Kākāpō – the power of positive

July 22, 2015July 22, 2015 / aucklandecology / 4 Comments

Posted by Jacqueline Beggs @JacquelineBeggs

The distinctive musty odour of kākāpō wafts through the forest as tangata whenua (literally, people of the land) softly chant to welcome back this parrot to Hauturu – Little Barrier Island. The bird tentatively pokes her head out of her travelling cage and then scuttles a short distance into the dense undergrowth, pausing to check her new surroundings. My eyes brim, unexpectedly moved by the connection of this bird to local Māori, and a very special island. It is inspiring to be part of another step forward to securing the future of kākāpō.

Kākāpō are a large, flightless nocturnal parrot, found only in New Zealand. They have their own facebook page and crowd-funding campaign which contributes to the recovery of this species. Photo: Jacqueline Beggs

By 1995, only 51, mostly adult male kākāpō survived. Previous decades had documented a continual decline in numbers, despite relocating the remaining population to offshore, mammalian predator-free sanctuaries. And then the tide turned. Intensive research and management resulted in successful breeding – as of July 2015 the population stands at 125, a healthy mix of males, females, juveniles and adults. Still critically endangered, but now the challenge is not just making more birds, but where to put the growing population.

Apart from being amazing birds, kākāpō are distinctive in conservation circles because of the positive message they convey. Depressingly often, conservation equates with bad news stories – harbingers of doom. Yet we know people are happiness seekers; so coupling a positive framework with conservation is far more effective in engaging people than negative stories. The conservation benefit of the kākāpō programme is invaluable for this reason alone. So when we come to prioritising how we allocate scarce conservation funding, I argue that this benefit is a critical consideration.

Recent research by Bennett et al. 2015 develops a prioritisation protocol to maximise biodiversity gains using private sponsorship of single ‘flagship’ species conservation programmes.

Jacqueline Beggs assists with the regular health check of one of the kākāpō on Whenua Hou. Photo: Darryl Eason

Jacqueline assists with the regular health check of one of the kākāpō on Whenua Hou. Photo: Darryl Eason

Their protocol estimates cost effectiveness using evolutionary distinctiveness, the benefit to species survival, probability of project success and project cost. The authors highlight the Kākāpō Recovery Programme as an extreme example of potential inefficiencies in using private sponsorship funding. Although an objective way of allocating funding is a great step forward, I think it is important not to ignore the social context of conservation. The iconic status of kākāpō, their importance to Māori, and the captivation of people around the world by these awesome birds are all part of the equation. Including the benefit of an internationally acclaimed good news story such as kākāpō is critical in assessing the true cost effectiveness of programmes.

Kākāpō breathe hope into conservation.

Jacqueline Beggs is an Associate Professor in Ecology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland and Director of the Centre for Biodiversity and Biosecurity. She is privileged to have been a member of the Kākāpo Recovery Group for the last 15 years.

There was once an old lady who swallowed a fly…

July 3, 2015 / aucklandecology / 4 Comments

Posted by Sam Lincoln

Biological systems are incredibly complex (see ecological networks blog). Introducing a spider to eat a fly may not help; New Zealand found that out the hard way with rabbits and ferrets. When one food source is running low, most predators prey-switch, and in New Zealand that often means moving onto our native birds. We regularly control rats both in our homes and local parks with little knowledge of the indirect impacts wrought upon biological systems. My Masters project aims to take a first look at how domestic cats respond to the removal of rats in local parks – are they eating more of our birds?

In Auckland Council’s local parks, a mix of native and introduced birds share their space with predators such as rats and domestic cats. There has been much recent debate about the impact of cats in New Zealand; while scientists agree that cats have negative impacts on our native species, the SPCA often has a far more cat-friendly view citing rodent control by domestic cats as potentially helping birds. Even politicians are involved in the cat debate, with Conservation Minister Maggie Barry in one corner fighting for kiwi versus Prime Minister John Key representing Moonbeam. My pilot study of 11 cameras set for two nights captured 14 individual cats in two local parks (as well as a few possums and an MSc student).

Photos from cat camera pilot study, clockwise from top left: two cats, MSc student Sam Lincoln and a possum. Cats were photographed visiting both parks during the day and night.

By assessing the changes to cat behaviour after removing rats from half of the sites, I will get a first look into what really goes on between cats, rats and birds – is rat control bad for birds due to increased predation by cats, or are rats the main culprits in an urban environment? What would happen if cats were to go? Should we instead be moving toward a predator free New Zealand where our birds can exist without either of these mammalian invaders?

