page_title: Whangamarino Wetland
section_title: Ecosystems and biodiversity
hierarchical_section_title: Whangamarino Wetland / Ecosystems and biodiversity
caption_attribution_description: English: A swamp helmet orchid (Corybas carsei) in Whangamarino Wetland, New Zealand
context_page_description: The Whangamarino Wetland in the Waikato District is the second largest wetland complex of the North Island of New Zealand. Encompassing a total area of more than 7200 hectares, the Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai manages 5,923 hectares of peat bog, swamp, mesotrophic lags, open water and river systems listed as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention. Fish and Game New Zealand are the second largest landowner, managing 748 hectares of the wetland primarily as gamebird hunting habitat.
  The site is also one of three of New Zealand’s foremost wetlands included in the Arawai Kākāriki wetland restoration programme, which aims to “enhance the ecological restoration of three of New Zealand’s foremost wetland/freshwater sites, making use of strong community involvement and promoting research into wetland restoration techniques”.
context_section_description: Whangamarino Wetland consists of a rich and representative variety of wetland ecosystems (peat bog, swamp, mesotrophic lags, open water and river systems); one of the features that lent support to its designation under the Ramsar Convention. 239 species of wetland plants are found in the Whangamarino, 60 percent of which are indigenous. A number of these are uncommon or extremely rare, including the water milfoil Myriophyllum robustum, the clubmoss Lycopodium serpentinum, and the critically endangered swamp helmet orchid Corybas carsei, now found nowhere else in the world. Baumea spp., mānuka (Leptospermum scoparium) and wire rush (Empodisma minus) are the dominant vegetation of the peat bogs, while greater species diversity is found in the mineralised swamp zones, including introduced species such as grey willow (Salix cinerea) and crack willow (Salix fragilia). Mosses and lichens are also well represented in the wetland.
  These diverse ecosystems provide habitat to a wide range of native wetland birds, including the Australasian bittern/matuku (Botaurus poiciloptilus). Approximately 20 percent of New Zealand's breeding bittern population can be found in the Whangamarino. The wetland is also an important site for a number of other rare or threatened wetland birds, including spotless crake/pūweto (Porzana tabuensis plumbea), marsh crake/koitareke (Porzana pusilla), North Island fernbird/mātātā (Bowdleria punctata vealeae), and New Zealand dabchick/weweia (Poliocephalus rufopectus). Occasionally the Whangamarino is visited by other unusual birds such as royal spoonbill/kōtuku-ngutupapa (Platalea regia) and Japanese snipe (Gallinago hardwickii), which helps keeps amateur ornithologists interested in the site.
  The wetland provides habitat for a diverse range of native freshwater fish, including a significant population of the threatened black mudfish/waikaka (Neochanna diversus). It is also home to longfin and shortfin eel/tuna and other galaxiid species. Introduced invasive fish species are also present in Whangamarino Wetland; koi carp (Cyprinus carpio) and brown bullhead catfish (Ameiurus nebulosus) are a particular problem as their aggressive feeding behaviour stirs up bottom sediments, affecting bank stabilisation and aquatic plant life. A study of koi carp otiliths undertaken by University of Waikato MSc student Jennifer Blair found that Lake Waikare and the Pungarehu Stream appear to be a source of recruits, with koi carp moving from these areas into the Waikato River and Lake Waahi.
caption: The tiny, critically endangered swamp helmet orchid (Corybas carsei)
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