Week 5 - Flora & Fauna

Discharging of nutrients upstream can adversely affect the ecology of an aquatic environment.  An extreme example of this is observed in concrete channels which lack riperian zones.  These channels types are now no longer an option in Auckland but may be elsewhere in NZ.

The installation of windmills as an alternative energy source at Te Uku require monitoring of the potential for the loss of bird life (in particular falcons).  Approximately, 1.3 million dollars were spent determining the statistical chance of bird strikes. This assessment ran over a long time scale - approx. 6 months. Other species observed were:

• Migratory Seabirds
• Freshwater Fish
• Weeds and their dispersal
• Freshwater insects