Download Quail News September 2012 - Quail Island Ecological Restoration

QUAIL EWS
Contents
A Mouse Menace
Mike Bowie.
Poroporo
Colin Burrows.
Jorge Santos and Motukarara
ursery
The View from The Leper
Grave.
Trust ews.
Students from Florida Visit
Again.
Mosses and Liverworts Cont.
Old Photos Wanted.
Workdays.
The Team 2012
Allan Williams Patron
Ian McLennan Chairman
Sharon Davis Secretary
Treasurer to be appointed.
Ian MacDonald Forest and Bird
Representative.
John Lewis gati Wheke
Representative
Peter Anderson Trustee.
Mike Bowie Trustee.
Colin Meurk Trustee.
Tom Veitch Trustee.
Grant Campbell DoC.
Colin Burrows Advisor.
James Ross Advisor.
Tina Troup Advisor.
Marieke Lettink Advisor.
Laura Molles Advisor.
ick Allen Bird counts
Bev MacDonald ewsletter editor.
Skry Adamson Web site manager.
Barbara Price Administrator
Ken Bain Auditor.
Peter Hayward Trust employee.
Tony Giles Trust employee.
ISSUE 42
September 2012
A Mouse Menace
Mike Bowie, Ecology Department, Lincoln University
The presence of mice on Quail Island is detrimental to the Trust’s
aims. Although not as destructive as rats, mice in the absence of
larger predators such as hedgehogs, cats, rats and stoats, can build up
to large densities which can also have ecological consequences. Mice
eat invertebrates, lizards and birds - even as big as albatross chicks,
as is the case on Gough Island. Mice also consume native berries and
seeds which can reduce food resources for birds and slow down
regeneration.
Mice are particularly difficult to eradicate due to their small home
ranges. This means that whatever technique is used for eradication
must be accessible to all mice i.e. within their home range. The
mouse eradication attempt using toxin dropped from a helicopter in
the winter of 2009 did kill the majority of mice but it only takes one
Mouse with radio transmitter
collar on Quail Island
pregnant mouse to survive for any eradication attempt to fail. It took
about 6 months for mice to be detected in tracking tunnels, but they
appeared in several grassy locations about the same time. This suggests that more than one mouse
survived the eradication attempt. Since then mice increased to high densities over the summer but have
collapsed since the snow in June.
The most likely cause of the failure was the amount of bait that was delivered to the ground.
Monitoring of bait on walking tracks immediately after the helicopter drop showed only half the
intended sowing rate was achieved. With the dense exotic grassland where mice are in their greatest
numbers it is crucial that sufficient bait penetrates the grass sward to where the mice can feed on it.
Some early mouse sign in a tracking tunnel was found on the south-eastern corner of the island where
grass was almost absent. Suspicions that this could have been an invader from the mainland were
supported by the recent appearance on mice on King Billy at about the same time. Mouse tails from
trapped mice were collected and are currently being analysed to determine their origin from the DNA.
This information will be important for management of mouse populations in the future.
Research by Lincoln University students Denise Ford, Nadia Anuar and Jacky Madi Corodji was also
looking at how easy it is to intensively trap mice in a two hectare block of native plants. Snap traps
were placed in a grid at 10m intervals. With high densities of mice on the island the intensive trapping
had little effect even in the centre of 2 hectare area, as mice continue to invade from exotic grassland
above. Research has also compared alternative traps and baits in an attempt to increase mouse trapping
success while reducing non-target captures. We wish to acknowledge the New Zealand Lottery Grants
Board and First Sovereign Trust Ltd and Elaine Murphy (DOC) for financial assistance for this work.
Some mice have also had radio collars placed on them to determine how far they move and found some
travelled 30m in one night.
A mouse management workshop in Wellington on July 31st brought together a group of pest managers
from several NZ sanctuaries grappling with the similar issues associated with eradicating or managing
mice. Some of the main points were:
Rodents can easily build up to large numbers in the absence of larger predators.
Mouse density is the main driver for dispersal and subsequent mouse management.
The higher the densities, the more destruction will occur.
Mice can travel large distances of up to 200m in a week!
