Webinar: Mapping and measuring marine ecosystem services

In this webinar, Drew Lohrer (NIWA) will discuss the measurement and mapping of marine ecosystem services that deliver benefits to society in the Hauraki Gulf, Marlborough Sounds, and elsewhere.

Ecosystem services are the benefits humans receive from nature. Marine species and habitats provide multiple ecosystem services to people and communities, such as kaimoana, coastal protection, improved water quality and nutrient removal. Despite the vast coverage of the seafloor, very little is known about its contributions to ecosystem service delivery, in part because it is difficult to observe and measure what is happening there.

Drew and his research team predicted and mapped variation in the amount of refuge habitat in the Hauraki Gulf and in the Marlborough Sounds, and validated the technique by surveying the seafloor at a range of sites around Great Barrier Island. They also developed tools to measure and map nitrogen removal in Whitford and Wairoa Bays, near Auckland.

This webinar is open to anyone, but will be of particular interest to marine managers, particularly those in Marlborough or Auckland region, local government, marine conservation groups, decision-makers, marine farmers.

About the speaker

Marine ecologist Dr Drew Lohrer is Principal Scientist and Group Manager at NIWA. He completed undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral degrees in the USA. His current research is focused on how soft-sediment seafloor invertebrate assemblages influence important ecosystem processes (oxygen production and consumption, nutrient regeneration and removal), and how coastal ecosystem functions and services are affected by human disturbances. Dr Lohrer was project leader for Measuring ecosystem services and assessing impacts in the Challenges’s first phase. 

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