19b. Chatham Islands
Map ID Number: 19b
Location: The Chatham Islands are at the eastern end of the Chatham Rise and are an intermixing zone of subantarctic and subtropical elements. They are the most easterly island group in the New Zealand marine zone.
Approximate area: Not delineated by benthic group during the workshop
Description of area:
The Chatham Islands has a complex marine habitat of intermixing currents and eddies associated with shelf edges and subterranean features.
Biological attributes:
The islands have a good diversity of seaweeds and crustose coralline algae species. There is reasonably high endemism of ascidians, molluscs, and seaweeds.
Criteria applied:
Endemism; species richness; representation; extremities of range; meeting ground; habitat complexity/diversity.
Status and management:
The low human impact on some shores allows protection of crustose coralline habitat and delicate fossil sponges.
State of information:
Not recorded during the workshop
References and further reading:
Hay (1989), Knox (1957), Nelson et al. (1991), Schiel et al. (1995), Schiel and Hickford (2001).