Shane Orchard

University of Canterbury | UC · School of Earth and Environment

We investigated the response of a tidal lagoon system to a unique situation of relative sea-level change induced by powerful earthquakes (up to Mw 7.1) on the east coast of New Zealand in 2010–2011. Spatiotemporal impacts were quantified using airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) datasets complemented by hydrodynamic modelling and evaluatio...

Link to author's eprints available here: https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/F4IUHWJCCTJA3ZZSMSUM/full?target=10.1080/14486563.2020.1719439 Surf breaks are natural resources that have experienced degradation in many countries worldwide. In response, protection initiatives have been established that are typically led by non-governmental groups. In...

New Zealand is at the forefront of global developments in the management of surf breaks. Since establishing legal protection under the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement 2010 the focus has shifted to the implementation responsibilities of local government. Within this context, a new planning mechanism has evolved around the concept of identifyin...

Interest in citizen science has been increasing worldwide, accompanied by research oriented at identifying needs and recommending options for supporting the field. In this context, synthesising research on citizen science is becoming increasingly important. This short communication reviews recent findings in the New Zealand literature with a focus...

Global climate mitigation policies are promoting a radical shift in emission reduction activities to achieve net-zero targets by 2050. Although recent scientific studies have explored the impacts of some climate mitigation initiatives on biodiversity in various contexts, a global perspective of these developments is required. This report contribute...

Global climate mitigation policies are promoting a radical shift in emission reduction activities to achieve net-zero targets by 2050. Although recent scientific studies have explored the impacts of some climate mitigation initiatives on biodiversity in various contexts, a global perspective of these developments is required. This report contribute...

Citizen science, also known as participatory or community science, involves the participation of non-professionally trained individuals in scientific research. This article, part of a series of articles aiming to map and theorise the postdigital dimensions of citizen science, presents diverse narratives from individuals actively engaged in citizen...

This collective article presents a theoretical kaleidoscope, the multiple lenses of which are used to examine and critique citizen science and humanities in postdigital contexts and from postdigital perspectives. It brings together 19 short theoretical and experiential contributions, organised into six loose groups which explore areas and perspecti...

Essential for healthy oceans, coastal communities, fisheries, economies, and marine biodiversity from the subtropics to the polar regions, kelp forests are an integral and threatened ocean ecosystem. Their benefits are connected to over 740 million people who live beside a kelp forest, and their economic potential is valued at least 500 billion USD...

Marine kelp forests cover 1/3 of our world's coastlines, are heralded as a nature-based solution to address socio-environmental issues, connect hundreds of millions of people with the ocean, and support a rich web of biodiversity throughout our oceans. But they are increasingly threatened with some areas reporting over 90% declines in kelp forest c...

Through their accumulated experiences with coastal environments, surfers may be uniquely qualified as a source of local knowledge on surf breaks and wider coastal management topics. Despite popular associations between surfers and the environment, critical enquiries are needed to establish the scope and depth of surfers’ knowledge and the processes...

Mountains are remarkable storehouses of global biodiversity that provide a broad range of ecosystem services underpinning billions of livelihoods. The world’s network of protected areas includes many iconic mountain landscapes. However, only ca. 19% of mountain areas globally are protected (excluding Antarctica); many mountain areas are inadequatel...

Legal protection has become essential for managing the world's surf breaks much as it has for other marine and coastal protected areas. This paper presents the first systematic review of global developments in this field. We used a keyword literature search and thematic content analysis to characterise legal protection mechanisms that are designed...

Pāua (abalone) are a treasured natural resource that supports a recreational fishery worth $2 million annually to the local economy of the Kaikōura district in New Zealand. From 2016, the fishery was closed for 5 years in response to widespread mortality caused by co-seismic uplift in the 7.8 Mw Kaikōura earthquake. The fishery re-opened in 2021 fo...

Welcome to the Data Ethics in the Participatory Sciences Toolkit, a resource developed collaboratively by and for practitioners of citizen and community science. While many aspects of participatory science involve ethical considerations, this toolkit is built for considering ethical issues surrounding data, the bedrock of science. This introduction...

After New Zealand's 7.8 Mw Kaikōura earthquake in late 2016 an unexpected anthropogenic effect involved increased motorised vehicle access to beaches. We show how these effects were generated by landscape reconfiguration associated with coastal uplift and widening of high-tide beaches, and present analyses of the distribution of natural environment...

