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Archives For 30/11/1999

Beauty and the bog

Department of Conservation —  07/04/2014

Anyone who thinks swamps and bogs are merely dirty puddles of water to avoid at all costs is missing out on hidden treasure! DOC’s Jack Van Hal explains…

The swamp helmet orchid, otherwise known as Corybas carsei, loves life in the bog. Once upon a time it could be found in several bogs, but today these little beauties occur only in one site, in one peat bog within the Whangamarino Wetlands in the Waikato.

Swamps eye view. Photo: George Novak / NZ Geographic.

Swamp eye view

It is a tiny nationally critical orchid, only 10-30 mm tall at flowering, which has suffered from orchid thieves and wetland drainage.

The single remaining population at Whangamarino is currently at risk from vegetation succession within its preferred habitat, among open sedge and wire rush.

Corybas beauty. Photo: George Novak / NZ Geographic.

Corybas beauty

The flower is a conspicuous maroon-red in colour and is raised above a single leaf. It appears from September through to November. It is such a rare thing that New Zealand Geographic recently came to photograph it for an article, but they were not allowed to identify its exact location.

New Zealand Geographic photographer, George Novak, photographing Corybas carsei.

New Zealand Geographic photographer, George Novak, on assignment at Whangamarino

At Whangamarino, DOC staff have been managing the threats to this little beauty and monitoring shows that numbers have increased from a low of 77 individuals in 2008 to 195 individuals by 2011.

Rangers have been helping to create disturbance regimes by controlled burns to promote growth of the orchid.

Controlled burn of Corybas carsai habitat in 2010.

Controlled burn of Corybas carsai habitat

Other management and research options being explored include translocations to appropriate habitat within and to other nearby wetlands, and time lapse photography to determine how the orchids are pollinated and what time of year they flower and produce seed.

Thanks to the concerted effort under the Arawai Kākāriki wetland restoration programme the plight of Corybas carsei looks promising.

Orchid poster.

In Native plants, Waikato, Wetlands , , , ,
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News from Taiaroa Head/Pukekura

Department of Conservation —  25/03/2014

By Lyndon Perriman, Head Ranger at Taiaroa Head/Pukekura

Perfect weather for young albatross chicks

Summer in Dunedin didn’t seem to stay around for long this year, but I wasn’t complaining. Unlike most years, where fly strike leads to the loss of young albatross chicks, we had such mild weather over the hatching period that no fly strike occurred.

Last season we had 26 chicks fledge. We are hopeful that the 24 chicks on the headland this season will all fledge, making a nice round 50 fledglings in two years.

Seven years abroad: Pukekura’s 500th royal albatross returns

After seven years abroad, the 500th royal albatross chick to have hatched at Taiaroa Head/Pukekura, has finally returned home.

Toroa, the 500th royal albatross chick.

Toroa, the 500th royal albatross chick to have hatched at Pukekura

Toroa, and two other chicks, had transmitters attached to their back feathers when they fledged in 2007.

All three survived their long journey at sea for the first year, after which the transmitters stopped sending back signals. It has been a long wait to see if any of these birds would return.

Map of albatross flight path from New Zealand to Chile.

Map of albatross flight path from New Zealand to Chile.

Toroa, the grandson of ‘Grandma’—the colony’s oldest bird (over 60 years old when last seen in 1989)—arrived home to find his own parents breeding again.

The image below shows Toroa with a two-month old sibling. This chick is on its nest close to where Toroa himself was raised.

Toroa sitting in the background with his two-month-old sibling in the foreground

Toroa sitting in the background with his two-month-old sibling in the foreground

Toroa has been hanging around this same area not because of any bond with his sibling or his parent (there is no interaction between parents and returned chicks), but because he, like most males, will nest fairly close to the site where he was raised as a chick. Nest sites tend to be closer to the male hatch site than to the females hatch site.

Scurvy explosion

Cook’s scurvy grass (Lepidium oleraceum) has had a population explosion here at Taiaroa Head/Pukekura.

Cook's scurvy grass has had a population explosion

Cook’s scurvy grass has had a population explosion

Just three plants of this threatened species (once abundant and used by Captain Cook to help reduce the effects of scurvy) were on Pukekura last year.

Now, nestled in among the 2000 pairs of red-billed gulls (that produced plenty of quality fertilizer), this species numbers over 40 large healthy plants.

The ice plant in the background of the image above is South African, and was probably introduced onto the headland to help hide the stone and concrete gun emplacements used during the Russian Scare of the late 1880’s.

Interestingly, the ice plant can not tolerate the excreta from gulls and dies back, whereas gull excreta doesn’t affect the native ice plant found in the same area.

Planting for penguins

The Pukekura Trust little penguin colony at Pilots Beach has recently benefited from Air New Zealand Environmental Trust funding.

