@docgovtnz

class="content__text" In early 2022, it came as a bit of a shock when the discovery of hundreds of thousands of bleached sea sponges in Fiordland was made, during an extreme marine heatwave. In the second week of January this year, scientists from @wellington_uni along with our scientists re-visited survey sites in Doubtful Sound/Patea, to investigate the state of these sponges a year after the bleaching, as well as to conduct some further experiments on black coral genetics and the effect of climate change on sponges. Although it appeared that many sponges had recovered from total bleaching, it was still concerning to find several sponges had white patches or holes where fish had chewed off the bleached parts of the sponge, and it is suspected that many sponges from last year's heatwave have died or been eaten. Many of the sponges this year were a lighter colour than their usual deep brown, indicating that another season of bleaching may already be underway... It will be very interesting to see how another marine heatwave in Fiordland this summer might impact these sponges a second year in a row. We'll keep you updated. See photos of bleached sea sponges on our Facebook page. Read more here: https://bit.ly/40wtfOp 📷1: Black coral in shallow waters of Fiordland 📷2: Cymbastella cup sponge 📷3: Diver next to black coral 📷4: Flask sponge

February 13, 2023