After New Zealand's 7.8 Mw Kaikōura earthquake in late 2016 an unexpected anthropogenic effect involved increased motorised vehicle access to beaches. We show how these effects were generated by landscape reconfiguration associated with coastal uplift and widening of high-tide beaches, and present analyses of the distribution of natural environment...

Understanding the resilience and recovery processes of coastal marine ecosystems is of increasing importance in the face of increasing disturbances and stressors. Large-scale, catastrophic events can re-set the structure and functioning of ecosystems, and potentially lead to different stable states. Such an event occurred in south-eastern New Zeala...

This study investigates factors contributing to the unexpected loss of a recreational Chinook salmon fishery in a reach of the Rangitata River in Canterbury, New Zealand. The Rangitata is one of only 14 rivers nationwide in which flows are protected by water conservation orders to provide for instream values in the face of competition from extracti...

Widespread mortality of intertidal biota was observed following the 7.8 Mw Kaikoura earthquake in November 2016. To understand drivers of change and recovery in nearshore ecosystems, we quantified the variation in relative sea-level changes caused by tectonic uplift and evaluated their relationships with ecological impacts with a view to establishi...

This report contributes to a collaborative project between the Marlborough District Council (MDC) and University of Canterbury (UC) which aims to help protect and promote the recovery of native dune systems on the Marlborough coast. It is centred around the mapping of dune vegetation and identification of dune protection zones for old-growth seed s...

Barrier sandspits are biodiverse natural features that regulate the development of lagoon systems and are popular areas for human settlement. Despite many studies on barrier island dynamics, few have investigated the impacts of sea-level rise (SLR) on sandspits. In peri-urban settings, we hypothesised that shoreline environment change would be stro...

Aim Ecologists traditionally study how contemporary local processes, such as biological interactions and physical stressors, affect the distribution and abundance of organisms. By comparison, biogeographers study the distribution of the same organisms, but focus on historic, larger-scale processes that can cause mass mortalities, such as earthquake...

Coastal marine ecosystems are under stress, yet actionable information about the cumulative effects of human impacts has eluded ecologists. Habitat-forming seaweeds in temperate regions provide myriad irreplaceable ecosystem services, but they are increasingly at risk of local and regional extinction from extreme climatic events and the cumulative...

The November 2016 Kaikōura earthquake reshaped the coastal landscape causing significant impacts on the coastline and marine ecosystems. This article provides an overview of the coastal recovery process three and half years later based on results from an intensive monitoring programme across 130 km of coast.

This project investigated and trialled a spotlight-based approach for fish surveys with the objective of obtaining relative abundance data for a target species at a relatively large scale. The initial intention was to trial this general approach to explore the feasibility of completing catchment-wide surveys for shortjaw kōkopu (Galaxias postvectis...

Migratory fish such as the whitebait galaxiids (īnanga, banded kōkopu, koaro, shortjaw kōkopu and giant kōkopu) and eels require management interventions at the whole catchment scale given their migratory life-histories. These species were recognised in the Biodiversity Contingency Business Case (BCBC) approved by the Minister of Conservation and t...

Galaxias maculatus is a declining amphidromous fish that supports New Zealand’s culturally-important whitebait fisheries targeting the migratory juvenile stage. Spawning ground protection and rehabilitation is required to reverse historical degradation and improve fisheries prospects alongside conservation goals. Although spawning habitat has been...

The Environment Canterbury (ECan) Regional Fish Habitat initiative provides a coordinated region-wide approach to identifying, prioritising and remediating fish habitat. Within this context, there is a particular need to assess barriers to fish passage which is important consideration for the management of migratory fish. This contributes to the co...

Coastal News (74): 6-8. Available online https://www.coastalsociety.org.nz/assets/Publications/Coastal-News/CN-74-2021-3.pdf

The 7.8 magnitude Kaikōura earthquake in November 2016 caused extensive uplift along approximately 130 km of the north-eastern coastline of the South Island of New Zealand. This resulted in widespread mortality of marine organisms and alteration to the community structure and, in many places, the integrity of intertidal and subtidal rocky reefs. Th...

Summary results from an online survey of public perceptions

Galaxias maculatus is a declining amphidromous fish that supports culturally-important whitebait fisheries in New Zealand and elsewhere in the Pacific. As a largely annual species, the seasonal productivity of spawning grounds has a strong influence on the availability of recruits. Spawning ground protection is urgently required to reverse historic...

Digital citizen science platforms are prominent examples of modern volunteerism that provide people with opportunities to observe natural phenomena and to engage in scientific processes. In this study, we explore the values and motivations underlying sustained participation in digital citizen science projects through the lenses of two social psycho...

