newzealand

A landmark book about New Zealand’s marine reserves that connects readers to New Zealand waters. Written by award-winning natural history writer Janet Hunt, this book examines New Zealand’s 34 marine reserves, and the need to protect and preserve our seas and foreshores in their natural state. Each chapter contains features about outstanding plants, birds, fish, mammals, invertebrates and crustaceans as well as interviews and items of interest about people associated with marine conservation such as divers, underwater camera operators and marine biologists. From New Zealand’s most distant marine reserves (the Kermadecs and the Auckland Islands) to the Poor Knights, and from the five reserves of the Hauraki Marine Park to the ten reserves of Fiordland, this book also covers New Zealand’s marine animals and their unique environments. It’s a fascinating tale, with stories of conger eels prowl for sleeping fish, mass gatherings of fish, tropical turtles, the snatch-and-grab habits of gannets and much much more. Based on a six-episode television series made by Natural History New Zealand and which is to be screened on TVNZ in late 2014 but it goes much further than the six episodes go. This entertaining, beautiful and engaging book about our little-known backyard oceans, the place where the world’s largest marine predators and weirdest fish live, covers a wide variety of life from the sub-tropical seas to the sub-Antarctic oceans. It makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the sometimes contested waters that surround us.

Home to an amazing range of habitats and landscapes, Dunedin city and its environs boasts a great diversity of plants, animals, birds, insects and geological features. From the ocean, with its albatrosses and penguins, to the high alpine zone of inland ranges, this book introduces a magnificent natural environment. This brand-new fully revised edition of Wild Dunedin includes new and updated information and stunning new images, including a look at the new jewel in Dunedin’s natural history crown, Orokonui Ecosanctuary. A must-read for visitors and Otago residents alike.

First published in 2000, the Collins Field Guide to New Zealand Wildlife quickly became a classic of its kind. Familiar to both national and international travellers keen to identify the birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, freshwater fish and invertebrates commonly encountered in this country, its combination of authoritative yet clear and precise textual descriptions and stunning photographs proved an instant winner. Now, more than 10 years on, this classic field guide has been updated and extended to make it even more useful to travellers with an interest in natural history and ecology. Retaining its useful glovebox-friendly format, the significantly expanded text will also include the latest research findings and changes in classification and nomenclature that have occurred in the past 10 years, along with new photographs where appropriate. Including both native and introduced species, each entry succinctly describes both habits and habitats, distribution, classification, breeding patterns, food and recognition tips to assist amateur identification. A wonderful addition to any natural history collection.

This volume is the second of three that provide a complete review and inventory of New Zealand’s entire living and fossil biodiversity. Volume 2 deals with the major branch of the animal kingdom known as Ecdysozoa (moulting animals), which includes arachnids, centipedes and millipedes, crustaceans and insects. It also includes the enigmatic phylum Chaetognatha (arrow worms) and concludes with a chapter on the fossil traces – ichnofossils – of ancient animal activities.

All three volumes are affiliated with Species 2000, an international scientific project with the long-term goal of enumerating all known species on Earth into one seamless list – the Catalogue of Life, a kind of online biological telephone directory. To date, only New Zealand has compiled a checklist of its entire biota. Approximately 52% of this country’s species are endemic – found only in New Zealand’s freshwater, marine, and land environments. We have a responsibility to the global community to preserve this unique heritage or taonga. But further than that, all of our species – including many of the naturalised aliens included in the survey – are important to New Zealand’s economy, ecology and well-being.

Written for the advanced high-school and tertiary-level reader, these volumes are intended to be a kind of ‘Cooks Tour’ of the kingdoms and phyla of life that will, it is hoped, provide an appreciation of the wondrous diversity of nature. This series is the result of an international effort involving more than 220 New Zealand and overseas specialists and the most comprehensive of its kind in the world. Volume one [31469] and volume three [34438].

The first of three volumes that will chart the progress of a scientific inventory of New Zealand’s live and fossil biodiversity. This is a lavish production and value for money. An international effort involving more than 220 New Zealand specialists, this project, when completed, will include every one of the almost 55,000 known species of animals, plants, fungi, and micro-organisms in the country. Part of “Species 2000”, an international scientific project, the long-term goal is to enumerate all known species on earth into one seamless list called the “Catalog of Life”, which will function as an online biological catalog. To date, only New Zealand has compiled a checklist of its entire biota. Volume two [32943] and volume three [34438].

Adrift in the South Pacific Ocean, separated from the rest of the world by vast distances and blessed with some of the most varied and spectacular natural landscapes on Earth, New Zealand is rather special. Generations of geoscientists have developed an increasing understanding of what makes New Zealand geologically unique and why. Highlights of this research, including many discoveries of global significance, are presented in this book. It explains what makes New Zealand tick geologically, and illustrates the ways that geoscience research can make New Zealand a better place in which to live.