All biological science relies on a solid basis in taxonomy data—without that it may be considered as just so much rubbish. NIWA and Te Papa have been and continue to be the national core of marine taxonomic capability in New Zealand, with a little at Auckland
University of Technology (barnacles and cephalopods) and Auckland Museum (polyclad flatworms). Key NIWA researchers are amongst New Zealand’s top taxonomists, but under the present funding regime are being prevented from carrying out research at the level that will benefit the nation. This flows on directly and negatively on personnel retention and succession: since 2000 four invertebrate taxonomists have left NIWA and not one replaced.
Systematic (or taxonomic) research on marine biota at NIWA is funded, by FRST, for the foreseeable future, at 2.3 FTEs, divided between Taxonomy of Marine Algae (0.8 FTEs, between 3 people; a further 0.5 allocated at Otago) and Taxonomy of Marine Invertebrates
(1.5 FTEs, between 5 people). At Te Papa fish taxonomy is funded at 2.6 FTEs. It is this research that should aspire to generate the new knowledge to meet national needs over the next 12-year period.
In 1996 ~12.9 FTEs supported NZ’s marine taxonomy, now it is 5.42 FTEs.
2005–2010
New Zealand now lacks critical skills to identify whole major groups of marine organisms.
For example, the most important hull-fouling invertebrate groups relevant to biosecurity (as listed by the OECD) are sponges, barnacles, bryozoans, tubeworms, hydroids, and sea squirts.
There are no New Zealand specialists in the latter two groups (although NIWA has been training parataxonomists in these groups) , and FTEs among the former are less than 1 FTE in actual research time.
There is a total or near total lack of capacity in all of the large invertebrate taxa. All NIWA taxonomists have less than 0.5 FTE in core research funding, several less then 0.3 FTE. This is a level of funding at which international collaborations have to be shed, and is sufficient only to produce minor and easy-to-complete contributions. Certainly it is not at a level to produce ‘status enhancing’ research for NIWA or indeed the nation. There is now only time available for small scale research, instead of monographs, revisions, phylogenetic and biogeographic analyses, or studies using sophisticated technology (SEM, TEM, molecular data).
Taxonomic knowledge of the marine fauna (representing >15,000 species, of which at least
3,400 are undescribed) is critical to understanding marine ecosystem dynamics, impacts of fishing, habitat mapping, marine conservation, biosecurity, and to potentially significant bioactives and biotechnology.
Research on New Zealand's ~1000 seaweed species and >1200 microalgal species likewise suffers by under funding as the sole source macroalgal taxonomic expertise in the country is held by the NIWA team (<1 FTE in total).
The available FTEs in New Zealand are now below the threshold for successful, large-scale, high-quality research, and is likewise inadequate for servicing commercial applications requiring expert and specialist knowledge. Similarly, work on seamounts, in the deep sea, and on recently discovered vent faunas is turning up species at a rate that far exceeds the national capacity to deal with it.
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Invertebrates ( 4.24
FTE): Dennis Gordon, Janet Grieve, Chris Glasby, Geoff Read, Don
McKnight, Steve O’Shea [part], Helen Rotman and Michelle Kelly [part]
Microalgae ( 0.24
FTE): Hoe Chang
Macroalgae ( 3.12
FTE): Wendy Nelson, Tracy Farr, Judy Broom, Wyn Jones [then based largely at Te Papa]
Collections : Steve O’Shea (part) [~ 0.3
FTEs, but not separated from taxonomy]
2005
Invertebrates : ( 1.477
FTE) Niel Bruce, Dennis Gordon, Anne-Nina Lörz, Geoff Read
[Michelle Kelly]
Marine algae ( 1.35
FTE): Wendy Nelson, Tracy Farr, Hoe Chang, Judy Broom
Collections ( 2.506
FTE): Dean Stotter, Anne-Nina Lörz, Niel Bruce, Kate Neill, Dennis
Gordon, (plus miscellaneous part-FTEs).
1.
The funding for collections is now at the level it should be and will be adequate for the medium term. It is fully allocated.
2.
There is now minimal taxonomic capability for marine invertebrates affecting work on molluscs (shellfish), crustaceans (shrimps, isopods, amphipods, barnacles, etc), cnidarians (‘corals,’ anemones, hydroids and jellyfish), bryozoans, sponges, marine worms, echinoderms, several fish-parasitic worm groups and tunicates (‘sea squirts’).
There is no New Zealand expertise in cnidarians, fish parasites, tunicates and echinoderms; for the other groups, except crustaceans, there is but a single taxonomist.
For the Crustacea there are six specialists nationally, but only two FRST-funded, and all with only part-time to minimal capacity for research, several crustacean orders have no specialist at all.
3.
Scientists such as Dennis Gordon, Wendy Nelson, Michelle Kelly, Hoe Chang, and Niel
Bruce are New Zealand’s leading marine research taxonomists, and are now unable to act at the level expected of such scientists nationally and internationally.
4.
Sustained low resourcing and lack of technical support continues to erode capability to produce high-quality output.
5.
While extra research time may be acquired, most ‘contract’ work is not research and is tied to specific outputs which are not readily integrated into larger research projects.
6.
Under-resourcing on contracts, lack of technical support for research and identification, and the administrative and international demands and expectations on senior scientists results in chronic overwork.
7.
Points 2 to 3 will result in, for NIWA and individual scientists, an inability to function at the level of a peak science institution and as professional research scientists, and impacts negatively on their status as research scientists.
8.
The lack of a coherent response has caused an erosion of trust towards FRST (and
MoRST), and that flows onto insecurity about being able to retain jobs in the longer term and of being able to carry on genuine research in marine systematics.
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