Kākahi are a keystone species in lake and river ecosystems, keeping the water clean by filtering one litre of water every hour. These native mussels once blanketed lakebeds across Auckland – but recent surveys found an alarming decline and disappearance across many lakes. A team of scientists and divers have mounted a rescue mission for one of the last remaining kākahi populations, trying to keep the mussels safe from invasive fish through all the steps of their complicated – and fascinating – life cycle.
Guests:
Madison Jones, Senior Healthy Waters Specialist, Auckland Council
Belinda Studholme, Senior Biosecurity Advisor – Freshwater, Auckland Council
Ebi Hussain, Submerged Environmental and Aotearoa Lakes
Andrew Simpson, Global Dive
Learn more:
Read the article that accompanies this episode: A rescue mission saving rare freshwater mussels.
Meet the bullies – the native freshwater fish that host the kākahi in their parasitic stage – in this 2023 episode recorded by Claire at Zealandia, where the fish have been translocated.
Alison Ballance covered the translocation of kākahi into Zealandia back in 2018.
Wondering how the perch and other pests ended up in Lake Rototoa? Black Sheep has the details in the episode Invasive: the story of Stewart Smith.
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