Vertical variation in flight activity of the lesser short-tailed bat in podocarp and beech forests, Central North Island, New Zealand
Designing robust monitoring programmes for cryptic species is particularly difficult. Not detecting a species does not necessarily mean that it is absent from the sampling area. A conclusion of absence made in error can lead to misguided inferences about distribution, colonisation and local extinction estimates, which in turn affects where and how conservation actions are undertaken. It is therefore important to investigate monitoring techniques that reduce the non-detection rate of cryptic species.