New Zealand Journal of Ecology最新文献

{"title":"Diurnal, seasonal and annual abundance patterns of California quail (Callipepla californica) in the Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand, 2010–2019","authors":"E. Richardson, S. Godfrey, C. Matthaei, R. Powlesland","doi":"10.20417/nzjecol.46.28","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20417/nzjecol.46.28","url":null,"abstract":": The California quail was introduced to New Zealand in 1862 as a game bird, and today is held in high regard by recreational hunters. The species is widespread through the North and South Islands, except for the regions of Westland, Fiordland, and Southland. However, it is suspected that populations have been declining in recent decades. Our study focused on the California quail population in the Marlborough Sounds along six road sections between Manaroa, Picton, and Havelock during 2010–2019. Analysis of quail counts using a Generalised Linear Model revealed that year (decline from 2010 to 2019), season (highest in spring, lowest in winter and Autumn) and vehicle traffic (highest at low traffic, lowest at high traffic) all showed significant relationships with the mean number of quail counted per survey. Quail numbers also showed significant relationships with time of day (highest in evening, lowest in afternoon) and road section (highest from Portage to Te Mahia and Te Mahia to Linkwater). The decline in quail counted over the 10-year period was possibly due to loss of suitable habitat through forest regeneration, and perhaps also increased predation by certain introduced mammals. We recommend future research to further investigate the causes of the decline, given that confirmed declines in exotic quail populations may have similar implications for native species that also prefer open habitats within the Marlborough Sounds region.","PeriodicalId":49755,"journal":{"name":"New Zealand Journal of Ecology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2022-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44462476","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effect of plant composition on epigeal spider communities in northern New Zealand forest remnants","authors":"O. Ball, B. Fitzgerald, Stephen R. Pohe, P. Whaley","doi":"10.20417/nzjecol.46.29","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20417/nzjecol.46.29","url":null,"abstract":": Te Paki Ecological District (TPED) in northern Northland, New Zealand, is well known as an ecologically significant centre of endemism. However, due to extensive anthropogenic habitat degradation, native forest has been reduced to small, isolated remnants and many of its endemic species are threatened with extinction. Epigeal spider communities (species living on or near the ground) were surveyed within TPED by pitfall trapping at seven native forest remnants differing in plant composition and apparent seral stage to investigate how spider communities varied within them. Surveys were conducted four times over a 12-month period coinciding with winter, spring, summer and autumn. Changes in spider communities were related to differences in plant composition, which were in turn associated with differences in apparent seral stage of the vegetation. Spider communities in forests at later seral stages were dominated by species such as Rinawa sp., Porrhothele sp. and Uliodon sp., whereas Euryopis nana , Cambridgea reinga , Stanwellia hollowayi and Hypodrassodes apicus were most prevalent in remnants at earlier seral stages. These species could potentially serve as useful bioindicators of ecological succession or restoration. Apart from soil organic matter content none of the predictor variables tested, including plant species richness, were significantly correlated with spider richness or diversity. Spider richness and diversity are most likely determined by a complex interaction of environmental and temporal factors that operate at different spatial scales. This study has increased our understanding of the ecological associations of spider communities and established that TPED is an important centre of endemism for spiders in New Zealand. We have also demonstrated the importance of forest remnants as reservoirs of indigenous spider diversity and helped resolve several historical taxonomic issues. Furthermore, we demonstrate the need for taxonomic research in this region of New Zealand and highlight the value of such biodiversity surveys.","PeriodicalId":49755,"journal":{"name":"New Zealand Journal of Ecology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2022-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44259593","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Spatial patterns and habitat use of penned and hard-released arboreal geckos translocated to an offshore island free of introduced mammals","authors":"Grace Yee, J. Monks, T. Bell","doi":"10.20417/nzjecol.46.27","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20417/nzjecol.46.27","url":null,"abstract":": Temporary penning prior to release is a strategy increasingly being used in lizard translocations to improve site fidelity and increase chances of translocation success. However, it is yet to be tested on a range of lizard taxa. Between 2015 and 2018, 49 individuals of a New Zealand endemic arboreal gecko species (ngahere gecko, Mokopirirakau “southern North Island”) were translocated to mammal-free Mana Island near Wellington as mitigation for a development project. Twenty-five of these geckos were tracked for this study with geckos