Sanctuaries, & biodiversity responses to pest control

Transcription

1 Sanctuaries, & biodiversity responses to pest control John Innes, Rachelle Binny Andrea Byrom, Neil Fitzgerald, Alex James, Roger Pech Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research Colbourne LINK seminar, Wellington, 19 October 2017 Fitzgerald

2 Outline What and where are NZ s sanctuaries? Major pest management regimes John Innes Importance of monitoring with standard methods Some Maungatautari results What can we learn from monitoring in fenced sanctuaries and mainland islands? Biodiversity monitoring database Rachelle Binny A meta-analysis of outcomes for sanctuaries

3 Nga Manu Images Nga Manu Images Dog House mouse Red deer Norway rat Hedgehog Feral goat Fallow deer Cat Rabbit Ship rat Ferret Weasel Stoat Brushtail possum

4 What are biodiversity sanctuaries? Sites that: experimentally restore NZ ecosystems to indigenous dominance and full species complement control or eradicate a broad suite of pests with best practice techniques reintroduce missing species manage a permanent and substantial risk of pest reinvasion inspire and galvanise communities to local conservation We identified 82 such projects on or near the NZ mainland

5 SANCTUARIES Mean area: Stoats 2780 ha Possums 1860 ha Rats 940 ha Total area: 50,500 ha 0.18% NZ Map: Neil Fitzgerald, 8 Aug. 2017

6 Pest control 101 Goals Biodiversity outcomes? Unacceptable damage? at this site Pest control Best practice? Residual pest abundance? Number killed Use SOP indices

7 Major regimes 1. Repeated aerial 1080 a) Ospri for Tb/DOC for forest health b) Battle for our Birds (timed for mast) c) 2-3 yearly sustained ship rat control 2. Mainland island - kaka, kiwi, kokako, robin, whio, tree weta 3. Fenced sanctuary/island - hihi, tieke, takahe, kakapo, tuatara, giant weta

8 M. Rothwell Kakariki Games S. Wills Nga Manu Images Regime 2 Mainland island ship rats kokako robin tree weta possum ferret stoat NI brown kiwi whio kaka

9 Rat tracking rate Rat tracking rate Ark in the Park, Waitakeres, * Ship rat Norway rat *Gillian Wadams, Forest and Bird

10 CR Veitch Kokako nesting success* vs a) Possum trap-catch b) Ship rat tracking rate % nesting attempts fledging young Possum trap-catch at 1 Nov. % nesting attempts fledging young Mean ship rat tracking %,Oct.-Feb. Norbury et al Biol. Cons Density-impact functions for terrestrial vertebrate pests and indigenous biota: Guidelines for conservation managers. * Innes et al Biol Cons 87:

11 MGW tracking rate Mahoenui giant weta North Island robin Warrenheip Mahurangi Is. Mahoenui Mangaokewa Rat tracking rate Thornburrow Corinne Watts et al Weta as bioindicators. Jnl Insect Conservation M. Rothwell Kakariki Games Doug Armstrong et al Robin viability vs predators. Jnl Wildlife Management

12 Regime 3 Fenced sanctuary/island Giant weta Hihi Little spotted kiwi Tuatara Tieke Kakapo Duvaucel s gecko Takahe

13 Invader pests at Orokonui, Dunedin (Elton Smith)

14 Mice alone at Maungatautari 3400 ha

15 Mouse density Deb Wilson, Neil Fitzgerald, Scott Bartlam

16 Invertebrate abundance Average number of invertebrates caught per trap night Jan-2011 Jul-2011 Jan-2012 Jul-2012 Jan-2013 Jul-2013 Similar patterns for: 4 M block Q block Jan-2014 Year Beetles, spiders, weta, caterpillars Leaf litter samples Treatment switch Jul-2014 Jan-2015 Jul-2015 Jan-2016 Jul-2016 Corinne Watts, Danny Thornburrow

17 Tui movement/spillover from M tari Neil Fitzgerald

18 = Mammal eradication Maungatautari 5mbc, : mobile frugivores Neil Fitzgerald, Scott Bartlam

19 Maungatautari 5mbc, : insectivores = Mammal eradication = Translocation Neil Fitzgerald, Scott Bartlam

20 Conclusions Pest levels (eg zero) known for some birds, lizards, inverts Few density-impact functions known Pest eradication impossible without fences Competition and habitat also matter There are winners and losers PLEASE MONITOR: - Residual pest abundance with SOP indices - Diverse biodiversity outcomes - For 10 + years. Rachelle

