Contribution of the Leigh Marine Laboratory to knowledge of marine species diversity

We review the contribution of the Leigh Marine Laboratory, as an extension of the University of Auckland campus, to knowledge of marine taxonomic diversity, particularly in New Zealand. Increase in knowledge of the marine biota of the Hauraki Gulf region (and beyond) in the 1960s-2010s was achieved through targeted taxonomic studies and indirectly in the course of other research and fieldwork by staff, students and visitors. The Cape Rodney to Okakari Point Marine Reserve is the type locality for 46 species and the area including Leigh harbour, Matheson Bay and Whangateau Harbour includes the type localities for 21 additional species. Altogether, University of Auckland staff and their students, throughout their professional careers, have described 570 new species of New Zealand marine life, c. 3.2% of the known marine biota of the exclusive economic zone. The laboratory has had an immeasurable influence as a training ground for field work and experimentation and from decades of oral instruction, published books, monographs and papers, and the examples and inspiration of the key personalities. Current informatics activities at the laboratory, facilitating syntheses of biodiversity data in a global context, continue that legacy.