Research Article

Rapid alterations in plant and animal phenology driven by global climate change and rising temperatures can have far-reaching consequences for cultural and ecological systems. We documented changes, and mechanisms behind the changes, in fruit biomass and phenology in mixed podocarp-hardwood forests in the central North Island of New Zealand since the 1950s using the traditional knowledge (herein referred to as mātauranga) of Indigenous Māori (Tūhoe Tuawhenua and Ngāti Whare) forest practitioners.

The Western honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) is an important species for crop pollination and honey production. New Zealand has a major wealth-creation opportunity through the production and export of honeys sourced from native flowers. However, honey bees are not native to New Zealand, and the impacts of commercial honey production and honey bee apiaries on native ecosystems are largely unknown.

Many of Aotearoa | New Zealand’s lizards are threatened, and translocation to offshore islands where introduced mammalian pests are absent is one option to increase species’ security. However, the high densities of native avian predators of lizards that occur on some offshore islands are a potential barrier to translocation success. This threat is amplified for obligate alpine lizards, as few offshore islands have an alpine zone.

Seasonal dynamics shape the timing and intensity of bird-plant interactions but are increasingly altered due to anthropogenic disturbances such as biodiversity loss and climate change. Baseline data on these patterns are critical, especially for restored communities where threatened bird species act as both pollinators and seed dispersers.

Kauri dieback disease, caused by the soil-borne oomycete pathogen Phytophthora agathidicida, has spread through much of New Zealand’s kauri (Agathis australis) forest, killing thousands of trees. However, whether kauri dieback affects the broader biological community in kauri forests is largely unknown.

The Nationally Endangered kea (Nestor notabilis) is one of five endemic New Zealand bird species for which non-target mortality from consumption of 1080 (sodium fluoroacetate) pellet baits, used to control invasive mammals, has been recorded. Kea by-kill varies among operations, but reducing predators can deliver population-level benefits that outweigh the risks. Inclusion of bird-specific repellents within the bait matrix is possible, provided that target species (possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) and ship rat (Rattus rattus)) kills remain high.

Over 25% of endemic bird species have become extinct since the time of the first human settlement of Aotearoa | New Zealand in the mid-13th century CE. This has been attributed to multiple factors, including human impact from over-hunting, habitat loss, and the introduction of successive waves of novel mammalian predators. In this study, we analyse carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) stable isotope values from bulk bone collagen of 19 positively identified living and extinct bird species from the coastal pre-contact (i.e.

Sika deer (Cervus nippon) were introduced into the central North Island, New Zealand, in the early 1900s. They rapidly established, increased in numbers, and extended their geographic range, eventually displacing sympatric red deer (Cervus elaphus). Sika deer are an important game species, but they can also severely damage native forest, especially where they occur at high densities. Here, we provide the first comprehensive assessment of annual and seasonal home range and movement ecology of adult male and adult female sika deer in New Zealand.

Ecological restoration to mitigate human impacts on the environment is increasingly widespread, particularly in forest ecosystems. Exotic plantation forests have been posited as beneficial for the restoration of forest ecosystems by creating a favourable microclimate in the understorey for native vegetation to establish. Native seed dispersal into plantation forests is a vital part of this process.

Using a sequential adaptive experimental design, we successfully demonstrate that a passive eDNA detection field tool, consisting of pear-baited alkathene pipes equipped with Dacron filters for eDNA capture, can effectively monitor occupancy by a cryptic Otago skink (Oligosoma otagense) population. Detection rates using our eDNA tool were approximately 30–50% higher than those recorded by field teams historically in the Awa Nohoaka Conservation Area.