21 Outline What and where are NZ s sanctuaries? Major pest management regimes John Innes Importance of monitoring with standard methods Some Maungatautari results What can we learn from monitoring in fenced sanctuaries and mainland islands? Biodiversity monitoring database Rachelle Binny A meta-analysis of outcomes for sanctuaries

22 Predator Free New Zealand

23 What can sanctuaries teach us? How do NZ s flora and fauna respond to pest control? Compare different control regimes; initially fenced sanctuaries and mainland islands Understanding biodiversity benefits is a crucial step towards achieving goals of PF2050

24 Biodiversity monitoring database Database of biodiversity monitoring data from managed sites 782,322 records 21 sites (3 DOC Mainland Islands, 18 other sanctuaries) 17 unfenced, 4 fenced species (birds, invertebrates, lizards, vegetation and pests)

25 Biodiversity monitoring database Habitat Site Type 66% 34% Beech Podocarpbroadleaved 11% 6% 83% Fenced Mainland Island Unfenced Treatment type Taxa 39% 61% Treatment Nontreatment < 1% 33% 65% Birds Invertebrates Lizards Vegetation

26 Combining biodiversity data: meta-analysis Effect size : outcome with pest control, c.f. without Negative response to control No response Positive response to control E.g. abundance, nesting success, counts per unit search effort, foliar browse damage, etc. < 0 0 > 0

27 Fenced vs. mainland islands all sanctuaries mainland islands (MI) fenced sanctuaries

28 Taxonomic groups Fenced & MIs combined

29 Taxonomic groups by regime Fenced MIs

30 Native vs. introduced birds Fenced & MIs combined all birds native introduced

31 Native vs. introduced birds by regime Fenced MIs all birds native introduced

32 Endemicity levels for NZ birds

33 Bird endemicity Fenced & MIs combined all native order (e.g. kiwi) family (e.g. kōkako, hīhī) genus (e.g. bellbird, tūi) all introduced species (e.g. kākāriki, NI robin)

34 Bird endemicity by regime Fenced MIs all native order (e.g. kiwi) family (e.g. kōkako, hīhī) genus (e.g. bellbird, tūi) species (e.g. kākāriki, NI robin) all introduced

35 Primary guild for native birds Fenced & MIs combined all native frugivore (e.g. bellbird, kererū) insectivore (e.g. rifleman, tomtit) omnivore (e.g. hīhī, silvereye) carnivore (top predators: kāhu, NZ falcon)

36 Primary guild for native birds all native Fenced MIs frugivore (e.g. bellbird, kererū) insectivore (e.g. rifleman, tomtit) omnivore (e.g. hīhī, silvereye) carnivore (top predators: kāhu, NZ falcon)

37 Habitat for native birds Fenced & MIs combined all native podocarp-broadleaved beech mixed

38 Habitat for native birds by regime Fenced MIs all native podocarp-broadleaved beech mixed

39 Species (5 mbc) Boundary Stream MI Wainuiomata MI Treatment Non-treatment

40 Density-impact functions (Rotoiti) Rat Tracking Index (%) Rat Tracking Index (%)

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42 Room for improvement? Need consistent and long-term monitoring of biodiversity outcomes and residual pest abundance Standardised monitoring methods and measures Data sharing & reuse Data management

43 Conclusions Both increases and declines for species in sanctuaries How to measure success? Knowledge gaps: outcomes for communities and ecosystems Need consistent and long-term monitoring: diverse biodiversity measures and residual pest abundance using SOP indices

44 What next? Offshore, pest-free islands Bellingham et al 2010

45 Acknowledgements DOC MI data access: Craig Gillies and Oliver Gansell (Department of Conservation, Hamilton) DOC MI staff for field data collection and reporting Sanctuaries data: Ark in the Park, Bluff Hill/Environment Southland, Bream Head Scenic Reserve, Bushy Point, Corinne Watts (Landcare Research), East Taranaki Environment Trust, Forest Lifeforce Environment Trust, Glenfern Sanctuary, Halfmoon Bay Habitat Restoration Project, Kaipupu Point Wildlife Sanctuary, Mainland Island Restoration Operation, Maungatautari, Orokonui, Pirongia, Pomona and Rona Islands, Puketi, Totara Reserve/Horizons Regional Council, Wainuiomata Mainland Island, Windy Hill, Zealandia Robbie Price (Landcare Research)