Sam Lincoln is an MSc student in the Centre for Biodiversity & Biosecurity, School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland. She is trying to disentangle interactions between domestic cats and rats in urban environments. She is supervised by Margaret Stanley, John Innes and Al Glen.

Marvel takes a risk with Ant-Man whilst I assess the risk of ants

June 25, 2015June 25, 2015 / aucklandecology / 2 Comments

Posted by Anna Probert @AFProbert

Ant-Man. The official superhero of 2015 and my PhD

I have a feeling that my beloved study group are going to be gaining quite a bit of interest this year. I would love to say that it is a result of some ground-breaking research I have conducted, but alas. The true reason why I think 2015 is The Year of the Ant, is the impending release (that’s 16^th July) of Marvel Studio’s Ant-Man. For those of you that are perhaps not on my level of Marvel fandom, Ant-Man is based on the comic of the same name, where the protagonist has the ability to shrink down to the size of an insect and has superhuman strength and agility. Although in my spare time I’m still trying to discover Pym Particles, my full time role involves being a PhD student here at the UoA and looking at assessing invasive species risk to native ecosystems, using ants as a model.

Unfortunately for our native environment, when it comes to exotic species arriving and establishing in New Zealand, we often let them slide by if they don’t have a perceived potential social or economic impact. As a result, we end up with exotic plant and animal species that become naturalised in the environment. How do they affect the environments in which they naturalise? Well in most circumstances, we don’t really know.

Out in the Hunua baiting for ants. Photo credit Luke McPake

Here in New Zealand we have 29 established exotic ant species (compared to only 11 native species) and very little understanding of how they are influencing the environments in which they live. The Argentine Ant is the species most people would have heard of, as it is a well-known invader worldwide, causing various negative impacts on the environments in which it invades. But what of the other 28 established exotic species we have in New Zealand? What are they doing?

I don’t have the answers… yet, but for my PhD I’m specifically going to be looking at the ways exotic ants influence the invertebrate community structure within different ecosystems, as well as investigating their role in altering ecosystem function. This will involve conducting different manipulative field trials over the upcoming spring/summer seasons – and I’m always on the lookout for field assistants, so let me know if you want to spend a day in nature out with me and the ants.

P.S. Marvel Studios, I am indeed open to sponsorship.

Anna Probert is a PhD student in the Centre for Biodiversity & Biosecurity, School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland. She is using ants as a model to assess the risk posed by exotic invertebrates to native ecosystems. She is supervised by Margaret Stanley, Jacqueline Beggs, and Darren Ward.

What we talk about when we talk about ecological networks

June 11, 2015June 12, 2015 / aucklandecology / 3 Comments

Posted by Carolina Lara @carislaris

I was recently asked by an engineer friend of mine what my PhD project was about. In my (failed) attempt to put it into simple words, I ended up giving him a large discourse on the topic. A couple of days passed and he got back to me to say “… I always thought biological systems were simpler”. I am new to this world of ecological networks, but simplicity is not a word that can be used to describe them. More specifically for animal-plant mutualistic networks, a set of animals interacts mutualistically with a set of plants that are connected to another set of animals that interact with another set of plants. Animals disperse a plant´s genes and get food as a reward, as in the case of pollination and seed dispersal ecosystem services.

Kereru (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae), New Zealand’s native pigeon, feeding on Nikau Palm (Rhopalostylis sapida) fruit

The dynamics of these networks and how they are built have profound implications on the coexistence of species and moreover, they can give us insights about how resilient they are to human disturbances, such as habitat fragmentation. It has now been recognised that conservation efforts should not only be directed to species alone, but should also be extended to the interactions and networks they form. Loss of interactions would translate into loss of ecological functions and this could happen even before actual species extinctions, a concept known as extinction debt of ecological interactions. Daniel Janzen, a pioneer scientist in tropical ecology, stated more than 40 years ago that “what escapes the eye, however, is a much more insidious kind of extinction: the extinction of ecological interactions”. So, we really are talking about complexity when we talk about networks. And I’m glad I changed my friend´s perception of just how complex biological systems are.

Carolina Lara M. is a PhD Candidate within the Centre for Biodiversity and Biosecurity, School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland. Her research interests focus on seed dispersal networks within fragmented landscapes. She is supervised by Margaret Stanley, Jason Tylianakis, Karine David, and Anna Santure.

SCIENCE NEEDS YOU!!

June 5, 2015 / aucklandecology / 3 Comments

Posted by Alice Baranyovits @ABaranyovits

New Zealand’s native pigeon, the kererū, are important seed dispersers as they swallow fruits whole.

