2. Three Kings Islands
Map ID Number: 2
Location: Northern New Zealand
Approximate area: 6,411km2
Description of area:
Tidal mixing around the Three Kings Islands causes uplift of cold subsurface water. Steep rock faces, caves and archways are notable habitats found around the islands.
Biological attributes:
The Three Kings Islands have a moderate level of biological diversity. Blue-finned butterfish (Odax cyanoallix) is endemic to the islands except for a few stragglers recorded near Cape Reinga and on the east Northland coast. (This species has one of the most restricted geographical distributions of any fish species in the New Zealand region.) The protected spotted black grouper (Epinephelus daemelii) is more common here than anywhere else in New Zealand except the Kermadec Islands. The uplift of nutrient-rich subsurface water supports a rich community of plankton, pelagic fishes (e.g. trevally Pseudocaranx dentex) and seabirds (especially red-billed gulls).
Criteria applied:
Species richness; endemism; trophic/functional diversity; representation (i.e. across physical types); extremities of range and adaptation to environment; special conditions and specialised organisms; aggregations; special phylogenetic grouping; meeting ground - overlap between biological regions (at national and global regions level).
Status and management:
Populations of reef-associated fishes such as hapuku (Polyprion oxygeneios), bass (P. americanus), and king tarakihi (Nemadactylus sp.) are impacted by commercial and recreational fishing.
State of information:
Basic knowledge exists of the fauna, but the ecology is virtually unstudied.
References and further reading:
Brook (2002), Francis (1996), Hardy et al. (1987).