being either hard-released ( n = 9) or released into a 0.52 ha pen for 10–31 months ( n = 16). Using radio-telemetry, we compared the behaviour, habitat use, dispersal, and home ranges of geckos from both groups in the weeks immediately following removal of the pen. Hard-released geckos travelled further from their initial release point and between location fixes than penned geckos. Hard-released geckos also had a larger home range size than penned geckos using both minimum convex polygons and fixed kernel methods, albeit with significant variation among individuals within each group. Habitat use was similar in both groups, but only hard-released geckos used grass, which was unexpected due to the arboreal nature of the species. In conclusion, our results support the use of penned-releases for translocations of arboreal geckos to restrict initial post-translocation dispersal and aid population establishment.","PeriodicalId":49755,"journal":{"name":"New Zealand Journal of Ecology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2022-06-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49283616","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comparison of footprint tracking and pitfall trapping for detecting skinks","authors":"M. Lettink, J. Young, J. Monks","doi":"10.20417/nzjecol.46.24","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20417/nzjecol.46.24","url":null,"abstract":": Inventory and monitoring of biodiversity requires effective sampling tools. Footprint tracking tunnels, developed in New Zealand to monitor small mammals, may also be useful for sampling lizards and other reptiles but more research is needed to verify this. To that end, we compared the detectability of terrestrial skinks using two methods: pitfall trapping and footprint tracking. In New Zealand, the former is the traditional method for sampling skinks, while the latter is routinely used to monitor populations of introduced rodents and mustelids. In January 2019, we operated paired grids containing 5 × 5 arrays of pitfall traps and standard rodent tracking tunnels on Tiwai Peninsula in Southland, South Island, and compared the daily proportions of traps and tunnels that detected skinks via captures and footprints, respectively. Overall, tracking tunnels were approximately twice as likely to detect skinks as pitfall traps. Additional research is required to: (1) test the relative efficacy of footprint tracking versus conventional detection methods on other lizard and reptile species; (2) investigate alternative tunnel designs and long-life lures; and, (3) calibrate footprint tracking rates against density estimates to assess suitability for monitoring.","PeriodicalId":49755,"journal":{"name":"New Zealand Journal of Ecology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2022-06-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49500947","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Factors affecting home range size of feral cats: a meta-analysis","authors":"Catherine M. Nottingham, H. Buckley, B. Case, A. Glen, M. Stanley","doi":"10.20417/nzjecol.46.26","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20417/nzjecol.46.26","url":null,"abstract":": Managing invasive species requires knowledge of their ecology, including distribution, habitat use, and home range. In particular, understanding how biotic and abiotic factors influence home range can help with pest management decision-making, as well as informing native species management. Feral cats, self-sustaining cat populations that live independently of people, have caused numerous extinctions and continue to adversely affect native species globally. Managing feral cat populations requires spatially explicit knowledge to enable strategic deployment of management or monitoring devices, understand where native species are most likely to be at risk, and to mitigate the spread of cat-vectored diseases such as toxoplasmosis. Here, we present a meta-analysis of factors that influence feral cat home range size including land use types, differing levels of land use heterogeneity, and numbers of competitors. Male feral cats had larger home ranges than females, but effects of season, competitors, habitat heterogeneity, or land use on feral cat home range were not statistically significant, possibly due to high variability (male cat home range: 22.1 to 3232 ha; female cat home range: 9.6 to 2078 ha). This may reflect the fact that cats are generalists and are able to exploit any opportunity. Thus, we recommend that these factors and others, such as prey availability and composition, should be included in future research, so that the variability in home range size can be better understood. Improved understanding is vital for improving feral cat management in ecosystems where cats have been introduced.","PeriodicalId":49755,"journal":{"name":"New Zealand Journal of Ecology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2022-06-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41938906","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Attitudes and motivations of New Zealand conservation volunteers","authors":"A. Heimann, Fabien Medvecky","doi":"10.20417/nzjecol.46.18","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20417/nzjecol.46.18","url":null,"abstract":": Biodiversity conservation in Aotearoa New Zealand is of high importance, and efforts to protect vulnerable populations from decline has garnered broad public support. Conservation efforts have been further highlighted with the 2016 announcement