The identification of an at-risk fish habitat near Te Anau by Fiordland College students is citizen science at its best, education coordinator Alessandra Menegatti says.

Over the past two weeks, two classes of Fiordland College year 10 students, working with The Kids Restore the Kepler programme, have been gathering environmental DNA (eDNA) data samples for their Science Stream Study project.

The students are now awaiting confirmation from science agencies that the secretive Gollum galaxias fish they found evidence of in the Ewe Burn, near Te Anau, is a new population or one already known to scientists.

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The students have been exploring two sites - a small bush creek draining into the Waiau River in the Fiordland National Park, and the Ewe Burn, and identifying organisms such as mayflies, stoneflies, bony fish, and algae.

Alessandra Menegatti said, thanks to eDNA analysis, the team found some “really neat stuff: koaro, gollum galaxias, longfin eel... to name a few!” 

“We knew about the koaro (a fish in the bush stream) and the longfin eels (in the Ewe Burn), but what we didn't know was that the Gollum galaxias, a very special but at risk native fish, is found so close to Te Anau.”

Galaxias gollumoides. PHOTO: Rod Morris / rodmorris.co.nz

The Gollum galaxias (Galaxias gollumoides) is named after the bulging-eyed, secretive, water-dwelling creature from Tolkein’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. 

They are not found anywhere else on earth except in Southland and Otago, where they live in swampy wetlands.

The fish are classified as “at risk, declining” and the Department of Conservation reports they are fast disappearing because of changes to land uses in the southern region.

Lily Raynor and Liam Smith collecting eDNA from the Ewe Burn. PHOTO: Supplied

The year 10 science project is focusing on invertebrates (insects, worms and snails).

Giving certain species sensitivity scores, based on how tolerant to changes in its environment each organism is, can help to assess the water quality of a stream, Alessandra said. 

“The eDNA data, together with field measurements and observations, provide the students with an incredible source of scientific information to complete their level 1 Science Internal Assessment. 

“And it doesn't stop here, as the eDNA data analysis also provides a wonderful example of contextual learning, where students are able to construct meaning based on their own experiences. All of a sudden DNA sequencing comes to life for them...so special to witness,” Alessandra said.

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Fiordland College has been working with the Kids Restore the Kepler programme to study streams in their area since 2016.

This year the Year 10 students began working with the Environmental Protection Authority NZ on a new community science project, Wai Tūwhera o te Taiao.

Participating groups are invited to take eDNA samples from local waterways, to discover what species are present. The results are posted on an interactive map of Aotearoa.

To access the students’ information and results, visit the Wilderlab website HERE,  then zoom in and click on samples 505566 and 505567.

More information about the Gollum galaxias is found on DOC’s website HERE.