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Subject: search.filters.subject.410407 Wildlife and habitat management

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    Applying structured decision making for large-scale wildlife management programmes : Project Janszoon as a case study : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Conservation Biology at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2024-11-30) Kenup, Caio
    Managing threatened populations is challenging due to the delicate balance between urgency and uncertainty. While swift action is often needed to prevent further decline or extinction, significant uncertainty frequently surrounds the effectiveness of various management strategies and the future trajectory of populations. This uncertainty complicates the identification of the most effective course of action, especially when resources are limited. Structured decision making (SDM) is an approach that supports informed decision making in the face of uncertainty in conservation projects. The primary aim of this thesis is to develop a decision making framework for Project Janszoon’s bird translocations, guiding management and monitoring decisions to maximise establishment and persistence probabilities for the kākā (Nestor meridionalis) and pāteke (Anas chlorotis). This framework can serve as a blueprint for implementing SDM and adaptive management (AM), promoting their broader use in conservation initiatives within New Zealand and beyond. In Chapter 2, I discuss expert elicitation techniques for generating predictions from expert knowledge while accounting for epistemic uncertainty. Numerical improvements in handling elicited data are proposed, focusing on aggregating and transforming expert-provided values while maintaining their associated uncertainty. Preserving this uncertainty is critical to avoid generating overconfident predictions from expert judgment. In Chapter 3, I explore which uncertainties are worth reducing and to what degree. Value of information (VOI) analysis offers a way to understand how reducing uncertainty affects decision making and conservation outcomes. A key insight from this chapter is that while monitoring is valuable for reducing uncertainty, such reductions do not always improve conservation outcomes. Beyond a certain point, further reductions in uncertainty do not alter decision making. Practitioners must estimate the optimal level of monitoring for each conservation challenge. In Chapter 4, I outline a passive adaptive management framework to reduce uncertainty as management actions are implemented and monitored. The framework’s extendable nature makes it adaptable to other management problems. The tools and concepts presented here are valuable assets for effective decision making for managed populations under uncertainty.
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    Wild bovid habitat and infectious disease risk in Thailand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Veterinary Science, School of Veterinary Sciences, Massey University
    (Massey University, 2024-11-07) Horpiencharoen, Wantida
    Wild bovids are a diverse group of typically large, hoofed ruminant mammals that play crucial functions in ecosystems as seed transporters and prey for predators to maintain biodiversity. However, their conservation status varies from least concern to critically endangered with extinction, depending on the regions and remaining population. The expansion of agricultural areas and livestock farming has led to habitat loss and natural resource sharing, likely increasing the risk of disease transmission and pathogen circulation between humans, wildlife, and domestic animals at the shared habitats or the interface areas. This thesis aims to identify the habitat suitability of five wild bovids remaining in Thailand, understand the consequences of introducing infectious disease into the population, and identify where there is a risk of disease transmission. Therefore, three main studies were conducted: 1) identifying suitable areas for five wild bovid species, including gaur, banteng, wild water buffalo, mainland serow and Chinese goral in Thailand; 2) simulating the impact of infectious diseases of cattle on wild bovid populations, and; 3) mapping potential risk areas between wild bovids and cattle. Initially, I used ecological niche modelling to identify the habitat suitability of five wild bovids remaining in Thailand. Due to poor model predictions for two species (mainland serow and Chinese goral), I excluded these two models from further analyses. The results indicated that over 50% of the potentially suitable areas for the three modelled species (gaur, banteng, wild water buffalo) were located outside protected areas close to human populations and agricultural areas. Then, I simulated the number of animals in a model gaur population with and without infections over 100 years with 100 repetitions using stochastic mathematical models. I selected six bovine infectious diseases with different traits, such as incubation and infectious periods or fatality probabilities, including anthrax, bovine tuberculosis, haemorrhagic septicaemia, lumpy skin disease, foot and mouth disease and brucellosis. I introduced an individual infected animal into a closed population for each infectious disease. The disease-free gaur population grew over time, with infections with different traits having different impacts. The populations infected with chronic diseases (e.g. bovine tuberculosis and bovine brucellosis) showed the greatest decline, while diseases with high mortality but acute disease or high transmission rates with low mortality had less impact on the populations. Finally, I mapped the potential risk areas for disease transmission, assuming that high cattle density and habitat suitability increased transmission risk between wild bovids and livestock. The results also indicated that the potential high-risk areas were at the interface areas at the forest edges where interactions between wildlife and cattle occur. All my studies and findings will require further investigation and validation to gain a deeper and better understanding of the complexity of infectious diseases within wildlife populations and the dynamics of their distributions, but they contribute to supporting wildlife conservation and implementing disease mitigation measures to prevent disease transmission among the populations by highlighting where wild bovids might have suitable habitat, what types of infections may be problems and where mitigation may be better targeted.
