Some of New Zealand's most precious and rare marine life live in the mouth where a river meets the sea.
There are around 350 estuaries in New Zealand. They're home to creatures like the white heron, native eels, and whitebait, and filled with millions of tiny, essential micro-organisms keeping everything alive.
However rapidly escalating heat waves are putting our estuaries under threat.
Professor Karin Bryan is from the University of Auckland's school of environment and institute of marine studies.
She is the recipient of a Marsden Fund grant to investigate these heat waves and joins Emile Donovan.
Professor Karin Bryan is the recipient of a Marsden Fund grant to investigate these heat waves putting estuaries under threat. Photo: thekudos.org,nz