of Predator Free 2050, a nationwide goal to eliminate key invasive mammalian predators from New Zealand by the year 2050. Hands-on labour is often needed to complete conservation initiatives, and New Zealand conservation volunteers have shown themselves to be an abundant, effective, and oft-used workforce. However, there is limited knowledge of conservation volunteers on a national scale. This exploratory research aimed to determine what motivates conservation volunteers in New Zealand, gauge their attitudes toward modern-day conservation, and summarise their demographic information. Through a nationwide survey of 986 New Zealand conservation volunteers in 2018, we found that they have a higher than median age, income, education, and are predominantly Pākehā/NZ European and likely retired. The median conservation volunteer has volunteered within 10 km of home for 10 hours a month for 6 years. The conservation and cultural context in New Zealand could be reflected in volunteer motivations and attitudes. New Zealand conservation volunteers are motivated by a feeling of responsibility, with some referencing the Māori concept of kaitiakitanga. There were elements of wanting to right past wrongs and volunteers’ perceived role as stewards of their local environment. Conservation volunteers overwhelmingly agree with the stated goals of Predator Free 2050 and are in favour of current and potential future methods of pest control. They are, however, significantly less confident that Predator Free 2050 goals will be achieved. Conservation volunteers contribute to goals like Predator Free 2050 through their significant voluntary labour. We hope this research contributes to a better understanding of conservation volunteers in New Zealand and leads to strengthening the support for these volunteers and the many community groups they represent.","PeriodicalId":49755,"journal":{"name":"New Zealand Journal of Ecology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2022-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48379399","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Thermal and physical characteristics of the nesting habitat of New Zealand’s only endemic oviparous lizard","authors":"C. Woolley, K. Hare, Vaughn I. Stenhouse, N. Nelson","doi":"10.20417/nzjecol.46.16","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20417/nzjecol.46.16","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":49755,"journal":{"name":"New Zealand Journal of Ecology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2022-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45623233","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Acoustic monitoring and occupancy analysis: cost-effective tools in reintroduction programmes for roroa-great spotted kiwi","authors":"Peter Jahn, J. Ross, D. MacKenzie, L. Molles","doi":"10.20417/nzjecol.46.21","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20417/nzjecol.46.21","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":49755,"journal":{"name":"New Zealand Journal of Ecology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2022-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42234002","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ian Athol Edward Atkinson MSc (NZ) PhD (Hawaii) 1932–2019","authors":"M. Smale, Carol C. West","doi":"10.20417/nzjecol.46.11","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20417/nzjecol.46.11","url":null,"abstract":"Ian Atkinson was one of the most versatile ecologists ever to work on our shores, an original thinker and true allrounder whose broad scope covered plants, animals, and soils. A generalist of the old school rather than a narrowly focussed specialist, his career was notable for collaboration with experts in a variety of fields and for lasting contributions to vegetation mapping, soil mapping, volcanic succession, introduced rodent ecology, mammal-plant interactions, island ecology, and restoration ecology. A stalwart of the New Zealand Ecological Society, he held a number of offices, serving as Secretary 1960–1962, Vice-President 1965 and 1983–1985 and President 1985–1987, and he was also a longtime Councillor from 1962 till 1983. He was made a Life Member in 2001. Ian was born of English parents Leonard Gray Atkinson (1894–1965) and Winifred Atkinson née Goddard (1904–1994) in Hamilton on 6 October 1932. His father, an electrical draughtsman, had arrived here from London in 1924 to work for the Public Works Department, helping design Arapuni Power Station, the first in a long line of hydro-electric plants built by the government on the Waikato River. Leonard went Ian Atkinson on a family holiday on Big Island, Hawaii, 17 July 2007. (Photo: Cynthia Petersen).","PeriodicalId":49755,"journal":{"name":"New Zealand Journal of Ecology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2022-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46735988","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"At-sea foraging behaviour in Hutton’s shearwater (Puffinus huttoni) as revealed by stable isotope analysis","authors":"Della G Bennet, Travis Horton, S. Goldstien, L. Rowe, J. Briskie","doi":"10.20417/nzjecol.46.5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20417/nzjecol.46.5","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":49755,"journal":{"name":"New Zealand Journal of Ecology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2022-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49088871","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}