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    Bird responses to kānuka and poplar silvopasture on a hill country sheep and beef station in Aotearoa New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Environmental Management at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2024) Dobson, Sophie Frances Julia
    Historically, agriculture in Aotearoa New Zealand has been associated with mass deforestation and subsequent erosion. A popular way to counter erosion in hill country sheep and beef agricultural systems has been to plant exotic poplar or willow silvopastoral systems, however recent studies have explored the use of low density kānuka plantings as a potential native alternative. This study explored how both current poplar/willow and proposed kānuka plantings affect the movements of birds in a hill country sheep and beef station. It analysed the density of trees in various poplar/willow and kānuka groves via the use of a GIS dataset of individual trees across the Wairarapa region. Tree densities were used to generate four sampling categories (Open Pasture, Poplar/Willow, Low Density Kānuka, and High Density Kānuka), and 5-minute bird counts were undertaken in each of these categories. Results show that native and endemic bird counts grew significantly as kānuka density increased but counts of native and endemic birds in Poplar/Willow sites were often lower than those in Open Pasture. Introduced birds showed a similar increase in counts in Poplar/Willow as in Low Density Kānuka. Overall, the native species the benefitted the most from the presence of kānuka were the small insectivorous passerines: grey warbler (Gerygone igata), silvereye (Zosterops lateralis), and fantail (Rhiphidura fuliginosa). No native birds favoured Poplar/Willow sites, however native birds were sometimes witnessed moving through the canopy when poplar plantings bordered kānuka groves. Introduced European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), chaffinches (Fringilla coelebs) and yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella) all benefitted from the presence of both poplar/willow plantings and kānuka groves. Significant numbers of introduced Eurasian skylark (Alauda arvensis) and endemic New Zealand pipit (Anthus novaeseelandiae) were present on Open Pasture sites. Given the positive response of on-farm native bird populations to the presence of kānuka, its use as a silvopastoral plant has great potential to align conservation goals with the economic realities of agriculture. There is long term potential to form bird corridors out of silvopastoral erosion mitigation, however more work still needs to be done to fully understand the complexities of on-farm birdlife.
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    Enhancing conservation outcomes for New Zealand’s coastal ecosystems through knowledge of hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) spatial ecology : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Conservation Biology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2024) Paterson, Erica Grace
    Aotearoa New Zealand has experienced significant biodiversity loss from the impacts of invasive species. This thesis has applied spatial ecology principles to conservation biology, focusing on invasive hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) in a duneland ecosystem in northern New Zealand. Due to its generally milder climate compared to Europe and the absence of natural predators that hedgehogs face in their native habitats, hedgehogs have thrived as an invasive species in numerous ecosystems across New Zealand. Reliable estimates of home range sizes for hedgehogs in duneland ecosystems are critical as less than 30 percent of New Zealand’s natural duneland systems remain for native species such as the New Zealand dotterel (Charadrius obscurus aquilonius) and the critically endangered New Zealand fairy tern (Sternula nereis). My research aimed to quantify and understand hedgehog spatial ecology and habitat use in Northland’s duneland coastal ecosystems and provide insights that can guide more effective control measures of hedgehogs. My study was conducted at Tara Iti Ecological Sanctuary (Tara Iti), located in Mangawhai, Northland, New Zealand, from Spring 2022 to late Autumn 2023. Eleven hedgehogs (four males and five females during November 2022 and two males during May 2023) were live captured and fitted with Lotek Pinpoint VHF-75 tags for a maximum of seven days. GPS data were used to estimate the home range and nightly distances travelled by hedgehogs. Trail camera sampling was carried out to indicate the presence of pest species and six years of hedgehog trapping data from the study areas were analysed. Hedgehogs occupy a small core area of their home range intensively while covering its entirety over several foraging nights. Home ranges overlap significantly between individuals of either sex, but core ranges are more independent. The overall mean home range size was 7.1 ha ± 1.6 ha. The average home range was higher for males (8.1 ± 2.3 ha) than for females (5.6 ± 2.1 ha), but the difference was not statistically significant due to small sample sizes and high variation between individuals. The mean nightly home range was similar for males (3.4 ha) and females (3.6 ha). The average nightly distance travelled by female hedgehogs (2054 m ± 580 m) was higher than male hedgehogs (1632 m ± 237 m). One female hedgehog travelled over 4 km in one sampling night, this is the highest distance that has ever been recorded by a European hedgehog in a single night. It is suspected that this was a dispersal event given the linearity of the trip. This hedgehog covered the full width of Tara Iti from the neighbouring farmland to the edge of the golf course, indicating that hedgehogs can travel from the neighbouring farmland to shorebird nesting areas in one night of activity. I found a strong seasonal trend in the hedgehog trapping data, with peaks in January, February (austral summer), and May (austral autumn) and a low in July (austral winter). Based on my results, DOC250 are more effective traps for targeting hedgehogs and roads and habitat edges should be utilized. To control hedgehogs in vulnerable areas, a trap density of 100 m by 100 m, with one DOC250 trap per hectare, should be used. An intensive trapping program, primarily in early spring and summer, should target hedgehogs to impact the adult population and protect breeding shorebirds. Secondary intensive control should be undertaken in late autumn to primarily target females and juvenile hedgehogs while they are preparing for hibernation. My findings support the need for specific home range estimates for vulnerable ecosystems due to variability and plasticity in hedgehog behaviour based on habitat and climate factors. Trapping regimes should consider home range estimates, average nightly distances travelled, recorded dispersal distances, and habitat preferences when planning hedgehog control programs.
