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Invasive Gobies In Northern New Zealand Estuaries
Malcolm P. Francis1, Cameron Walsh2, Mark A. Morrison2 and Crispin Middleton2
1National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research Ltd, P. O. Box 14901, Wellington, New Zealand
National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research Ltd, P. O. Box 109695, Auckland, New Zealand
Email: m.francis@niwa.co.nz
Shallow harbours and estuaries in northern New Zealand are inhabited by at least five species of gobies. Two of these, Favonigobius lentiginosus and F. exquisitus have been present in New Zealand for decades, and are either native or resulted from historical introductions. In the last five years, three more goby species have been discovered. The Asian goby, Acentrogobius pflaumii, is known from two harbours near Auckland, where it seems to be well established. It was probably introduced to New Zealand via ship ballast water, either directly from its native range in the north-west Pacific Ocean, or indirectly via Australia, which it invaded before 1996. The Australian bridled goby, Arenigobius bifrenatus, which is also thought to have invaded New Zealand via ballast water, is known from five different harbours spanning about 150 km of coastline. This species is more widespread than previously thought and appears well established. The Port Hacking dart goby, Parioglossus marginalis, has been recorded from saline streams emptying into estuaries at two widely separated locations. It is not known whether this species is native to New Zealand, and has previously been overlooked because of low sampling effort in appropriate habitats, or whether it too is introduced. There is currently no information on the ecological impact of the invasive gobies.
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