Mt Misery

There is a lack of information about how elevation affects the distribution of ship rats in New Zealand. In this study, ship rats (Rattus rattus) were captured in traps set along a 2 km elevational transect (455–1585 m a.s.l.) in beech (Nothofagaceae) forest and adjacent alpine tussock at Mt Misery, in Nelson Lakes National Park, from 1974 to 1993. A total of 118 rats were captured.

Brushtail possums were studied over a period of four years by live-trapping, poisoning and kill- trapping on an altitudinal transect (455-1500 m a.s.l.) in beech (Nothofagus) forest in South Island, New Zealand. There was a single breeding season in autumn in which most females (including 80% of one-year- olds) panicipated. Trap-revealed ranges of adults were up to 1 km long and some immature males dispersed up to 10 km. Capture rates in live-traps were highest in beech/podocarp forest at 455-460 m a.s.l. and declined with altitude.