Citizens Of The Sea report: New Zealand

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The CitSea Interactive Reports allow you to explore offshore biodiversity results from environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling. At the top of each site report, headline indicators summarise what was detected, including the number of kingdoms, ASVs (amplicon sequence variants), families, and species.

Use the navigation tabs to switch between different views:

Sampling Map shows where samples were collected;

Species Gallery provides a visual look at taxa detected;

Taxa Table lists results in a searchable format;

Diversity tab display richness and diversity indices;

AI-based Summary highlights key findings;

NIS and HABs tab flags non-indigenous species and species that have the potential to form harmful algal blooms; and

Marine Vertebrates tab highlights locations where marine vertebrates were detected.

Interactive maps let you zoom in on specific sites, and hovering over a marker reveals metadata for that location. Sample ID numbers can be input into the Taxa Table to explore taxa detected at specific locations. Each dataset is linked with metadata and reference databases to ensure transparency and scientific value.

Note on Contamination and Filtering:

Because eDNA is highly sensitive, sequences from terrestrial organisms (e.g., humans, land mammals, or laboratory contaminants) can sometimes appear in the results. Since CitSea samples are collected exclusively from seawater, any detections that were found in the negative controls, and those of clearly non-marine taxa have been carefully documented and then filtered out of the dataset before results are displayed. This ensures that the dashboard reflects only genuine marine biodiversity signals while maintaining transparency about data quality.

Glossary

ASV (Amplicon Sequence Variant)

An ASV is a unique DNA sequence identified from high-throughput sequencing of environmental samples. ASVs provide fine-scale resolution of biodiversity, capturing exact genetic variants rather than grouped clusters. The total number of ASVs reflects overall genetic diversity detected.

Kingdoms

The highest level of biological classification (e.g., animals, plants, fungi, protists, bacteria, archaea). Detecting multiple kingdoms shows the broad range of life captured in eDNA samples.

Families

A mid-level taxonomic category used to group related organisms (e.g., whales belong to the family Balaenopteridae). Counting families detected helps show how many different evolutionary lineages were present in the samples.

Species

The basic unit of biological classification. Species detection indicates specific organisms that can be identified from eDNA, though not all ASVs can be confidently resolved to species level.

Taxa

A general term for groups of organisms classified together at any rank in the biological hierarchy, such as species, families, or kingdoms. In the CitSea dashboard, “taxa” refers broadly to the different biological groups detected in eDNA samples.

HABs (Harmful Algal Blooms)

Certain algae can grow rapidly under favourable conditions, producing toxins or depleting oxygen in the water. These blooms can threaten marine ecosystems, fisheries, and human health. The dashboard highlights eDNA detections of ASVs that were taxonomically assigned to species known to cause HABs, reported in the IOC-UNESCO Taxonomic Reference List of Harmful Micro Algae (https://www.marinespecies.org/hab/).

NIS (Non-Indigenous Species)

Species that occur outside their natural range, often introduced by shipping, aquaculture, or other human activity. Some NIS can become invasive, outcompeting local species and disrupting ecosystems. The dashboard flags detections of known or potential NIS.

Kingdoms detected

7

Number of ASVs

15950

Families detected

370

Species detected

464

Map showing sampling locations as part of the 2024 Pacific Island Cruising Rally. Recreational sailors were equipped and trained to collect daily eDNA samples (in triplicate) during their offshore passages.

Map Tiles via Esri — National Geographic, Esri, DeLorme, NAVTEQ, UNEP-WCMC, USGS, NASA, ESA, METI, NRCAN, GEBCO, NOAA, iPC.

We display every species we detected here, sorted by IUCN Red List status. The IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria are intended to be an easily and widely understood system for classifying species at high risk of global extinction. DD: Data deficient. LC: Least Concern. VU: Vulnerable. EN: Endangered. CR: Critically endangered.

Click on the image to open the relevant Atlas of Living Australia page.

From these samples we detected no species listed on the IUCN Red List as Critically Endangered, one as Endangered, no as Vulnerable, no as Near Threatened, no as Data Deficient, seven as Least Concern, and 367 species that have not yet been assessed by the IUCN.

IUCN Endangered species

Balaenoptera borealis
Figure 1: Endangered species

IUCN Least Concern species

Ceratoscopelus warmingii

Nemichthys scolopaceus

Retropinna retropinna

Stenella coeruleoalba

Tursiops truncatus
Figure 2: Least Concern species

Not pictured: Diaphus fragilis, Encrasicholina punctifer.

