Page 150 - Big Ideas Year 9 sciPAD 2025

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150 SCIPAD - BIG IDEAS - BOOK 1
LIFE AND THE TAIAO
3. What could happen to the population of sprats if someone gathered all the pipi and
tuatua in the area. Explain your answer.




4. Mangrove swamps provide a valuable breeding area for phytoplankton and sprats.
However, mangrove swamps are considered an eyesore by some members of the
community.
Using information from the food web in question 1, explain why the population of kingfish
within the harbour may decrease as a result of mangrove removal. Use some food chains
in your answer.





5. Discuss how the removal of mangroves would affect the health of the entire estuary.










Ripping into troublesome mangroves
A big crowd gathered on the shore of Wairangi
Estuary as mechanical clearing of mangroves
began using a heavy-duty cutter and mulcher.
It made short work of mature mangroves,
eliminating in minutes what used to take hours of
hard work for community volunteers.
John Blight, chairman of the Estuary Care Leaders
Forum, rejoiced at the machine’s efficiency, hailing
the mulcher as a breakthrough to speed up the
return of estuaries to a more natural environment.
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