A census survey of īnanga spawning activity was completed for the Punakaiki River during the 2020 summer. The survey concentrated on the known spawning location upstream of the State Highway road bridge and was designed to inform the implementation of channel enhancement works under the Sustainable Wild Whitebait Fishery (SWWF) project facilitated...

This report responds to a request from Marlborough District Council (MDC) for information on the coastal environment, with a particular focus on supporting the development of a bylaw to address changes in recreational use patterns that have occurred since the Kaikōura earthquake. We present a selection of information from our earthquake recovery re...

The Environment Canterbury (ECan) Regional Fish Habitat initiative provides a coordinated region-wide approach to identifying, prioritising and remediating fish habitat. This contributes to the conservation of migratory species that rely on waterway connectivity for completion of their life stages. This project addresses the absence of documented i...

River-corridor restoration and whitebait conservation in Steam Wharf Stream, Christchurch. Prepared for Christchurch City Council, July 2020. Available online at https://ccc.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Environment/Water/Monitoring-Reports/2020-reports/Inanga-Spawning-in-Steamwharf-Stream-2020.PDF

This report summarises results from field surveys of the Arahura River lagoon system to support the Arahura River Restoration Project on the South Island’s West Coast. The focus of these surveys was to improve the understanding of locations used by īnanga (Galaxias maculatus) for spawning. Īnanga is a migratory fish that is the most abundant of the...

Vegetated coastal ecosystems (VCEs) are in global decline and sensitive to climate change; yet may also assist its mitigation through high rates of ‘blue’ carbon sequestration and storage. Alterations of relative sea-level (RSL) are pervasive drivers of change that reflect the interaction between tidal inundation regimes and ground surface elevatio...

A range of literature was reviewed and summary information compiled to support the development of a conservation prioritisation strategy for two migratory fish species (īnanga and shortjaw kōkopu) on the South Island’s West Coast. This strategy will support the development of migratory species recovery plans under the government-funded Bio18 progra...

Stream bank erosion and restoration of riparian spawning habitat in Opara Stream, Banks Peninsula. Prepared for Christchurch City Council, June 2020.

To help sustain the whitebait fishery and improve the conservation status of migratory galaxiids the Department of Conservation is facilitating the Sustainable Wild Whitebait Fishery (SWWF) project on the South Island’s West Coast. Key themes within the project include strategies for reversing the historical decline of whitebait species and the ide...

This report summarises the results of habitat mapping completed in March 2020 to support the Sustainable Wild Whitebait Fishery (SWWF) Project on the South Island’s West Coast. Surveys of the tidal reaches of three waterway systems were completed. The objectives of each survey included assessment of riparian habitat condition for īnanga spawning u...

River flow is one of the key determinants of the quality and value of white water recreational resources. However, water abstraction for activities such as irrigation and hydroelectric power generation may reduce the availability of preferred flows with consequential impacts on recreational river users. We evaluated kayaking and rafting values in t...

Īnanga (Galaxias maculatus) is a highly valued diadromous fish that supports a popular recreational fishery. However, the species is currently listed in the ‘at risk - declining’ category of the New Zealand Threat Classification System in recognition of historic declines. The scope of this project included development of a draft methodology for gui...

• The Mw 7.8 earthquake that struck the north‐east coast of the South Island of New Zealand in November 2016 caused extensive upheaval, of up to 6 m, over 110 km of coastline. Intertidal habitats were greatly affected with extensive die‐off of algal communities, high mortalities of benthic invertebrates, and greatly reduced ecosystem functioning, s...

River restoration opportunities in Amelia Rogers Reserve. Prepared for Christchurch City Council, April 2019.

The Department of Conservation is facilitating the Sustainable Wild Whitebait Fishery (SWWF) project on the South Island’s West Coast. An important objective is the protection and enhancement of spawning habitat for īnanga (Galaxias maculatus). The initial stage of the project includes re-survey, mapping and threat evaluation at previously reported...

Following the Canterbury earthquake sequence of 2010-11, a large and contiguous tract of vacated ‘red zoned’ land lies alongside the lower Ōtākaro / Avon River and is known as the Avon-Ōtākaro Red Zone (AORZ). This is the second report in the Ecological Regeneration Options (ERO) project that addresses future land uses in the AORZ. The purpose of t...

Restoration strategies for river banks in the lower Ōpāwaho / Heathcote River. Prepared for Christchurch City Council, December 2018.

A survey methodology for locating and mapping īnanga spawning sites near coastal rivermouths.

