Lincoln University Wildlife Management Report 34 INVERTEBRATE DIVERSITY AND ABUNDANCE IN TEN PORT HILLS RESERVES, CANTERBURY Mike Bowie Ecology & Entomology Group Soils, Plant and Ecological Science Division P.O. Box 84 Lincoln University Bowie@lincoln.ac.nz & Phil Sirvid Entomology Department Te Papa P.O. Box 467 Wellington Prepared for: Port Hills Ranger Service, Christchurch City Council June 2004 1 Introduction Systematic monitoring is essential for measuring progress towards reaching restoration goals and objectives (Noon 2003). Invertebrates represent the greatest diversity in the forest (Hutcheson et ai. 1999; Grove & Stork 2000) and are an integral part of any ecosystem; they are involved in pollination, seed dispersal and recycle nutrients (Wilson 1987; Gibbs 1990; Keesing & Wratten 1998) while providing food for a range of invertebrates and vertebrates (Wilson 1987; Williams 1993; Freeman 1997). Invertebrates' short generation time and high population densities make them sensitive to population changes (Williams 1993). Reay & Norton (1999) used spider and beetles collected in pitfall traps to assess the success of restoration plantings on the Port Hills. Unfortunately pitfall trapping does not specifically target arboreal invertebrate species and the method is lethal and counter-productive to restoration, so another sampling method is needed in this case. Tree cavities, such as cracks and holes, provide refugia for many species (Bennett et ai. 1994) including invertebrates (Ranius 2002). In New Zealand, cave weta (Raphidophoridae) and tree weta (Anostomatidae) are commonly found in tree cavities, often in large numbers (Field 2001). Weta have been suggested as an indicator of forest health because their large size makes them susceptible to predation by rodents and other mammalian pests (Cowan & Moeed 1987). Weta motels (Bowie et ai. 2003) were used to non-destructively sample cavity-dwelling species to provide a snapshot of forest diversity and health (Bowie et ai. in press). Another non-destructive sampling method uses wooden discs as facsimiles for natural fallen logs to sample large soil-dwelling insects (Bowie & Frampton 2004). This work reports on the invertebrate diversity of ten reserves on the Port Hills using two nondestructive sampling methods; weta 'motels' and wooden discs. Methods Motels Blocks of untreated pine wood 45 x 45 mm in cross-section and 150 mm long, were cut with a 60° 'roof' (see photo). A drill was used to cut a cavity (-30mm wide x 22mm deep x 70 mm long) and a 14mm diameter entrance hole. A glass microscope slide was used as a window and a wooden door slides open for viewing (see photo). A plastic 'roof' cut from 21 ice cream containers were nailed to the top to reduce rain damage to the wood. Plastic-coated twist-tie wire was used to attach the motels to trees (McCaw 2004). Twenty motels were attached to trees predominantly around the perimeter of the 20 x 20 m vegetation plot. Wooden discs Based on the specifications of Bowie & Frampton (2003), untreated pine discs (350-450 in diameter and 100-150 thick) were cut from a fallen tree by the Port Hills Ranger Service (CCC) and eight were placed on bare soil around the perimeter of the 20 x 20 m vegetation plots at each site. Sites Motels were used at ten sites in the Port Hills Ecological District (Wilson 1992) in Canterbury, New Zealand (43°37' S, 172°36' E). At each site a range of tree species were chosen (where possible) to attach 20 motels. Table 1 gives the location of the sites and sampling dates for each site. Invertebrate identifications Occupants were identified in motels to the best of our ability but in some cases specimens were collected into 70% ethanol for more thorough identification in the laboratory. Analysis The species diversity and the abundance were calculated using only ground beetles under the wooden discs and spiders found in motels. The 'invertebrate health ranking' of each reserve was calculated by summing the rankings of the species diversity and abundance for each site. 2 Table 1: Port Hills sites with sampling details Sites Location Motel attachment dates 31 October 2003 Motel sample dates 17 May 2004 Wooden disc sample dates 31 October 2003 Ahuriri Scenic Reserve E2479700 N5726750 E2479544 N5729907 E2479590 N5727256 13 November 2003 17 May 2004 13 November 2003 10 November 2003 17 May 2004 10 November 2003 26 November 2003 7 May 2004 26 November 2003 7 November 2003 7 May 2004 7 November 2003 13 November 2003 17 May 2004 13 November 2003 26 November 2003 27 May 2004 26 November 2003 26 November 2003 27 May 2004 26 November 2003 Sugarloaf 1 7 November 2003 7 May 2004 7 November 2003 Sugarloaf 2 7 November 2003 7 May 2004 7 November 2003 Cass Peak Cooper's Knob Kennedy's Bush 1 Kennedy's Bush 2 Orongomai Otahuna 1 Otahuna2 E2479647 N5730596 E2479674 N5730004 E2478885 N5728169 E2478410 N5728883 Beetle species collected from Kennedy's Bush, Port Hills. From left to right: Top row: (Carabids) Holcaspis intermittans, Holcaspis suteri, Mecodema oregiodes, Holcaspis elongella, Dicrochile atratus, Oopterus laevicollis. Bottom row: Pristoderus bakewelli, Curculionidae species 1, Curculionidae species 2, Staphylinidae species 1. 