New Zealand

Natural History

A brief over view of the natural systems in Aotearoa - New Zealand

Hillary Jenkins, Otago Polytechnic 2008

Objective

• To gain a basic knowledge of the natural history systems which occur in New Zealand

• To understand the importance of those systems as a tourism resource and what they represent in today’s world

We will look at 2 parts:

Part 1

• Gondwanaland

• Basic New Zealand Geology

• Climate and climatic zones

Part 2

• Indigenous Flora and Fauna

• What is happening in today’s world

Objective

Gondwanaland

Geology and Climate

Part 1: Gondwanaland

• Ancient Southern super-continent

• Included India, Asia, South America, Australia,

New Zealand and Antarctica as one big landmass

• Dates back 100 million years

• Big Bang theory

• Continental Drift - shifting landmasses to locations

as we know them today

New Zealand’s Basic Geology

• Drifted away from Gondwanaland 100million years ago

• Sits upon the Pacific Ring of Fire - Volcanoes and hot springs

• Great Alpine Fault Line

• Lots of small earthquakes and the occasional big one

• Glaciations

• Mountain building

• Rock types and Fossils

Pacific Ring of Fire

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Ring_of_Fire

www.otago.ac.nz/geology/af/alpinefaultwww.geology.otago.ac.nz

Climate

• Unique geography

• Long thin islands with mountains reaching 3700 metres above sea level

• Entirely surrounded by ocean

• Roaring 40’s latitude

• Precipitation range from 20cm to 7m per yr

= a diverse range of climatic zones

Climatic Zones

New Zealand’s main climatic zones:

– High Alpine

– Alpine

– Temperate

– Sub Tropical

– Coastal

SO…What does all this mean for the inhabitants of New Zealand???

• New Zealand drifted away early taking with it the species of the time – Moa’s Ark

• Long time isolated so our indigenous species are a snap shot of ancient times

• Harsh and diverse climates, plants and animals need to be specially adapted for survival

• Dramatic impact with introduction of new species once man arrived

Lets take a closer look at the features of the

different climatic zones …

High Alpine Zone

Very cold temperatures, high precipitation, often

covered in snow or ice, no soil, all rock, between

1800metres and 3700metres above sea level, very

few birds and insects

Photo by Nicky Snoyink

Alpine zone

Often cold and wet, maybe covered with snow for

part of the year, between 900 metres and 1800

metres above sea level, some soil, few plants, no

trees, few birds and insects

Photo by Nicky Snoyink

Temperate Zone

Average to high precipitation, moderate to cold

temperatures, some snow, some dry areas,

between 400 and 900 metres above sea level

though this varies depending on its proximity to the

glaciers, reasonably good soil, some forests, birds

and insects

Photo by Nicky Snoyink

Sub Tropical Zone

Warm climates, rarely frosty, closer the ocean,

mostly coastal North Island and small part of

Northern Westland, good soil, great diversity of

plant and animal life

Photo by Nicky Snoyink

Coastal Zone

The unique coastal regions of New Zealand

containing, sand dunes, estuaries, river mouths,

coastal forest, ranging in temperatures and rainfall

depending on the location in the country.

Photo by Nicky Snoyink

The End

Photos by Nicky Snoyink