Cape Rodney to Okakari Point Marine Reserve survey 2. Rocky shores

Abstract

Since the establishment of the University of Auckland's Marine Laboratory at Leigh in 1964, there has been a number of published papers and unpublished theses dealing with local physical and biological phenomena, though few, if any, have given a comprehensive picture of the area. The creation of a Marine Reserve in 1975 has brought about a serious attempt to co-ordinate the knowledge gained and provide an integrated baseline to which the understanding gained from future research can be added. To date, there have been many noteworthy attempts to centralize information within the bounds of the Reserve. The first, a booklet compiled by Norton and Chapman (1968) deals with the ecology of local species within the spectrum of available habitats along the rocky shoreline. The second is a succinct review of knowledge of the Reserve compiled shortly after its official inception in 1975 by Gordon and Ballantine (1976). The third, of which this exercise may be regarded as an addendum, is a sub-tidal survey of the main marine habitats of the Reserve (Ayling, 1978). This latter survey has attempted to define these habitats on a geographical-biological basis and to 'provide a quantitative estimate of the numbers, size and distribution of the important organisms in the Reserve.'