climate change

Loss of remnant vegetation and landscape complexity through agricultural intensification reduces the abundance and diversity of beneficial insects such as pollinators and natural enemies of pests (predators/parasitoids). The Canterbury Plains (CP), New Zealand, is a highly intensified agricultural region that has lost almost all remnant native woody vegetation.

Amphibians are considered susceptible to a range of potential effects generated by climate change. We applied species distribution model (SDM) techniques to predict future areas of climatic suitability for Archey’s and Hochstetter’s frogs under two different climate change scenarios using climate variables derived from their existing geographic extent. For Hamilton’s frog their current range was too restricted to model future range, so we used past climate data from current strongholds to establish that these sites may not be suitable for this species in the long-term.