This allowed several hundred new natives to be planted—mostly by school children—throughout the reserve.

Small native plants nestled in the grass on a hillside. Sea in the background.

New natives have been planted throughout the reserve

You can see part of the little penguin viewing platform in the image above. Here, at dusk, as many as 300 little penguins waddle in from the sea.

In Native animals, Native plants, Otago , , , , , ,
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A day in the life of a CITES ranger

Department of Conservation —  03/03/2014

Today is World Wildlife Day, a unique opportunity to celebrate the rich diversity of our planet’s animal and plant species and remember how their continued survival in the wild is linked to our own.

World Wildlife Day - 3 March.

World Wildlife Day also marks the anniversary of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

This agreement regulates and monitors trade in animal and plant species to ensure it does not threaten their long-term survival in the wild.

African elephant and calf. Photo: Arno Meintjes | flickr | CC BY-NC 2.0.

CITES monitors the illegal killing of elephants and shows us that we face a critical situation with the poaching of the African elephant and smuggling of its ivory

In New Zealand CITES rangers are at the front line of the enforcement of the Convention. Today, DOC CITES Ranger, Anita Jacobs, shares with us a day in the life of a CITES ranger…

CITES ranger Anita Jacobs.

Anita Jacobs

I wake up in the morning thinking about what I might find today at the Auckland Airport. Today is one of my designated days to go to the airport to process the detained and seized items collected by Customs and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).

I am part of a team of four that checks and manages the imports and exports of approximately 35,000 species (parts or derivatives thereof) that are covered by the CITES.

Auckland International Aiport.

Auckland International Aiport

As I leave for work the thought of what I do every day fills me with wonder. Not one day is the same and inevitably something new happens that stretches and exercises my brain.

I arrive at the international passenger terminal and, as usual, there is an array of items seized during the past few days, waiting to be processed. As I work through the items, mostly traditional Chinese medicine and corals, the importance of my job and the effect that is has on conservation worldwide strikes me once again. What I and my colleagues do on a daily basis has a direct effect on the conservation of a particular species. What an awesome responsibility!

Ivory tusks at Auckland airport.

Ivory tusks

As I wade my way through the items I come across a rolled up skin. As I roll it out on the bench I realise that it is a snake skin. I can scarcely believe my eyes; it is a king cobra shed skin. It is utterly beautiful and complete. Carefully I roll it back up again and make notes that it can be released to the importer. As it is a shed skin, considered a waste product, it does not fall under the rules of the convention and can be returned.

King cobra skin.

Dealing with shed snake skin is all part of the job

I then head over to the international mail centre and collect all the items that have been held for our inspection.

I find a massive Chinese paint brush made out of some sort of animal horn.  I turn it around, look it up and down, and rack my brain trying to determine from what species this came from. As it does not meet biosecurity requirements for import I take photos to send to the museum for positive identification. As you do, I take up the brush and pretend to draw in the air; we all have a bit of a laugh and I put it away. As it turns out, this ‘brush’ was of more interest to Customs as it was literally stuffed with cocaine! And there I was playing with this thing! You just never know in this job.

Back at the office I share my experiences of the day with my colleague and together we go through all the items that I have brought back from the airport.

Going through my correspondence I see that we have received applications to export live birds to Japan, bagpipes with ivory ferrules to the United Kingdom and an import of red pandas to Auckland Zoo. What variety in one job!

Red panda in a tree.

Overseeing the import of red pandas to Auckland Zoo

The importance and responsibility as a CITES Ranger to manage the international movement of endangered species means good liaison with both domestic and international agencies. On top of that we need to liaise with and educate the public as to the importance of this Convention.

I may not work out in the field doing ecological surveys or relocating kiwis but what I do ensures that the work we do on the ground has a positive effect on species numbers and conservation internationally. That makes me feel good and I know that I am an integral part of global species protection.

As I sit in the Auckland traffic on my way home I think about what lies ahead tomorrow. Whatever it may be, I am looking forward to it!

You can find out more about CITES on the DOC website.

In Jobs at DOC, Native animals, Native plants , , , , , , , ,
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Watching weevils

Department of Conservation —  17/02/2014

DOC Ranger Tansy BlissBy Chatham Islands Ranger, Tansy Bliss

It all began on a sunny Sunday afternoon, when I was chatting to another DOC Ranger, Shelly Sidley, who had just put the Chatham Island team through their paces with health and safety training.

When I mentioned the endemic Chatham Islands coxella weevil Hadramphus spinipennis, surprisingly, she responded with an interested look and then a follow up comment of, “I know just the person who would love to help you with monitoring it.”

Chatham Islands coxella weevil

Chatham Islands coxella weevil

A year later, I am on Mangere Island  with Mark Anderson — a secondary teacher of science and biology at Marlborough Boys’ College.