3 Photo of weta motel used to monitor arboreal invertebrates (mainly spiders) in ten Port Hills reserves 4 Results Occupancy Live occupancy in the motels varied from 70 to 110 percent. Otahuna 2 and Coopers Knob motels contained the least occupants, while the highest occupancy was found in Ahuriri, the two Kennedy's Bush and Otahuna 1 sites with 100% or mor~ (Kennedy's Bush 1 had two motels with two spiders, hence 110% occupancy) (Figure 1). At the ten sites spiders contributed between 64 and 100 percent of motel occupants, with a mean of 94 percent. Theridion xantholabio was the most cornmon spider found in motels in all sites contributing to 48.5 percent of all spiders found (Appendix 2). Porrhothele antipodiana was found in five sites. Only two tree weta (Hemideinafemorata) were found in the motels (Appendix 1). Cave weta were only found in three sites, Otahuna 2 and the two Sugarloaf sites. Figure 1: Percent live occupation of Port Hills weta motels 120.---------------------------------------------------. 100 s::: 0 80 +== as Q. :J U u 60 0 CI) .2:: ?fl 40 20 o AH CP CK KB 1 KB2 OR OT1 OT2 SL1 SL2 Sites Diversity A large number of species were found (Table 2). The species diversity using carabids (ground beetles) under wooden discs and spiders in motels, showed Ahuriri to be the most diverse followed by Kennedy's Bush 2. Otahuna 2, Cass Peak, Sugarloaf 2 and Orongomai were the sites poorest in invertebrate diversity (Figure 2). Abundance Ahuriri and the two Kennedy's Bush sites had the most carabids and spiders under the discs and in motels respectively (Figure 3). The Otahuna 2 site was the poorest in terms of abundance. 'Invertebrate health ranking' The invertebrate health ranking in order of best to worst was: Ahuriri > Kennedy's Bush 2 > Kennedy's Bush 1 > Otahuna 1 > Cooper's Knob> Sugarloaf 1> Cass Peak> Orongomai > Sugarloaf 2 > Otahuna 2. 5 Figure 2: Species diversity of spiders and ground beetles (carabids) at ten Port Hills reserves 14 _ Itt~~'il 12 t/J Spider species Carabid species 10 Q) '0 Q) c. t/J 8 0 Jo.. Q) .c E 6 Z 4 ::l 2 0 AH CP CK KB1 KB2 OR OT1 OT2 SL1 SL2 Site Figure 3: Total number of spiders and ground beetles collected at ten Port Hills reserves 35~-------------------------------------------' 30 25 Q) g 20 .5 15 ca "C s:: « 10 5 o AH CP CK KB1 KB2 OR OT1 OT2 SL1 SL2 Site 6 Table 2: Checklist of arthropod species found at all sites ORDER/Family Common name AMPHIPODA Taltricidae ANNELIDA CIDLOPODA Henicopidae? COLLEMBOLA DIPLOPODA Dalodesmidae MOLLUSCA Athoracophoridae Charopidae Litter hoppers OPILIONES TUBELLARIA Geoplanidae ARANEAE Agelenidae Harvestman Flatworms ?Makawe hurleyi (Duncan) Earthworms Centipedes Springtails Millipedes Icosidesmus sp. Molluscs Native slug Native snail ?' Newzealandia' sp. Neoramiajanus (Bryant) Neoramia setosa (Bryant) Zealaranea crassa? (Walckanaer) Nuisiana arboris (Marples) Taieria sp. Porrhothele antipodiana (Walckenaer) Cambridgea peelensis Blest & Vink Cambridgea quadromaculata Blest & Taylor Theridion xantholabio Urquhart Achaearanea veruculata (Urquhart) Uliodon sp. Theridiidae Coccinellidae Curculionidae Beetles Ground beetles Weevils Histeridae Tenebrionidae Scarabaeidae Staphylinidae Zophoridae DIPTERA HYMENOPTERA ?Pseudaneitea sp. Charopa pseudocoma Suter Flammulina zebra (Le Guillou) ?Nuncia sp. Spiders Araneidae Desidae Gnaphosidae Hexathelidae Stiphidiidae Zoropsidae COLEOPTERA Carabidae Species Grass grub Rove beetles LEPIDOPTERA Flies Wasps, ants and termites Ants Moths & butterflies ORTHOPTERA Anostostomatidae Raphidophoridae Weta, grasshoppers, etc Canterbury tree weta Cave weta Dicrochile atratus (Blanchard) Holcaspis angustula (Chaudoir) Holcaspis elongelia (White) Holcaspis intermittans (Chaudoir) Holcaspis suteri Broun* Mecodema oregoides (Broun)* Megadromus antarcticus (Chaudoir) Oopterus laevivollis Bates* Zabronothus striatulus Broun Ryzobius sp. Unidentified species 1 Unidentified species 2 Unidentified species Artystona wakefieldi Bates Zeadelium zealandicum (Bates) Unidentified (larvae) Unidentified species 1 Unidentified species 2 Pristoderus bakewelli (Pascoe) Unidentified species Unidentified species Unidentified species Hemideina Jemorata (Hutton) Isoplectron