| Abstract |
Geothermal environments are a striking feature of the New Zealands natural landscape. They have a strong place in our cultural, recreational and economic psyche. However, the current knowledge of microbial diversity in geothermal environments, arguably New Zealand’s greatest untapped resource, is inadequate for a thorough assessment of ecosystem uniqueness, biotechnology potential and/or ecosystem health, function, and resilience. GNS Science and The University of Waikato have recently been awarded a two-year grant from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) to collate physical, chemical, and microbial biodiversity information from 1,000 geothermal ecosystems (“The 1000 Project”) from the Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ). “The 1000 Project” will generate a genetic archive, microbial diversity database and will see the development ‘uniqueness’ metric tool as a means to define and assess conservation, matauranga Maori, recreation, biotechnology potential and resource development value of these iconic New Zealand environments. This ambitious goal utilises state-of-the-art molecular, bioinformatics and archiving technologies, which will be unprecedented for microbial ecology research, resource evaluation, conservation and biodiscovery, underpinning future scientific endeavour, and informing future decision making and policy development. A publicly-accessible online database and archive will ensure that stakeholders have access to the data generated. The ‘uniqueness’ metric developed as part of the project will provide a means for end- users to interpret this vast data source for their individual purposes. The knowledge generated pertains to natural resources that (i) Landowners and/or Maori may wish to sustainably develop and/or protect, (ii) companies might wish to utilise (e.g. energy, power, biotechnology, tourism), (iii) central and regional government agencies are charged with managing and conserving (e.g. DOC, EPA, MPI, regional councils), and (iv) the scientific community seeks to understand. This paper will present an overview of the historical and current knowledge of geothermal microbial ecosystems and biodiversity in New Zealand, and discuss “The 1000 Project” and it’s relevance to the New Zealand geothermal community. |