Editing Lake Taupō (section)

== Biota ==
Much of the watershed of Lake Taupō is a beech and [[podocarp]] forest with associate [[understory]] ferns being ''[[Blechnum filiforme]]'', ''[[Asplenium flaccidum]]'', ''[[Doodia media]]'', ''[[Hymenophyllum demissum]]'', ''[[Microsorum pustulatum]]'' and ''[[Dendroconche scandens]]'', and some prominent associate shrubs being ''[[Olearia rani]]'' and ''[[Alseuosmia quercifolia]]''.<ref>C. Michael Hogan. 2009. [http://www.globaltwitcher.com/artspec_information.asp?thingid=95431 ''Crown Fern: Blechnum discolor'', Globaltwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213134120/http://www.globaltwitcher.com/artspec_information.asp?thingid=95431 |date=13 February 2012 }}</ref>

Native faunal species in the lake include [[northern koura|northern kōura]] or crayfish (''Paranephrops planifrons'') and [[kokopu|kōkopu]] or [[whitebait]] (''[[Galaxias]]'' species). The lake is noted for stocks of [[brown trout]] (''Salmo trutta'') and [[rainbow trout]] (''Oncorhynchus mykiss''), introduced from Europe and California respectively in the late nineteenth century. There has also been a subsequent introduction of smelt ([[Retropinnidae]] species) as a food for the trout.

A community of sponges and associated invertebrates live around the underwater geothermal vents.<ref name="Jago"/>