Having spent a fair amount of time wandering around Auckland city with a large blue antenna, I have been stopped and asked what I am doing quite a bit. Whilst it was very tempting to tell people I was looking for aliens or just trying to get a good signal for my phone, I did eventually explain to them that I was radio tracking kererū (NZ pigeon; Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae).

Alice radio tracking kererū in urban Auckland.

On the whole, people seemed pretty interested and would often tell me about the kererū they see around the city.
This got me thinking, perhaps there was a way I could get people to record this information so I could get more of an understanding of where kererū were in the city and where they weren’t. So I created a website, imaginatively entitled ‘The Auckland Kererū Project’ as a platform where members of the public can record their sightings as well as information on the plants in their gardens.

The use of volunteers in research, also known as citizen science, has long been a tool of ornithologists and ecologists – the Audubon Christmas bird count in the US is one of the longest running having started in 1900. More recently the number of citizen science projects has been increasing, helped in part by the internet and the advancement of mobile technology, which has led to much easier data collection.

One of the main benefits of citizen science is that very large data sets can be collected often over a large geographical area and time scale, much larger than what could be collected by a single researcher. Data can also be collected from private land, removing the access issues researchers often face, especially in urban areas. Participants in citizen science can also benefit through increased knowledge and appreciation of the local biota and issues in their local community and through gaining an insight into the scientific process.

Alice is studying how kererū move around fragmented landscapes and more specifically how they utilise the urban environment.

There are some drawbacks, however, that must be taken into account during data analysis. Participants often have variable skill levels which can lead to issues with data quality. Variations in sampling effort both in time and space can also be a concern. Despite these issues, citizen science is a great tool and is likely to become even more prevalent in the future.

Want to get involved? There are many citizen sciences projects in New Zealand – one of the largest is NatureWatch NZ, which listed many different projects you can get involved with. Or how about Landcare Research’s annual garden bird survey? But of course don’t forget about the Auckland Kererū Project!

Alice Baranyovits is a PhD student at the Centre of Biodiversity and Biosecurity, School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland. She is researching the movements of kererū in urban areas and the implications on seed dispersal of native and introduced plants. She is supervised by Mick Clout, Jacqueline Beggs & George Perry.

When natives go wild: New Zealand… a global supplier of invasive species

May 22, 2015 / aucklandecology / 1 Comment

Posted by Lloyd Stringer

After reading Mick Clout’s post on New Zealand’s potential as an Ark for non-native species; a source of genetically diverse species, that could be used to repopulate the historically native ranges from whence they came, I got a-thinking… Is New Zealand a source of invasive species?

In my day job I work on ways to prevent adventive species establishment in New Zealand. I was heartened to discover that Aotearoa has been exporting more than vibrant young kiwis on overseas working holidays.

As a kid I dreamed of a never ending Christmas. That has potential to come into fruition with the spread of New Zealand’s Christmas tree, the pohutukawa, Metrosideros excelsa into European countries. Meanwhile, in South Africa, pohutukawa threaten the ecologically unique Fynbos, already under threat from other invasive species, via prolific seed production leading to dense seedling stands.

A Pohutukawa in full bloom. This species typically flowers from Dec-Jan. Credit: by Ed323 at en.wikipedia (Transferred from en.wikipedia) [Public domain], from Wikimedia Common.

Another successful export has been the Karaka, Corynocarpus laevigatus. This New Zealand treasure provides a risky food requiring days of preparation to detoxify the seeds prior to eating. Karaka were used in reforestation efforts in Hawaii early in 20th century where it now forms dense stands potentially shading out local, rare endemic plant species.

Possibly some of the less iconic New Zealand species making their way around the globe are the mudsnail Potamopyrgus antipodarum and flatworm Arthurdendyus triangulatus. New Zealand’s mudsnail can reach densities of up to 300,000 individuals per square metre in some rivers, modifying ecosystem processes. Whereas on land, the flatworm, predates on earthworms which could lead to secondary effects such as a reduction in soil quality and a reduction of a food source for native birds.

Perhaps what we are seeing are the New Zealand-sourced winners that could have a chance at surviving in a possible future world that is less species–rich, instead dominated by a few widespread species.

Lloyd Stringer is an invasive species entomologist at Plant & Food Research and doctoral student in the School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, investigating the interactions between eradication tools and Allee thresholds.

He is supervised by Max Suckling, Jacqueline Beggs and John Kean. Here Lloyd is planning a red imported fire ant field experiment.

An ‘invasive ark’ for genetic diversity?