Species not assessed by IUCN

Aglaura hemistoma

Bassia bassensis

Bythotrephes cederstroemi

Calanus glacialis

Calocalanus pavo

Cestum veneris

Colobonema sericeum

Creseis clava

Creseis virgula

Doliolum denticulatum

Liriope tetraphylla

Littorina littorea

Obelia geniculata

Oikopleura dioica

Perna canaliculus

Prostheceraeus vittatus

Protatlanta souleyeti

Salpa fusiformis

Sapphirina darwinii

Solmundella bitentaculata

Temora turbinata

Thysanoessa raschii
Figure 3: Not Assessed species

Not pictured: Alteromonas, Oithona similis, Vibrio, Tenacibaculum aiptasiae, Pleuromamma gracilis, Cosmocalanus darwinii, Steenstrupiella steenstrupii, Vibrio sagamiensis, Pseudoalteromonas, Mecynocera clausi, Pleuromamma scutullata, Umbilicosphaera sibogae, Prochlorococcus MIT9313 marinus, Oikopleura fusiformis, Euphausia vallentini, Alcanivorax venustensis, Clausocalanus ingens, Lentisphaera, Zoothamnium pelagicum, Mesorhizobium, Spirotontonia grandis, Vibrio caribbeanicus, Mesonia mobilis, Thalia longicauda, Alcanivorax borkumensis, Marinobacter, Actinomyces, Micrococcus, Sinistrostrombidium cupiformum, Idiomarina, Hortaea werneckii, Calocalanus plumulosus, Chromohalobacter, Paracalanus nanus, Bradyrhizobium, Pontella fera, Rhabdonella poculum, Miracia efferata, Acartia negligens, Amphorellopsis quinquealata, Calocalanus curtus, Phaeocystis globosa, Paracalanus tropicus, Clausocalanus pergens, Clausocalanus arcuicornis, Bathycoccus prasinos, Oikopleura albicans, Chloropicon sieburthii, Photobacterium, Gephyrocapsa parvula, Sphaeronectes koellikeri, Halioglobus pacificus, Kocuria, Heliconoides inflatus, Clausocalanus paululus, Photobacterium angustum, Pycnococcus provasolii, Creseis conica, Shimia, Clausocalanus furcatus, Chloroparvula pacifica, Gilvibacter sediminis, Pseudoalteromonas phenolica, Velamen paralellum, Chloropicon mariensis, Euchaeta marina, Ryocalanus squamatus, Staphylococcus, Ctenocalanus vanus, Vampyrophrya pelagica, Sphingomonas, Corynebacterium, Doliolum nationalis, Turritopsis lata, Syracosphaera pulchra, Halomonas, Planktotalea frisia, Phaeocystis cordata, Leuconostoc, Erwinia, Mesodinium rubrum, Sphingobium, Brevibacterium, Pterosperma cristatum, Erwinia piriflorinigrans, Coccolithus braarudii, Erwinia rhapontici, Pseudomonas, Pseudo-nitzschia abrensis, Pseudo-nitzschia cuspidata, Strombidium caudispina, Eutintinnus perminutus, Halomonas taeanensis, Prymnesium polylepis, Pseudomonas lurida, Maricaulis, Chaetoceros rostratus, Marinobacterium stanieri, Chaetoceros peruvianus, Alteromonas macleodii, Strombidium cf. basimorphum, Geryonia proboscidalis, Brachybacterium, Vibrio azureus, Clostridium sensu stricto 1, Abylopsis eschscholtzii, Calocalanus tenuis, Blastomonas, Atelocyanobacterium (UCYN-A) thalassa, Clausocalanus parapergens, Pleuromamma piseki, Rathkea octopunctata, Brevundimonas, Sphingomonas melonis, Eutintinnus apertus, Parvocalanus crassirostris, Sapphirina scarlata, Caulobacter, Clausocalanus jobei, Paraplanocera oligoglena, Styliola subula, Eucalanus pseudattenuatus, Tachidius triangularis, Oncaea scottodicarloi, Paeniclostridium, Sphingomonas panni, Acrocalanus gracilis, Photobacterium damselae, Neisseria, Photobacterium leiognathi, Calocalanus styliremis, Pneumoderma atlantica, Labrenzia alexandrii, Rothia amarae, Raoultella, Streptococcus, Gordonia, Cutibacterium, Peracle reticulata, Forskalia tholoides, Dokdonia, Salpingacantha undata, Climacocylis scalaroides, Ferosagitta robusta, Pleuromamma abdominalis, Paracalanus indicus, Lucicutia flavicornis, Pontellina plumata, Labrenzia marina, Azospira oryzae, Dermacoccus, Protocystis xiphodon, Chryseobacterium hominis, Acinetobacter, Eutintinnus medius, Tenacibaculum, Lactococcus, Calocalanus minutus, Crocosphaera watsonii, Trichodesmium IMS101 erythraeum, Fabibacter misakiensis, Metarhizium brunneum, Rhodococcus aerolatus, Paracalanus aff. denudatus PA0053.MED, Oncaea waldemari, Alteromonas genovensis, Haloptilus longicornis, Klenkia terrae, Corynebacterium accolens, Clausocalanus farrani, Enhydrobacter aerosaccus, Eutintinnus fraknoi, Triconia conifera, Marinobacter manganoxydans, Trichodesmium IMS101 thiebautii, Psychrobacter celer, Hyalocylis