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    Camera trapping as a novel method for monitoring North Island brown kiwi (Apteryx mantelli) and implications in environmental management : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Environmental Management, Massey University, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2023) Fan, Nathan
    This thesis focused on the use of camera-trapping as a monitoring method for the North Island brown kiwi (Apteryx mantelli). Brown kiwi is a species of conservation concern and there is a need for methods that allow the monitoring of population numbers and trajectories to inform conservation practices. Traditional monitoring tools for brown kiwi are either invasive or labour intensive, and camera-trapping offers a cost-effective and less invasive alternative. This thesis utilizes camera trap data collected between 2014 and 2017 for a feral cat study (Strang, 2018) on South Ponui, a beef and sheep farm in the Auckland area. The objectives of this study were to assess the possibility of camera-trapping for monitoring brown kiwi by investigating camera trap placement strategies to optimize capture rates, exploring the camera trap rates in fragmented habitats compared to the continuous forest, and determining the effect of the number of cameras on capture rate. Little is known about how brown kiwi use agricultural land. However, this knowledge is important because agricultural lands cover approximately 40% of New Zealand and an expected spinoff of Predator Free New Zealand 2050, a project aiming at eradicating introduced predators by the year 2050, is that native species could expand their range into agricultural lands. Therefore, I examined the nocturnal habitat utilization of brown kiwi and provided management strategies for their future conservation on agricultural lands. Strang deployed from six to 28 camera traps to 28 fixed locations in a 36 ha sampling grid (Strang, 2018). I analyzed the video data using generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) and heat maps. The findings indicated that camera-trapping was effective in monitoring brown kiwi, including in assessing their nocturnal habitat utilization. The study revealed that brown kiwi predominantly utilize forest habitats during their nocturnal activities, followed by scrub and pasture edge habitats. Three camera trap placement strategies were identified to maximize capture rates, including positioning traps in forests or edge habitats on gentle or steep slopes, with autumn and winter identified as optimal seasons for monitoring. The study also revealed that camera traps placed in fragmented habitats maintained their GLMMs predictive ability compared to the cameras placed in continuous habitats. Additionally, by reducing the number of cameras, it is determined that if the grid cell size does not exceed 37 ha per camera, the GLMM prediction ability remains consistent. These findings have management implications, emphasizing the importance of intensive predator control in forests and edge habitats bordering pastures, preserving, and increasing native forest patches on farms, and controlling livestock access to forests. The attraction of brown kiwi to fragmented habitats underscores the need to safeguard remnants of native forests on agricultural lands, facilitating their dispersal across the landscape. Moreover, the study suggests that incorporating camera-trapping into the brown kiwi monitoring toolbox offers benefits such as scaling up management efforts, increasing community engagement, and reducing long-term costs. Ultimately, these findings contribute to the understanding and conservation of the North Island brown kiwi.
