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This paper presents some biological and ecological information obtained from records of the last six years of catches in the inner Gulf and adjacent fishing areas by the Marine Department's fishery research trawler, Ikatere.
Food of the North Island kaka (Nestor meridionalis septentrionalis) on Kapiti Island was identified while quantifying the foraging activity of nine radio-tagged birds from March 1991 to January 1992. Additional food types were identified by opportunistic observation of feeding birds and qualitative examination of nestling faeces. A diverse range of food was taken, including wood-boring invertebrates, scale insects, seeds, nectar or pollen, fruits, and sap.
Over five years from November 1982 to November 1987, we examined 395 mice collected from unlogged and logged native forest and from exotic forest at Pureora Forest Park, in the central North Island of New Zealand. Sex ratio, litter size, and breeding effort (pregnancy rate in females, proportion of males with visible tubules) were similar in all samples.
The diet and feeding methods of kakapo (Strigops habroptilus) on Stewart Island, southern New Zealand, were studied by examining sign left by the birds. Most feeding sign was found on herbs, ferns, and shrubs, especially on new and developing growth such as leaves, bark, fruits and seeds, as well as the subterranean portions. The species on which most kakapo sign was found were Lycopodium ramulosum, L. fastigiatum, Schizaea fistulosa var. australis, Blechnum minus, B.
Honeydew is produced by a scale insect (Ultracoelostoma assimile, Margarodidae) in some Nothofagus forests of South Island, New Zealand. The quantity of honeydew present and its sugar concentration varies through the year. Honeydew is a valuable resource for bellbirds (Anthornis melanura), tuis (Prosthemadera novaesealandiae) and silvereyes (Zosterops lateralis). Bellbirds and tuis were commoner in forests with more honeydew. Bell- birds spent more time feeding on honeydew when its sugar concentration was low.