striata, Lentilitoribacter donghaensis, Richelia HH01 intracellularis, Turicella otitidis, Undinula vulgaris, Emiliania huxleyi, Halomonas aquamarina, Nanozoanthus harenaceus, Halomonas meridiana, Vibrio harveyi, Psychrobacter piscatorii, Dietzia, Mesocalanus tenuicornis, Scyphosphaera apsteinii, Novosphingobium humi, Firoloida desmarestia, Fangia hongkongensis, Ruegeria atlantica, Thalassotalea coralli, Candacia simplex, Candacia truncata, Idiomarina loihiensis, Henriciella marina, Gephyrocapsa oceanica, Tenacibaculum litopenaei, Copilia mirabilis, Trichodesmium IMS101 havanum, Farranula gibbula, Romboutsia sedimentorum, Tima bairdii, Chloropicon primus, Oncaea mediterranea, Clausocalanus mastigophorus, Xystonella longicauda, Pseudoalteromonas marina, Gemella, Acrocalanus monachus, Macrosetella gracilis, Candacia ethiopica, Abiotrophia defectiva, Hubrechtella juliae, Nanomia bijuga, Shewanella, Aerococcus, Achromobacter, Polaribacter dokdonensis, Alteromonas hispanica, Dokdonia genika, Pseudoalteromonas citrea, Aidanosagitta regularis, Vibrio fortis, Vibrio chagasii, Vibrio pomeroyi, Dolosigranulum pigrum, Thalassospira, Prasinoderma singulare, Pantoea, Paracoccus, Leucothea multicornis, Acinetobacter guillouiae, Heterorhabdus papilliger, Candacia bispinosa, Temora discaudata, Shewanella schlegeliana, Psychrobacter, Shimia marina, Alcanivorax marinus, Chaetoceros mannaii, Agrobacterium, Pseudochrobactrum kiredjianiae, Kaistia, Chaetoceros diadema, Pseudoalteromonas luteoviolacea, Aliivibrio, Cupriavidus, Chloropicon roscoffensis, Pseudoalteromonas denitrificans, Nyctiphanes australis, Ascidia ahodori, Canuella perplexa, Bestiolina similis, Chaetoceros elegans, Pinctada nigra, Centropages furcatus, Sphingopyxis panaciterrae, Pectinaria granulata, Clostridium sensu stricto 11, Clytia noliformis, Sphingobacterium faecium, Janthinobacterium lividum, Hyalophysa lwoffi, Penicillium rubens, Clytia linearis, Sphingobium yanoikuyae, Paracalanus denudatus, Trichodesmium IMS101 contortum, Carnobacterium, Micromonas pusilla, Helgicirrha malayensis, Prymnesium aff. polylepis, Trochilia petrani, Roseomonas, Oikopleura parva, Martelella endophytica, Acinetobacter lwoffii, Alteromonas australica, Erythrobacter, Chaetoceros decipiens, Stenosemella pacifica, Stenotrophomonas, Roseateles depolymerans, Novosphingobium, Cupriavidus metallidurans, Sulfitobacter pontiacus, Calanoides carinatus, Psychrobacter namhaensis, Brachybacterium tyrofermentans, Salinicola socius, Salinicola, Pseudoclavibacter, Brevibacterium yomogidense, Janthinobacterium, Salinisphaera japonica, Citricoccus, Sphingobacterium, Halomonas sulfidaeris, Tepidicella xavieri, Klebsiella, Marinococcus, Oikopleura gracilis, Rothia mucilaginosa, Haemophilus, Curtobacterium, Marinobacter hydrocarbonoclasticus, Hypocoma acinetarum, Muricauda, Scolecithrix danae, Idiomarina baltica, Aquimarina litoralis, Providencia rettgeri, Oithona atlantica, Centropages violaceus, Pantachogon haeckeli, Thalassotalea eurytherma, Granulicatella, Pelagibius litoralis, Streptococcus salivarius, Marinomonas atlantica, Forskalia asymmetrica, Pseudovibrio ascidiaceicola, Thalassolituus oleivorans, Marinomonas gallaica, Disco hartmanni, Acrocalanus longicornis, Vibrio splendidus, Pseudoalteromonas carrageenovora, Cobetia, Helicosphaera carteri, Ptychopera plebeia, Lensia campanella, Labidocera detruncata, Aureitalea marina, Shewanella olleyana, Corynebacterium kroppenstedtii, Vibrio gigantis, Pseudopolydora paucibranchiata, Vibrio diabolicus, Pseudomonas pachastrellae, Salinicola zeshunii.

Images have been sourced from Wikimedia Commons.

We compare pieces of DNA sampled from the environment with a reference database. This table lists every species we detected, along with how closely the DNA we found matches known species in the reference database. For each species we list the IUCN Red List status. The IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria are intended to be an easily and widely understood system for classifying species at high risk of global extinction. DD: Data deficient. LC: Least Concern. VU: Vulnerable. EN: Endangered. CR: Critically endangered.

Table of detected taxa