We’re systematically searching 455 soft speargrass plants (Aciphylla dieffenbachii) for the large, flightless Chatham Islands coxella weevil, last studied in 1996 by Katrin Schöps.

Speargrass on the coast.

Speargrass

In 2011, Mark, under a Royal Society of New Zealand teacher’s fellowship, undertook the first comprehensive study of the ngaio weevil on Stephens Island.

As his enthusiasm for weevils and monitoring had not diminished, Mark volunteered his practical skills, knowledge and time to help on Mangere.

Mark Anderson searching for weevils.

Mark searching for weevils on a speargrass flowerhead

During the 10 days of intensive work on Mangere Island, we revisited all the original sites where weevils had been found in the mid-1990s and systematically surveyed thirteen 25 m2 quadrants at night, recording how many weevils we saw and where we found them.

A weevil after heavy rain.

A weevil after heavy rain

The results were impressive. We discovered:

Soft speargrass plants with as many as nine weevils quietly munching away on leaf stems or feeding on the high protein male and female flower heads.

Weevil aggregations of up to seven weevils piggy backing each other.

Numerous weevil pairs perhaps mating.

Lone weevils, metres away from any speargrass plants, plodding across iceplant or carex.

Weevils hiding in the grass, playing dead during the day.

Weevils out in the pouring rain all glistening and dark with the moisture.

Weevils mating on speargrass

Weevils mating on speargrass

We even found weevils in the middle of Robin Bush, some 300 metres away from any speargrass plant.

As we concluded our work, confirming good numbers of weevils still present on the island, we were thankful to Shelly Sidley who made it all possible.

In Islands, Native animals, Native plants , , , ,
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Bumper beech seed triggers pest plague

Department of Conservation —  30/01/2014

The heaviest beech forest seedfall in more than a decade is predicted this year. It is expected the increased seedfall will lead to an explosion in the numbers of rats, mice and stoats, who will turn to our native birds for food once the seeds disappear.

Predator plague cycle

Beech trees generally seed every four to five years but weather conditions over the last two summers—a cool summer followed by a warm one—appear to have triggered a bumper seed or “beech mast” event. Intense and widespread flowering was witnessed throughout North and South Island beech forests during spring and early summer, prompting the need for urgent action.

Past experience has shown that when a beech mast occurs, it leads to a dramatic rise in mice and rat populations, who feast on the plentiful seed all winter. To give you an idea of how quickly they can multiply, a single female rat can potentially produce 10 offspring every eight weeks—that’s a lot of rats!

An explosion in rodent numbers leads to a sharp rise in the number of stoats, which also pose a lethal threat to many species.

Rat eating Fantail chicks at nest. Photo © David Mudge. DOC use only.

Rat eating fantail chicks at nest

In spring, when the seed runs out, germinates and rots, these predators will then prey on native birds and their eggs, as well as other critically endangered critters such as native bats and snails.

This will put some of our most threatened species at risk of extinction including:

– mōhua/yellowhead
– kākāriki karaka/orange-fronted parakeet
– pekapeka/short-tailed bat
– whio/blue duck
– Powelliphanta snails

Kea and tākahe are also at risk of being preyed on by stoats.

Yellowhead/mōhua. Photo © Michael Eckstaedt. www.naturephoto.co.nz. DOC use only.

Yellowhead/mōhua

Landcare Research estimates that 25 million native birds die through predation every year in New Zealand and the beech mast is expected to make the situation much worse. For example, there are only 200–400 wild orange-fronted parakeet left and during the beech mast that occurred in 2000, 85% of the southern population was wiped out due to the rat plague.

85% of the southern population of orange-fronted parakeets were wiped out

85% of the southern population of orange-fronted parakeets were wiped out during the beech mast that occurred in 2000

DOC staff will monitor the amount of seed produced this summer and seedfall in the autumn. Rat tracking will also take place in February and May.

DOC scientist Graeme Elliott says, “So far we’ve only been able to get a visual idea of the issue. We’ve seen lots of flowering during the spring, which caused huge clouds of pollen above the forests.

“The seeds are developing at the moment but in February we’ll be able to start counting them to get a better idea of the scale of the mast. We do this by shooting down branches at the top of the tree, where they’re exposed to the sun and produce the most seeds.

“The best indicator will be the rat tracking. If the numbers dramatically increase or are already high in February, we’ll know we’ve got a big problem to deal with.”

Last night the Minster of Conservation, Dr Nick Smith, announced DOC’s plans to respond and launched our largest-ever species protection programme called ‘Battle for our Birds’. We’ll talk about this in more detail over the coming weeks. For now, you can learn more about it on the DOC website: www.doc.govt.nz/battleforourbirds.

In Animal pests, Native animals, Native plants , , , , , ,
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