07/08/2026
From Classroom to Discovery: EIT Students Uncover the Hidden Life of the Rare Banded Kōkopu
At the Environmental Studies degree programme at EIT , Napier, learning goes far beyond the classroom. Our second-year Freshwater Ecology course combines cutting-edge science with real-world field experience, allowing students to contribute to genuine ecological research.
As part of the course, Dr Dinusha Jayathilake introduced environmental DNA (eDNA) technology to students, giving them hands-on experience with one of the newest and most powerful biodiversity monitoring techniques used by scientists worldwide.
Each year, students collect water samples from freshwater ecosystems around Napier, including the Tūtaekurī River, Pūrimu Stream, Anderson Park Pond, Fish & Game ponds, and the Waitangi Wetland. These samples are analysed using eDNA to detect species that may otherwise remain hidden.
What began as a practical exercise soon developed into an exciting long-term research project.
In 2024, students made an unexpected discovery. The eDNA results detected the presence of the Banded Kōkopu, one of New Zealand's native galaxiid fish that is considered locally rare. Surprisingly, the species was detected only in the Fish & Game ponds.
This immediately raised an important research question: Was the Banded Kōkopu really living in these ponds, or had contaminated DNA drifted in from elsewhere?
In 2025, students repeated the eDNA survey. Once again, the Banded Kōkopu was detected only in the Fish & Game ponds—not in any of the surrounding waterways, including Pūrimu Stream, which is connected to the ponds.
To investigate further, our students undertook their first-ever night field survey, as Banded Kōkopu are primarily nocturnal. The survey was a success. Students found both a healthy adult and a juvenile Banded Kōkopu, confirming that the species is indeed living within the Fish & Game ponds.
The discovery led to another fascinating question:
What is the migratory behaviour of this population?
Many native galaxiid fish migrate between freshwater and the sea during their life cycle. Could this population be different?
In 2026, during the breeding season, students carried out another night survey. This time they discovered a mature female Banded Kōkopu carrying eggs in the Fish & Game ponds.
This finding provides exciting evidence that this population may be completing its entire life cycle within the pond system, rather than migrating to the estuary or the ocean as expected. While further research is needed to confirm this, it opens up an entirely new area of investigation into the ecology and life history of this remarkable native fish.
The project continues to generate new questions every year. Each new group of students becomes part of an ongoing scientific story—building on previous discoveries, testing new hypotheses, and contributing valuable data to our understanding of New Zealand's freshwater biodiversity.
This is exactly what we aim to achieve in the Environmental Studies programme at EIT: providing students with authentic research experiences using modern scientific techniques while making meaningful contributions to environmental conservation.
The Banded Kōkopu Project is a perfect example of how teaching, research, and conservation can come together. Today's students are not simply learning established knowledge—they are helping to create it.
We still have many research questions to answer, and the journey continues.
