Short Communication

Stoat (Mustela erminea) vocalisations remain sparsely characterised, despite the species' significance as a major invasive predator in Aotearoa | New Zealand. Here, we describe the audible and ultrasonic vocalisations recorded from an adult male-female pair held in laboratory enclosures over three days, with blank-room control recordings. Audible calls attributed to the stoats were categorised into chitter, grunt, and hiss; the hiss is a narrowband c. 10 kHz tone of several seconds’ duration, consistent with early descriptive accounts.

This pilot study aims to quantify the impacts of roosting birds on the pest exclusion fenced area of Rotopiko wetland ecosystem in the Waikato region of New Zealand. Water samples were collected from five monitoring stations, encompassing four stations within the fenced area (three along a drain running through the fenced area into the lake, and one from the fenced lake itself), and one from a nearby unfenced lake, not affected by roosting. Soil samples were collected from three monitoring stations: two inside the fenced area, with varied roosting density, and one outside.

Actively attracting rats to trapping and baiting areas would potentially reduce the costs and labour required for controlling rats over large areas of forest. In this pilot study we explored the potential of using an ultrasonic lure to attract rats in two forest study areas: Tuateawa and Te Hoe. Data was collected from the Tuateawa study area over 21 discrete 24 h periods using tracking tunnels and cameras.

Radio telemetry is a valuable technique to gain insights into the ecology of a species by enabling repeated observations of an individual, regardless of its activity or detectability.

Funnel trapping is recognised as a best practice method for lizard inventory and monitoring, and is considered safe for most lizard species when deployed correctly. However, we observed rostral damage to Lakes skinks (Oligosoma aff. chloronoton ‘West Otago’) following trapping using Gee's minnow traps with 1/8" mesh, a commonly used device for terrestrial lizards. Of 73 Lakes skinks captured over two distinct trapping sessions, 19 had damage (26.0%). One of two captured Mackenzie skinks (Oligosoma prasinum) also had damage.

This study investigated the composition and distribution of vegetation on Remus Hill, near Cass, in the eastern South Island, New Zealand. The area was deforested following human activity and converted to pasture, but after the cessation of grazing, shrubland communities are re-establishing. We explored the interactions between vegetation composition and distribution in relation to environmental factors such as soil characteristics and topography. We established 27 5 m × 5 m vegetation plots in a grid pattern across the site and collected soil samples for chemical and physical analyses.

Understanding population dynamics of endangered species in pest-free ecosanctuaries is essential to informing conservation planning, especially where populations are isolated in remnant forest within a matrix of unsuitable habitat. Little is known about whether fenced sanctuaries in Aotearoa | New Zealand are facilitating meaningful conservation of pekapeka (native bats).

Climate change threatens many species, and Aotearoa | New Zealand’s lizards may be particularly vulnerable due to their limited dispersal ability and exacerbating threats such as invasive predators. In April 2020, a storm surge on the Wellington south coast inundated habitats occupied by northern grass skinks (Oligosoma polychroma) and Raukawa geckos (Woodworthia maculata). We compared pre-and post-inundation abundance, body size, and spatial distribution at inundated and unaffected sites. Inundation did not significantly affect the relative abundance of either species.

The creation of predator-free sanctuaries, sometimes enclosed by predator exclusion fences, is a common conservation and restoration tool in New Zealand. One such site, the Rotopiko wetland complex, in Waikato, is challenged with large flocks of non-native house sparrows (Passer domesticus) and common starlings (Sturnus vulgaris)—an estimated 500 000 birds—that roost within the predator exclusion fence, with the potential to alter nutrient regimes and plant community composition.