Alpine zone
In 2016 we began a programme of monitoring in the alpine zone with the following components:
- Using tracking tunnels to monitor the abundance of two species of our specialist alpine fauna - the critically threatened Mt Arthur giant wētā, Deinacrida tibiospina and Mt Arthur gecko, Woodworthia 'Mt Arthur'
- Monitoring abundance of predators
The tussock mast in the 2019/20 season resulted in abundant mice (and some rats) in the alpine zone. We trialled laser-triggered cameras (Critterpic) to understand more about the alpine fauna and predators. High mouse numbers seem to correlate with lower numbers of giant wētā.
Other monitoring
We monitor how native biodiversity is faring.
- Whio breeding success using stream-walk surveys of the Flora and Grecian
- Forest birds using 5-minute bird counts and presence/absence counts
- Kea nest monitoring with trail cameras
- Night-calling birds using acoustic recorders
- Forest butterfly caterpillar counts
- Powelliphanta snail counts in quadrats (with DOC)
- Threatened plants searches (with DOC)
All this information is used to determine if our pest control is adequate and make adjustments if necessary.
