Life Processes in the Ahuriri Estuary

Programme overview

Year level: 11, 12

Curriculum Level: 7

Synopsis: Visit your local waterway, such as the Ahuriri Estuary or Lake Tutira, to support the understanding of the adaptation of the life processes of plants or animals to their way of life, including the limitations and advantages involved as well as the strategies organisms develop in order to carry out life processes.

Hawke's Bay Regional Council can provide water testing kits for schools interested in water monitoring and gathering data around macroinvertebrates, fish, periphyton, and macrophytes. Learn more about the kits on NIWA's website: Stream Health Monitoring and Assessment Kit (SHMAK)

NCEA Standards:

AS91155 Biology 2.3 - Demonstrate understanding of adaptation of plants or animals to their way of life. (3 credits; internal)

Other subject achievement standards with learning synergies:

AS90811 EFS 2.2 Explain how human activity in a biophysical environment has consequences for a sustainable future (4 credits; internal)

AS91158 Biology 2.6 - Investigate a pattern in an ecological community, with supervision

AS91298 Agriculture and Horticulture 2.6 - Report on the environmental impact of the production of a locally produced primary product.

Key concepts

Adaptation
Relationships
Human impacts on waterways
Sustainability
Kaitiakitanga (environmental)
Personal responsibility for action

Lesson description

Choose a lake, river, or estuary for that is local to you such as:

Once you have chosen your waterway, research the areas plants and animals, their life processes and adaptation to their environment. For the purposes of this resource, we will focus on the Ahuriri Estuary.

Ahuriri Estuary is an environmental hot spot, a significant conservation area, and a wildlife refuge. The estuary hosts over 70 species of resident and migratory birds, and 29 species of fish use the estuary at different times within their life cycles.

This is not an exhaustive list, but there are many birds and plants which could be researched for this achievement standard and may help to provide some ideas.

Bird species found at Ahuriri Estuary include:
- Indigenous: Australasian shoveler, variable oystercatcher, red-billed gull, black-backed gull, Caspian tern, little pied shag, kotare/kingfisher, tui, piwakawaka/fantail, spur-winged plover, pied stilt, NZ dotterel, reef heron, silvereye, white-faced heron, white-fronted tern, little black shag, welcome swallow, black swan, grey teal, pied oystercatcher, bar-tailed godwit, black shag, royal spoonbill, black-billed gull, paradise duck, gannet, banded dotterel, whimbrel, swamp harrier, pukeko, black-fronted dotterel, pied shag, bellbird, kotuku/white heron, grey duck, dabchick, pied stilt
- Exotic: Canada goose, mallard, starling, blackbird, house sparrow, greenfinch,, welcome swallow goldfinch, rook, chaffinch, pigeon, myna, song thrush, magpie, skylark, yellowhammer, Californian quail, graylag goose, redpoll

Plant species found in the Ahuriri Estuary include:
- The estuary supports habitat for a number of indigenous estuarine species eg: glasswort (Salicornia quinqueflora), wiwi (Ficinia nodosa), sea rush (Juncus kraussii subsp. Australiensis), shore pimpernel (Samolus repens), three-square (Schoenoplectus pungens), remuremu (Selliera radicans) and the At Risk- Naturally Uncommon Māori musk (Thyridia repens). Many of these habitats represent some of the largest areas of intact wetland of their type in Hawke’s Bay. Sea-grass (Zostera muelleri) is known to have been present historically in the estuary.
- There are a number of weed issues impacting on the ecological integrity of these areas particularly grasses like kikuyu, Indian doab and tall fescue (weeds are always quite interesting from a plant functioning point of view as they often have very successful strategies).

Visit the Ahuriri Estuary

Duration: Approximately 2-3 hours

Description: Once the plants and animals have been researched, students will be prepared for a visit to the estuary where they can gain a deeper understanding of life processes and adaptations by observing birds, sampling the mud for invertebrates, creating and investigating a vegetation transect, and engaging in water testing activities.

Explore the resources section for activity ideas.

SHMAK water testing kits are available through HBRC for testing of chosen waterway, and can be used to look for macroinvertebrates. Connect with us for support: enviro@hbrc.govt.nz.

Key competencies

Thinking
Students will use creative, critical, and metacognitive processes to assess, research, and demonstrate understanding of adaptations across life processes or taxonomic groups.

Using language, symbols, and text
Students will use oral, written, and visual text to understand information about the area, use monitoring kits correctly, and provide a written evaluation.

Managing self
Students will be encouraged to manage themselves independently, establish personal goals, make plans, manage projects, and set high standards.

Relating to others
Students will be expected to interact effectively with a diverse range of people in a variety of contexts to research the area, obtain information and/or monitoring kits, and communicate with conservation groups and scientists.

Participating and contributing
Students will be actively involved in communities through explaining their ideas and making connections with the area.