Zealandia (Karori, Wellington) use annual one
month poisoning to keep mice from
building up to high densities.
Alternatives to brodifacoum can be used but
mice need to consume considerably more
bait for these other toxins to be effective.
Reintroductions of invertebrates, birds and
lizards into sanctuaries have been
successful in the presence of mice
Jacky tracking mice on Quail Island at night with
Lyttelton lights in background.
P O Box 79075, Avonhead, Christchurch 8446. e-mail: [email protected] phone: 3845338
www.quailisland.org.nz
Poroporo
Colin Burrows.
Scattered on Otamahua is a rather short-lived (3-4 years) open-branched
shrub with large, dark-green leaves, poroporo (Solanum laciniatum). The
leaves have up to 8 or 9 big, blunt-pointed, lobes but some leaves are not
lobed. The stems are ridged, lengthwise, with smooth bark between the
ridges. In Summer clusters of 3cm wide, purple flowers, with a central
group of yellow stamens, are followed by glossy fruits, like smallish oval
tomatoes. When green they are poisonous, but when ripe, in late summerautumn, they can be eaten. They contain many small, flat seeds and inert
“stone cells”, imbedded in the soft flesh.
The generic name Solanum tells us that this plant is related to potatoes,
tomatoes, tamarillos and nightshades. The specific name laciniatum
refers to “cut” margins of the leaves (i.e., the spaces between lobes).
Photo taken by Ines Abela Hofbauerova
Bellbird feeding on poroporo fruit photo taken by Tina Troup
Poroporo is an important and highly valued plant for the Otamahua
ecorestoration project. It is truly indigenous to the island and reproduces
easily. Favouring bare ground for seed germination it can grow from a
seedling to a fruit-bearing shrub 2.5m high within 4 months. Adult plants
flower and fruit profusely and the fruits are eaten voraciously by kereru
(native pigeons). These birds are able to swallow the large fruits whole.
Smaller birds-bellbirds, blackbirds and silvereyes– peck into the fruits but
swallow relatively few seeds. Thus, kereru are the most effective seeddispersers.
Our future plans for poroporo are to gather large numbers of fruits, then extract and spread the seeds widely on areas where we have
killed off rank grass, around the margins of planted woodland. We hope, in a few years, to have developed a major attractant for
kereru.
Jorge Santos and Motukarara ursery
Since 1989 when the Trust started planting on Quail Island, most of the plants have been propagated at the Department of
Conservation nursery at Motukarara, about 30 km from Christchurch. For over 20 years, the nursery manager, Jorge Santos and
his staff have been growing plants sourced from local seed for restoration projects, farms and home gardens.
Jorge was originally from Portugal and began working with plants at the Christchurch Botanic Gardens. He started a small nursery
under the Department of Lands and Survey. In 1987 The Department of Conservation took over the project and, on Jorge’s
suggestion, the nursery was to provide local native plants for the conservation groups on Banks Peninsula. In 2000 Jorge was
awarded the Loder Cup for his outstanding contribution to native plant conservation.
Today the nursery grows about 200 different species from seed collected from about 20 different sites. Most of the plants are
grown to order and the Otamahua/Quail Island Restoration Trust has purchased from the nursery most of the 75,000 plants now
growing on the island.
Dr Colin Burrows provides the botanical expertise in his detailed
planting plans. In October each year he sends Jorge a list of the plants
required for the next year’s planting. The plants are collected at the end of
July and transported by truck to Lyttelton and then the Lyttelton Port of
Christchurch rescue boat ferries the plants to the island. All the labour is
provided by willing volunteers.
Jorge has recently retired after 26 years of growing plants for Canterbury.
His legacy lives on in the many areas of Canterbury where millions of
plants propagated in his care are flourishing.
Photo taken by Pip Lynch
( Information taken from the article atives urtured by Fiona Oliphant).
P O Box 79075, Avonhead, Christchurch 8446. e-mail: [email protected] phone: 3845338
www.quailisland.org.nz
The View from the Leper Grave.
“In 1924 there were nine lepers at the colony (on Quail Island ) with each
patient being accommodated in an individual hut or semi-bungalow.