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    Mangrove-avifauna relationships in Aotearoa New Zealand : conservation insights from banded rail (Gallirallus philippensis) ecology : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Conservation Biology at Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2023) de Satgé, Jacques
    Among terrestrial vertebrates, birds are the most ubiquitous taxa in mangroves globally, using these habitats to breed, roost, and forage. However, within the past half century, the large-scale loss and fragmentation of mangrove forests throughout much of their distribution has corresponded with declines in populations of mangrove-using avifauna. Despite these declines, remarkably little is known about the avifauna that inhabit mangrove forests, nor the ecological relationships that exist between birds and mangrove habitats. The absence of this understanding presents a significant barrier to effective avifauna conservation in mangrove environments. The ecological relationships between the banded rail (Gallirallus philippensis assimilis) and mangroves (Avicennia marina var. australasica) in Aotearoa New Zealand are poorly understood, reflecting a lack of scientific research addressing mangrove avifauna globally. The study of banded rails has been hindered by their cryptic behaviours and exacerbated by mangroves being logistically challenging habitats to work in because of their intertidal nature, dense vegetation, and muddy substrates. The paucity of research in this field is a concern given that New Zealand’s population of banded rails – largely restricted to mangroves in the coastal and estuarine regions lining the northern shores of the North Island – is declining and categorised as ‘at-risk’ of extinction. Mangroves in New Zealand are globally anomalous, having expanded rapidly in recent decades and having been subject to intensive management predicated on vegetation removal. In this context, understanding the importance of mangrove habitats for banded rails is of ecological interest and conservation concern. This thesis elucidates the ecological relationships between banded rails and mangroves in the context of recent mangrove expansion and contemporary management practices (especially in terms of removals) in New Zealand by (1) reviewing mangrove management practices and their effects on avifauna, (2) determining the relative habitat quality of mangroves for banded rails, (3) establishing and implementing a reliable survey method for banded rails, and (4) quantifying banded rail habitat selection and use in saltmarsh-mangrove complexes of northern New Zealand. First, to understand the extent, configuration, and repercussions of mangrove removal in New Zealand, I reviewed all legal mangrove removals until 2020, using resource consent documents from relevant regional authorities. I determined that the area of mangrove removed is small relative to mangroves’ contemporary area and expansion. Decisions regarding mangrove removal largely prioritised human-centric desires for recreational spaces rather than principles of ecological restoration. In addition, I showed that an ecological understanding of the repercussions of removal on avifauna is limited by insufficient monitoring. Drawing on limited data, I suggested that mangrove removal creates a conservation trade-off, benefitting species that use open habitats, such as waders and shorebirds, at the expense of mangrove-using avifauna. I then emphasised the importance of addressing the drivers of mangrove expansion rather than its symptoms, situating New Zealand’s management response in the theory of invasion biology. Second, I assessed the habitat quality of New Zealand’s mangroves for banded rails, using a resource-based approach. I quantified the abundance and diversity of macrofauna – key food resources to banded rails – collected from a stratified sampling regime across four habitat zones in four saltmarsh-mangrove complexes, determining that old-growth mangroves held the highest abundance and biomass of banded rail food resources. Additionally, I assessed the availability of these resources to banded rails using existing literature and field-based observations, theorising that mangroves provided the highest availability of food resources within saltmarsh-mangrove complexes. Third, I established and implemented a survey method novel to the study of banded rails (and cryptic marsh birds more broadly). I determined that a combination of camera traps and drift fences (CDF) provides an effective method for surveying banded rails in intertidal habitats, capable of providing both presence-absence data and inferences into banded rail movement patterns. I observed banded rail movements between saltmarsh and mangrove habitats to be correlated with temporal and tidal cycles, the first time banded rail habitat use has been assessed in relation to environmental cues. I explored the applicability and value of the CDF method as a monitoring tool, suggesting the method could support new research avenues for cryptic species and complement monitoring methods used for banded rails in New Zealand. Fourth, I quantified the habitat selection and habitat use patterns of banded rails at a home-range scale in saltmarsh-mangrove complexes, assessing data from GPS biotelemetry via resource selection ratios and a generalised linear mixed effects model. I determined that banded rail home ranges are largely restricted to saltmarsh and mangrove habitats finding that individuals select for mangrove habitats to support foraging efforts, select for saltmarsh habitats as roosting grounds, and generally avoid open habitats such as mudflats and residential gardens. I showed that habitat use may vary among individuals, noting two individuals that chose to roost in mangrove habitats overnight – a novel observation for this species. Additionally, biotelemetry findings confirmed movement patterns observed by camera traps in that banded rail habitat use was mediated by temporal and tidal cycles. Banded rails were significantly more likely to use mangroves during the day, whereas saltmarshes were primarily used at night and during high tides. Combining insights from research findings and existing literature, this thesis demonstrates that mangrove habitats play an important role in supporting banded rails. While mangroves are not a prerequisite for the survival of banded rail individuals, mangroves represent preferred habitats and support banded rail behaviours such as foraging and roosting. Viewed from a population perspective, mangroves help maintain banded rail populations by providing habitats to the majority of the country’s banded rail population. Three observations from this thesis are particularly relevant to conservationists and coastal managers in New Zealand: (1) mangroves are not uniform habitats; mangrove forests may appear structurally similar, but can be functionally different in their ability to support avifauna populations, (2) mangroves are more important to banded rails than previously understood or quantified; mangroves are preferred as foraging habitat to banded rails, can support roosting behaviours, and may make small patches of adjacent saltmarsh or terrestrial scrub viable breeding habitats, and (3) mangrove removal is likely to adversely affect local populations of banded rail, but more research is required to understand the nuances of these effects.
