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Zooplankton of Wellington Harbour, New Zealand

Surrounding Shores and Sea Floor

Surrounding Shores and Sea Floor

The littoral zone of both stations (Kau Bay and Mahanga Bay) consists mainly of rough shingle interspersed with rocks, but large rock outcrops extend to well below the low water mark at Point Halswell, Kau Point, and Point Gordon. From the low water mark to a depth of approximately one fathom there are extensive colonies of Macrocystis pyrifera (L.) and other algae clinging to a rocky substrate. Macrocystis pyrifera is concentrated mainly at Point Gordon, Kau Point and in Kau Bay. From one fathom to approximately five fathoms the sea floor shelves steeply, and is covered with coarse sand and gravel on which thick patches of red-green algae and large sponges grow. The sand and gravel merges into soft grey mud below five fathoms. Both plankton stations lie for the most part over the muddy substrate at depths between seven and nine fathoms.