Pastimes included reading books (for those with sufficient eyesight),
listening to the wireless receiver and gramophone, gardening (for those
whose health permitted), and keeping pets canaries, cockatoo, magpie,
parrot, rabbits).
A site for a burial ground was selected in June, 1920, after there had been
some anxiety about a leper patient dying in the near future. The burial
ground was fixed on a point south of the leper colony and is now
prominently fenced off. A wooden cross and interpretive panel show this is
the last resting spot of Ivon Skelton. Glass bowls of flowers and tin crosses
once existed here. ….
Ivor Skelton was born in Apia, Samoa and died on 20 October, 1923 at the
age of 25 after having suffered from leprosy for five years.”
( From Otamahua/Quail Island– a Link with the Past, Peter Jackson, pp4142)
When the burial site was chosen there was a clear view across King Billy
Island to Moepuku Peninsula. Over the years the rapid growth of the
macrocarpa trees completely hid this view and low hanging branches
threatened to fall across the grave.
Recently the Department of Conservation has removed the largest of the
macrocarpa trees and the magnificent view across the water can be seen
once again.
The grave
around
1930. (W.A.
Taylor
photo
Canterbury
Museum)
The large
macrocarpa
trees hiding
the view
taken 2012.
Large trees
felled.
(Photo taken
by
Freya
O’Donoghue
August,
2012).
Trust ews.
Each year the Trust holds a planning workshop to make decisions about future progress. This year’s workshop was held on 9 June at
the DoC Maahanui Area Office. As well as Trustees and advisors there were invited guests from the Ecology Department, Lincoln
University and QEII National Trust Field Office for Banks Peninsula. The group discussed future planting on the island. The main
topics of discussion were diversification of species planted to provide food for birds, specific host plants for invertebrates and weed
control. A list of suitable plant species was decided upon as the plant order to Motukarara nursery has to be made in October for the
next years plantings. A ten year plan included the possibility of establishing a rare species garden, up skilling volunteers to carry out
specific tasks and starting a photo data base to record the progress of plantings on the island. The penguin boxes will have to be
replaced and plantings around the boxes will provide a more suitable habitat for the penguins
when they return.
The Trust has a new secretary. Shaz (Sharon) Davis has been a regular volunteer to the island
and has agreed to take up the job of secretary for which she is well qualified. Originally from
Durban (a city with a population density close to the whole of New Zealand) on the warm
east cost of South Africa, Shaz relocated to Christchurch with her partner, Bob, at the end of
2009. She put her commerce degree to good use as a writer and editor for The Small Business
Company working on the New Zealand Government small business portal and writing
newsletter and web content for a number of banks and government agencies both locally and
abroad. Not one to enjoy being tied to desk when the sun is shining, Shaz decided to re-open
her contract writing business in May this year. She now tutors magazine writing for the NZ
Writers' College, freelances for a number of publications and writes newsletter articles, blogs,
white papers and website content for businesses. She has two grown-up sons - Duncan an
acupuncturist in the UK and Donald a game ranger in South Africa.
On 30th July we moved 3000 plants to Quail Island for the August planting season. Andrew
Luddington returned to help with the shift, and we took the opportunity to present him with a
copy of Wardle's ative Trees of ew Zealand in recognition of the many thousands of hours
Andrew has volunteered on the island over the past 4 1/2 years. Pictured L to R Peter Hayward, Andrew Luddington, Bernice Cournane and Tony Giles.
P O Box 79075, Avonhead, Christchurch 8446. e-mail: [email protected] phone: 3845338
www.quailisland.org.nz
Mosses and Liverworts continued.
Students from Florida Visit Again.
A visit from students from Florida has
become an annual event. Again, this
year, they spent the day on the island
potting up silver tussock, eliminating
broom and cleaning beaches. Below is
the course outline of their studies and
what they hope to achieve from their
visit.
Hi Ian,
Great to see you again yesterday on Quail Island! Each year we visit we have to
smile at how far things are coming along and how good all the plantings look
growing up!
