Marine Metre Squared

The NZ Marine Studies Centre and the Department of Marine Science gained funding in 2016 from the Participatory Science Platform - Otago Pilot - to link with schools and community groups to investigate the consequences of dredging on Otago Harbour rocky shore communities to see how these communities respond to sediment deposition and increased turbidity in the water column.

The project involved schools and local groups working alongside postgraduate marine scientists to establish monitoring sites, photograph and survey the marine community over time using Marine Metre Squared (Mm2) techniques. The objective was to set up long-term monitoring sites and integrate the project into schools’ long-term science plans.

In 2017 further funding was granted which took the project to another level. Schools and community groups continued with the data collection - see the photos below. Scientists also collected data along the rocky shore using similar methods as used by the students and it was found that there was no statistically significant difference between the student’s data and the scientist’s data.

新西兰海洋研究中心（NZ Marine Studies Centre）与海洋科学系于2016年获得参与式科学平台-奥塔哥试点（Participatory Science Platform - Otago Pilot）资助，旨在联动学校与社区团体，探究疏浚活动对奥塔哥港岩岸群落的影响，以观测此类群落如何应对水体中的沉积物沉积与水柱浊度升高问题。

本项目组织学校与本地团体，联合海洋科学研究生设立监测点位，采用海洋平方米（Marine Metre Squared，缩写Mm2）技术随时间序列对海洋群落进行影像采集与调查。项目核心目标为搭建长期监测点位，并将该项目融入学校的长期科学教学计划之中。

2017年，项目获得追加资助，研究工作进一步升级。学校与社区团体持续开展数据采集工作（相关照片详见下文）。科研人员亦采用与学生一致的方法沿岩岸开展数据采集，经统计分析发现，学生采集的数据与科研人员采集的数据不存在统计学显著性差异。