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Dr Andrew Jeffs
Al Alder
Research student Al Alder will be one of the speakers at the Warkworth Town Hall talk on Thursday, October 24.
Since March this year, Al has been investigating whether juvenile green-lipped mussels can be used for restoring mussel beds. His underwater experiments in the Mahurangi Harbour aim to answer fundamental questions, such as whether or not juvenile farm-raised mussels can survive like their adult counterparts when placed on the seabed of the harbour. Also do the young mussels need some material to attach to or protection from predators in order to survive and grow to form a living mussel bed?
“So far I’ve found that young mussels will survive being taken from mussel farms and placed on the seabed, but need some extra care,” he says. “In my first experiment, I found that young mussels sprinkled on the seafloor and not protected from predators disappeared within a few weeks – the culprit remains at large!
“Deploying the mussels in loose clumps, allowing them to attach to one another before shifting the mussels to the seabed, appeared to protect them from predators. Also attaching them to sections of biodegradable coconut fibre matting prevented the young mussels from disappearing.”
Joining Al on stage will be marine researcher Dr Andrew Jeffs.
Doors open at 5pm for 5.30pm start. The free talks are sponsored by Mahurangi Action and Mahurangi Matters.