Īnanga spawning habitat quality Rapid assessment protocol for field surveys. Prepared for Canterbury Regional Council River Engineers, November 2018

Īnanga spawning habitat assessment for Alymers Stream, Banks Peninsula. Prepared for Christchurch City Council, November 2018.

Reducing the pressure on juvenile fish through a focus on whitebaiting is unfortunately not a panacea because other factors are major influences on the total number of breeders and their eggs. In fact, a preoccupation on controlling whitebaiting might increase extinction risk if it contributed to inaction on other aspects. Because the lifecycle is...

Īnanga spawning survey of Linwood Canal and Steamwharf Stream. Prepared for Christchurch City Council, June 2018. Available online at https://ccc.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Environment/Water/Monitoring-Reports/2018-reports/Inanga-spawning-survey-of-Linwood-Canal-and-Steamwharf-Stream-2018.pdf

Īnanga spawning in Takamatua Stream, Banks Peninsula. Prepared for Christchurch City Council, May 2018. Available online at https://ccc.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Environment/Water/Monitoring-Reports/2018-reports/Inanga-spawning-in-Takamatua-Stream-2018.pdf

• Galaxias maculatus is a riparian spawning fish that supports an important recreational fishery in New Zealand, with spawning habitat requirements strongly structured by salinity gradients at river mouths. This study reports changes to the spawning habitat following a series of large earthquakes that resulted in the widespread deformation of groun...

Galaxias maculatus is a diadromous riparian-spawning fish that supports an important fishery. Eggs develop terrestrially as with several other teleost fishes. Spawning habitat occurs in specific locations near rivermouths and its protection is a conservation priority. However, quantifying the areas involved is hampered by high egg mortality rates o...

We studied the effectiveness of conservation planning methods for Galaxias maculatus , a riparian spawning fish, following earthquake-induced habitat shift in the Canterbury region of New Zealand. Mapping and GIS overlay techniques were used to evaluate three protection mechanisms in operative or proposed plans in two study catchments over two year...

The Canterbury earthquakes resulted in numerous changes to the waterways of Ōtautahi Christchurch. These included bank destabilisation, liquefaction effects, changes in bed levels, and associated effects on flow regimes and inundation levels. This study set out to determine if these effects had altered the location and pattern of sites utilised by...

Galaxias maculatus is a riparian spawning fish that supports an important recreational fishery in New Zealand with spawning habitat requirements strongly structured by salinity gradients at rivermouths. This study reports changes to the spawning habitat following a series of large earthquakes that resulted in widespread deformation of ground surfac...

Surf breaks are natural resources that provide substantial value to communities around the world. Following decades of coastal development that largely ignored these features, New Zealand and Australia have established innovative approaches for their protection. These are centred on national level initiatives that are now well established in coasta...

Here, we describe a methodology for quantifying the spawning habitat of īnanga (Galaxias maculatus), a protected native fish species. Our approach is demonstrated with a survey of the Heathcote/Ōpāwaho following the Canterbury earthquakes that produced unexpected findings. Spawning habitat was detected over a 2.5 km reach and the area occupied by s...

Available from Christchurch City Council https://ccc.govt.nz/environment/water/waterways/waterway-monitoring

This report is the third and final report in the Ecological Regeneration Options (ERO) project series. Its purpose is to assist in developing integrated assessment methodologies for evaluating ecological regeneration options in the Avon-Ōtākaro Red Zone (AORZ). This is an important topic to ensure that their potential benefits are recognised alongs...

Following the Canterbury earthquake sequence of 2010-11, a large and contiguous tract of vacated ‘red zoned’ land lies alongside the lower Ōtākaro / Avon River and is known as the Avon-Ōtākaro Red Zone (AORZ). This is the second report in the Ecological Regeneration Options (ERO) project that addresses future land uses in the AORZ. The purpose of...

The Canterbury region of New Zealand experienced a sequence of strong earthquakes during 2010-2011. Responses included government acquisition of many thousands of residential properties in the city of Christchurch in areas with severe earthquake effects. A large and contiguous tract of this ‘red zoned’ land lies in close proximity to the Ōtākaro /...

Presentation to Surf Medicine International Surfer’s Academy Symposium, 1 October 2016

The focus of this study is on understanding salinity changes in the vicinity of the freshwater-saltwater interface in estuarine ecosystems. In these areas, species, habitats and ecosystems that are adapted to brackish conditions are expected to migrate in response to salinity changes under sea level rise. For the Avon Heathcote Estuary in Christchu...