Publication Date:
2020-10-08
Description:
The 2016 Mw 7.8 Kaikōura earthquake lifted 140 km of coastline on New Zealand’s South Island by up to 6.4 m. This caused extensive mortality and destruction of habitat critical for early life stages of blackfoot abalone Haliotis iris (called pāua), a species of cultural and commercial importance. The fishery for pāua was closed, at considerable financial loss to local communities. This study determined the extent to which habitats and populations of pāua survived along the coastline. With aerial imaging, the coast was categorised into broad habitats at a 10 m scale. This was used to select areas for in situ assessments of pāua populations and specific habitat features at 26 sites over 1.5 yr. We quantified key habitat features to identify correlates and potential drivers of pāua abundance and distribution. We found that despite extensive habitat degradation from uplift, erosion and sedimentation, abundant pāua in size classes
Print ISSN:
0171-8630
Electronic ISSN:
1616-1599
Topics:
Biology
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