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    Visitors' perceived value of animal-close encounters at New Zealand zoos and how this relates to modern zoo objectives : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Zoology at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2022) Lankeshwara, Dinushi Nadeeka
    Zoos try to give visitors a memorable experience by offering them highly desirable activities. Zoos simultaneously explore ways of transferring an understanding of their five major objectives: Conservation, education, animal welfare, research, and recreation, to the general public. These zoo roles complement each other to enhance zoos' reputation as conservation centres and their future survival. Animal-close encounters defined in this research as Animal-visitor interactions (AVIs), are a very popular and emerging field of visitor attraction in modern zoo culture. An online survey was conducted among participants of paid AVIs in Zoo and Aquarium Association (ZAA) accredited Zoos in New Zealand to explore their perceived value of the experience, and how their perceptions related to the major zoo objectives. The survey was limited to those who had participated in a paid AVI in New Zealand, and only that eight ZAA-accredited New Zealand Zoos offer paid AVIs. The online survey was distributed mainly through Facebook advertising. A total of 118 responses were received. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics for categorical data, and content analysis of free-text responses. This study identified several categories/subcategories among participants' responses to what they found most memorable and how the encounter added value to their day. The most mentioned category in participant’s free text comments was recreation, indicating that this may have been the primary motivation for engaging in a paid AVI and the component that made the experience the most memorable. Participants’ strong agreement with statements about conservation, on the other hand, appears to indicate that the zoos were getting the conservation message across, and visitors’ attitudes were also developing with the time beyond entertainment. Paid AVIs were a good way of promoting recreation, education, conservation, and animal welfare objectives among participants. But there appeared to be lack of awareness or understanding of the zoo’s research objective among participants. This knowledge might help zoos organise future paid AVI experiences to better meet participants' expectations. It might also assist with marketing and management strategies, bearing in mind that participants' future expectations and behaviours are often based on the perceived value of their experience. The higher the perceived value, the more satisfied participants will be, resulting in likelihood of more recommendations and thus being a better revenue generator for zoos. In addition, the information extracted on participants views towards the major zoo objectives could provide valuable feedback to Zoos on the role of AVIs in promoting these. While this preliminary study offers some useful insights into participants' perceptions of AVIs at New Zealand zoos, the small sample size necessitates more research to better understand participants' motives and best promote the major zoo objectives through these experiences.
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    Effects of the design and management of urban reserves on native bird communities in Auckland City, Aotearoa/New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Conservation Biology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2021) Tyrrell, Lydia Clare
    As the human population of Auckland City continues to increase, intense development pressure is causing an increase in housing density and widespread biodiversity loss, greatly increasing the importance of urban forest reserves as tree cover on private land is rapidly lost. The effectiveness of urban biodiversity conservation measures needs to be researched and understood if successful mitigation action is to conserve avian diversity in densifying cities. Little is known about the abundance and diversity of birds in Auckland’s urban reserves, and to date there have been no published studies on the breeding of native birds in the city. More knowledge is needed about the ability of reserves to sustain resilient urban bird populations, and about which habitat and reserve design factors are most important. In this study, 28 reserves on the Auckland Isthmus divided into four categories of shape and size, were surveyed for avian abundance and diversity. A breeding survey was also conducted to record presence of breeding success for tui (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae), piwakawaka/New Zealand fantail (Rhipidura fuliginosa) and riroriro/grey warbler (Gerygone igata). Native bird diversity was found to differ significantly between reserve size categories, with smaller reserves showing less diversity. Strong evidence was found of greater native bird diversity at sites with higher vegetation quality and greater vegetated area of adjacent landcover, indicating that the negative impact of smaller area could be offset by these factors. Reserve shape was not found to affect native bird communities, with small narrow reserves showing greatest native bird abundance and large narrow reserves showing the greatest native bird diversity. Successful breeding of the three study species was observed in reserves of all shape and size categories.