Out west is best

The Eyevolution film crew headed out to the Waitakere ranges, west of Auckland City.

Catching enough food to feed developing squid is a full-time job. Perhaps PhD student, Phil, the main subject in our documentary, did not realise this when he set out to hatch squid in a laboratory and grow them up to adulthood.

After hatching, the squid survived off small crustaceans known as Tenagomysis novaezealandiae. These were relatively easy to locate within the swampy inter-tidal shores of Auckland City. However, the remaining squid have now matured sufficiently to find these tiny critters mere snacks, to be toyed with and tossed aside.

Hence the need to travel further afield in search of more size-appropriate prey. This comes in the form of Tenagomysis chiltoni - the only other freshwater genus of shrimp-like creatures belonging to the Mysida order in New Zealand, and a larger and more meatier version of the T novaezealandiae.
Phil plunged himself into the chilled mountain waters upstream of the ocean. What an amazing life this scientist leads. The very opposite of the stereotypical lab coated geek, he spends his time outside on New Zealand's rugged beaches. If only he had time to admire the scenery...