April 30, 2015 / aucklandecology / 2 Comments

Posted by Mick Clout

A recent paper reveals that introduced stoats (Mustela erminea) in New Zealand have greater genetic diversity than in their native Britain, from where they were introduced in the late 1800s. The results are unusual because introducing a species to a new area is usually associated with a loss of genetic diversity, due to the small numbers released.

The current situation of stoats in Britain and New Zealand is the result of a series of ill-fated attempts at biological control of pests.

Hundreds of British stoats were introduced to New Zealand during the latter part of the 19^th century (along with weasels and domestic ferrets) in a failed attempt to control rabbit numbers. Rabbits had previously been introduced to New Zealand for food and sport, but had become agricultural pests. The stoats introduced to New Zealand were ineffective at controlling rabbits, but they spread throughout much of the country and are implicated in the decline of many native birds, including kiwi and kakapo. The swimming ability of stoats has resulted in their colonization of several offshore islands, where they flourish, especially in the presence of introduced mice. Many conservation programmes now include the control or local eradication of stoats, to allow recovery of threatened endemic birds. However stoat incursions continue on some islands from which they have been eradicated. There are now plans for the complete eradication from New Zealand of these and other mammalian predators in the long term.

Stoats have greater genetic diversity in New Zealand than in Britain, but this should not compromise attempts to control this invasive predator in New Zealand. Photo by Patrick Garvey.

Several decades after stoats were introduced to New Zealand, the native stoat population in Britain suffered a drastic decline in abundance when rabbits, their main prey there, were decimated by myxomatosis, which was introduced to Britain in the 1950s as a control measure for rabbits.

When the native stoat population in Britain collapsed in the wake of the introduction of myxomatosis, introduced stoats in New Zealand effectively conserved a reservoir of genetic diversity from the original British population.

Paradoxically, the misguided introduction of stoats to New Zealand has created an ‘invasive ark’ for genetic diversity of this species. However, this should not compromise efforts to control or eradicate stoats in New Zealand. Perhaps the British would like them back?

Professor Mick Clout is a vertebrate ecologist at the School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland. Mick works on the conservation biology of threatened species, such as New Zealand’s native pigeon the kererū, as well as the ecology of invasive mammals, such as possums, hedgehogs, cats, mustelids and rodents. From 1993-2009 he chaired the IUCN Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG), a global group of scientific experts on invasive species.

What’s the point of urban ecology?

April 23, 2015April 23, 2015 / aucklandecology / 7 Comments

Posted by Margaret Stanley @mc_stanley1

What’s the point of urban ecology? This is a question I get asked a lot. Many ecologists believe ‘real ecological research’ occurs outside of city boundaries, preferably the further the better from a city. While the focus of ecologists and conservationists is often on biodiversity outcomes within protected areas or in rural areas, the perceptions and values of city-dwellers disproportionately (in terms of numbers of votes!) influence decision-making around management of biodiversity outside cities. Therefore, the often limited experiences city-dwellers have with nature, such as seeing a tūi in their backyard, can greatly affect biodiversity outcomes. However, we also know that there is an increasing disconnect between people and nature as we become more urbanised. How many city-dwellers have visited a regional or national park in the last year? Reconnecting people with nature in the city not only benefits their mental and physical wellbeing, but can also have positive effects on how they value biodiversity and take action on conservation issues. The 2008 Erfurt Declaration also recognises the intrinsic value of urban ecosystems. Globally, urban areas can be hotspots for biodiversity – cities are often built in very fertile areas, and can be centres of evolution and adaptation.

Josie Galbraith’s project on the effects of backyard bird feeding on bird communities. Washing lines for hanging birds bags and deck furniture for banding and microchipping birds are a blessing for the urban researcher!

There are a range of exciting and interesting research questions to be asked about biodiversity in cities. While some drivers of change are unique to cities, most are just modified versions of what’s happening outside cities (e.g. habitat loss) or are agents of change originating from cities (e.g. pollution, invasive species). My lab group are tackling questions, such as whether people feeding birds in their backyards can restructure urban bird communities, how light pollution might influence ecosystem function (eg. pollination) and how robust connectivity is for bird-dispersed plants within fragmented urban landscapes.

Two of the most frustrating things about urban ecology are: firstly, you can’t escape people (more social scientists please!); and secondly, there are no large, homogenous landscapes in which to put untold replicates. Experiments are critical for untangling drivers and interactions, but conducting experiments in urban landscapes can be very challenging: the high levels of variability over short distances, negotiating access to sites from many landowners/householders, and the high risk of vandalism to equipment. Even the main health and safety fieldwork issues are unusual: domestic dogs and dubious people, rather than getting lost in the bush or being injured far from a hospital. But if it all comes together, the results can be great. Watch this space within the next week or two for PhD student Josie Galbraith’s PNAS paper, where we report on our 18-month bird feeding experiment in suburban Auckland.