Here is a description of the course that the students we bring from the University
of Florida are taking:
Course Description:
This 5-week, experiential program introduces students to New Zealand’s unique
flora and fauna and local/national efforts to conserve and restore biodiversity. New
Zealand is a biodiversity hotspot with 1865 endemic (i.e. found nowhere else in the
world) plants, 63 endemic bird species, 47 endemic skinks/geckos, 2 tuataras, 2
endemic bats, and 4 endemic amphibians. It is also home to a large number of
endemic invertebrates, fish, and marine species. New Zealand is known as “clean
and green” but faces many environmental challenges to retain its unique natural
heritage. Since Maori first stepped onto the land nearly 800 years ago, and after
European colonization over 200 years ago, humans have dramatically impacted New
Zealand and many remaining species are in danger of going extinct.
Not unlike many places around the world, developed urban and rural properties
are situated near or in habitats that sustain native plant and animal communities.
Conserving and restoring biodiversity in highly-modified environments is a
struggle, and the focus of this course is to expose students to how “kiwis” have
tackled this problem. The decisions made by scientists, landowners, policymakers,
developers, and the general public intersect in unique ways and ultimately determine
the success of any biodiversity conservation program. Topics will span both the
natural and social sciences, including human dimensions of natural resource
conservation and basic ecology.
Many biodiversity conservation and restoration projects in New Zealand involve
conserving remnant bush, managing urban and rural properties, planting native
vegetation, rearing and reintroduction of rare native species (e.g., kiwis), and the
eradication of introduced, pest mammals. Special emphasis is given to the design
and management of urban landscapes as they pertain to biodiversity conservation.
In the first part of the course, students will learn about the flora and fauna of New
Zealand, the historical and current impacts by Maori and Europeans, and strategies
used to conserve biodiversity. The second part of the course will explore the human
dimension side of conservation and the role of planners/policymakers, developers/
landscape architects, landowners, and the public. Day and overnight field trips will
be conducted in and around the Canterbury Plains, Southern Alps, Banks Peninsula,
and the West Coast. These frequent field trips will be combined with lectures by
various experts in the field of conservation ecology and planning. Students will
come away from the course with an understanding of the challenges and solutions to
implementing conservation strategies in growing communities.
the public and their roles in conserving biodiversity.
The mosses and liverworts listed in the June
Quail News was not complete. Here are the
rest of the mosses, liverworts and hornworts
found on Quail Island and identified by Allan
Fife.
Mosses
Liverworts
Hypnum cupressiforme
Lembophyllum clandestinum
Leptostomum inclinans
Ptychomnion aciculare
Rhynchothecium laxatum
Sematophyllum amoenum
Syntrichium antarctica
Thuidium furfurosum
Triquetrella papillata
Weissia controversa (at least
some referrable to var.
gymnostoma)
Zygodon intermedius
Chiloscyphus semiteres
Lunularia cruciata
Porella elegantula
Lunularia cruciata
Hornwort
Phaeoceras sp.
Photos taken by David
Glenny
Landcare Research
Porella elegantula
DoC recently replaced the roof on the
cottage. The cottage was originally the
assistant lighthouse keeper's cottage at the
Akaroa Heads, and it was moved from there
in 1960. DoC tell us that the bright red
colour was chosen as it is historically
accurate, matching the colour that was used
on
all
lighthouse buildings.
Old photos of Quail Island Wanted
Old photos are sought to document vegetation
changes over time. We are particularly interested
in photos of the island landscape before 2000. If
you have a photo that may be suitable please
contact [email protected]
Work Days for September, October,
ovember, December, 2012.
Workdays will continue on the 1st and 3rd
Sundays of the month for the rest of the year.
As usual, to join a group, you must book in
with Ian McLennan e-mail [email protected]
phone 3845 338
Warmest Regards, Meryl Klein and Mark Hostetler
Acknowledgements.
Lyttelton Port of Christchurch Continues to Support the
Trust.
On 30 July the LPC Rescue came to the rescue and transported the trees for this
year’s planting over to the island. For many years now LPC has provided the boat
and its crew for this important journey. The Trust greatly values this service.
Fulton Hogan Z Ltd and Beaver Trees and Landscaping.
Robert Bruce Trust-Administered by Guardian Trust.
P O Box 79075, Avonhead, Christchurch 8446.
e-mail: [email protected] phone: 3845338
www.quailisland.org.nz