arthropods

Understanding the key pollinators of rare plants is important for a holistic assessment of ecosystem health, as the impact on a given species can travel through the network, affecting other species. Many specialist calcicolous (limestone-specific) plants are rare. Conservation management plans have been developed to assist in the survival of these rare plant species, but these rarely include information on pollinators.

The arthropods of the floors of six forest types (three podocarp/beech forests, a beech forest without podocarps, a young plantation of Pinus radiata and a podocarp/hardwood forest) were examined. The podocarp/beech forests are richest in species and numbers of animals. The beech forest has fewer species and individuals than podocarp/beech but also has less varied litter. Most species found in beech are also present in podocarp/beech. Young P. radiata has an impoverished fauna with few species and low numbers of animals.

Assays for the toxin sodium monofluoroacetate (compound 1080) were undertaken on arthropods collected from toxic baits after a brushtail possum (Trichosorus vulpecula) control operation in Nothofagus forest in central North Island, New Zealand. The 1080 concentrations measured (mean 57 mu g per g, max 130 mu g per g) are considerably higher than those reported by other researchers who collected arthropods randomly after control operations.