Road ecology research often requires the use of an orange flashing light on your car! Esther Dale (L) and Dr Cheryl Krull (R) during Cheryl’s postdoc research on rodent behaviour around roads.

There’s also an unfortunate but realistic reason why urban ecology is attractive to ecologists. Science is getting more expensive, funding is declining, offshore islands and national parks are expensive to get students to. Urban ecology is a much better option in terms of science output/$ of funding. And then there’s the unexpected bonus of doing fieldwork in the city – the ability to order pizza for the cold, hungry field crew…

Pizza delivery to Josie Galbraith’s field sites

Dr Margaret Stanley is a Senior Lecturer in Ecology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland and is the programme director of the Masters in Biosecurity and Conservation. Her interests in terrestrial community ecology are diverse (particularly in terms of taxa), but can be grouped into three main research strands: urban ecology; invasion ecology; and plant-animal interactions. The most interesting and challenging projects are where these three strands overlap!

Vespula wasps inflict widespread economic and ecological damage

April 17, 2015April 22, 2015 / aucklandecology / 2 Comments

Posted by Jacqueline Beggs @JacquelineBeggs

What do volcanic eruptions and invasive wasps have in common?

Mt Ruapehu erupting. Photo Craig Potton. http://www.prints.co.nz/page/fine-art/PROD/8973

A recent study estimates that introduced Vespula wasps cost the New Zealand economy at least $130 million per year – equivalent to the estimated cost of the 1995-97 Ruapehu eruption.

The primary sector, particularly farming, beekeeping, horticulture and forestry bear the brunt of the economic impacts of wasps, but an already stretched health sector also shares the burden. The study did not attempt to quantify the economic impact on the tourism sector, although we know that encountering high densities of wasps puts off many people from outdoor recreation. Vespula wasps are invasive in many parts of the world, but New Zealand has the highest recorded density, not exactly our greatest claim to fame. However, I argue that the ecological impacts of wasps are far more damaging than the economic costs.

New Zealand has no native social wasps or bees, so the arrival of two species of Vespula wasp introduced a novel functional group into our ecosystems. I have spent many years studying the impact and control of wasps in South Island forests infested with endemic, honeydew-producing scale insects. Sugar-coated trees are surely a wasp’s idea of heaven. Native birds, lizards, insects and microbes all feed on honeydew, so when wasps monopolise the resource, many native species miss out. Additionally, wasps are predators of a wide range of invertebrates, attack nestling birds, and disrupt nutrient cycling.

Vespula wasps feed by trophallaxis – food gets passed around the colony making it a good target for control.

Social insects are notoriously difficult to control – the social structure of colonies, high reproductive rates and dispersal ability makes management at the population level difficult. Biological control of wasps using Ichneumonid parasitoids has not been successful, although there are other potential agents such as Pneumolaelaps mites which might be more effective. Poison baiting using fipronil is very effective, but currently not commercially available. There are other options for wasp control such as pheromones or ‘RNA interference’ technology. Some of these may be developed as part of New Zealand’s Biological Heritage National Science Challenge, but don’t hold your breath for a single silver bullet arriving in time for next summer.

Unlike unpredictable, sporadic volcanic eruptions, I can reliably predict that for now there will be ongoing economic and ecological harm from Vespula wasps in those parts of the world they have invaded.

Dr Jacqueline Beggs is an Associate Professor in Ecology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland. She has failed to focus on a single topic; her research covers everything from impact and control of introduced invertebrates, to assessing the role of dung beetles and native bees in ecosystem function, and the recovery of grey faced petrels on a restoration island.

The Paturoa Kauri FAQ

March 11, 2015April 22, 2015 / aucklandecology / Leave a comment

Cate Macinnis-Ng

On Monday morning (9th March 2015) locals, conservationists and tangata whenua gathered at 40 Paturoa Road to protect a centuries old kauri tree marked for felling to make way for new dwellings on the property. Thanks to the efforts of these dedicated folk, the trees are safe (for now). So what is so special about this tree and why should we care about it being removed? Here I address several important questions about the value and significance of this tree and the surrounding vegetation.

Why are kauri trees so special?

Kauri are amongst the largest and longest-lived trees in the world. Tree enthusiasts travel from across the globe to see these majestic plants. Kauri have a special place in Maori cultural heritage because they are taonga species. They have an important role in the spiritual beliefs of tangata whenua and are viewed as chiefs of the forest and a living…

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