predicted distribution (occurrence) of Dusky Dolphin (left, scale: absence (0) – presence(1)) and associated spatial uncertainty measured as coefficient of variation (right, scale: low (0) – high uncertainty (1)). 69 Figure 3-19: Near-surface chlorophyll-a concentration (mg/m3, proxy for water column primary productivity) measured estimated from satellite ocean colour observations (Pinkerton 2016; Pinkerton et al. 2018). 74 Figure 3-20: Predicted demersal fish species richness to depths of 2500m (adapted from Leathwick et al. 2006). 78 Figure 3-21: Mean predicted benthic invertebrate species richness to depths of 2500 m (left) and location of benthic invertebrate record overlaid on the predicted environmental coverage. 80 Figure 3-22: The swept area (footprint) of trawling (tows per km) for Offshore/ deepwater bottom trawl fisheries (left, data from fishers targeting Tier 1 and Tier 2 fishstocks from 2008) and for Inshore/shallow water bottom trawl fisheries (right, data from waters shallower than 250m from 2008). 83 Figure 3-23: Heat maps and spatial estimates of recreational fishing (low – high). 86 Figure 3-24: Location of Benthic Protection Areas, Seamount Closures, Type I Marine protected areas, and marine mammal sanctuaries. 88 Figure 3-25: DOC Public conservation areas used as an indication of land-sea connectivity (Lundquist