calcaratum Hutton * Banks Peninsula endemic 7 Discussion Spiders All species collected are New Zealand endemics, with the exception of Achaeranea veruculata, which while regarded as originating from New Zealand, has been introduced to the UK, Belgium and Australia. Two theridiid species, Theridion zantholabio and Achaearanea veruculata were found. Both are nationally common species. In this study, T. zantholabio was the most common spider, while A. veruculata was represented by only two specimens. Both Neoramiajanus and N. setosa were common in this study. Published records seem to indicate these species are restricted to the Canterbury region. Forster & Forster (1999) report that Neoramia builds a rather shapeless web extending from a retreat built in a hole, or under a rock or log. They may well be predisposed to make use of weta motels in a similar manner. Only one Zealaranea crassa? was found, but the identification is uncertain as it lacked the diagnostic epigynal scape. Assuming the identification is correct, this species is widespread nationally. Nuisiana arboris is recorded from a number of localities around New Zealand including Canterbury, it is debatable whether this species is monophyletic (it is currently listed as the sole representative of its genus) or is in fact a complex of species (Forster & Wilton 1973). One penultimate female Taieria sp. was found. The species Taieria kaituna Forster is known from the Banks Peninsula area (Johns, 1986; Ward et al. 1999). Additionally, one unidentifiable gnaphosid exuvium was found, which may also have been a Taieria sp. Seven specimens of Porrhothele antipodiana were found. This species is widespread throughout much of New Zealand, and will often make use of holes to construct the tunnel portion of its web and may exploit weta motels for this purpose. Two specimens of each Cambridgea quadromaculata and C. peelensis were found. Cambridgea quadromaculata is known only from Canterbury, but the latter has been recorded from the Nelson area. Carabids Ward et al. (1999) collected 14 carabid species at Hinewai Reserve and Johns (1986) collected at least 39 species of carabids from Banks Peninsula reserves using many collection techniques including hand collection and pitfall trapping. A more realistic comparison was completed by Bowie & Frampton (2004) using wooden discs. They found ten carabid species sampling five sites using eight discs at each location. Ahuriri was the most diverse of the five sites with four carabid species, including Selenochilus piceus, a species rarely found on Banks Peninsula in recent times (Bowie & Frampton 2004). Weta Other research (Bowie et al. unpublished) shows there is a delay with tree weta occupying pine motels and would expect the proportion of motels with tree weta to increase in the next sampling. The occupation by tree weta is also influenced by the supply and demand of suitable cracks, holes and crevices in mature trees that the motels are 'competing' against (Bowie et al. unpublished). Cave weta were only found at Sugarloaf 1 and 2 as well as Otahuna 2. These sites tend to be at the poorer end of the 'invertebrate health rating' and therefore could be an indicator species, as motels attached to kanuka trees in stock grazed sites at Orton Bradley Park containing little or no under story, had a large number of cave weta. Diversity and 'invertebrate health ranking' Results indicate that Ahuriri was the best site in terms of invertebrate diversity and total numbers. This remnant was considered by Kelly (1972) to be the best forest remaining on the Port Hills and therefore should translate into good invertebrate habitat. Butcher & Emberson (1981) using pitfall traps collected 14 carabid species, more than twice as many species as was found in this study. This is to be expected as 56 pitfall traps were used for a year and the continued vertebrate predation since 1981 may have caused local extinction of some of these carabid species. Repeating the pitfall trap methodology used by Butcher & Emberson (1981) is the only scientific way of determining if these species are as common as they were over 20 8 years ago. This survey showed Otahuna 2 to have the lowest diversity, which may be a result of habitat depletion caused by goats known to be present at this site. Quail Island had lowest live invertebrate occupation in motels (40-50%) compared to five 'healthier' Canterbury sites including Ahuriri and Orton Bradley Park (Bowie et al. in press). Otahuna 2 and Cooper's Knob had 70% invertebrate occupation, which places them in a higher ranked invertebrate health category than Quail Island. The effect of mammalian predators on invertebrates Possums and mustelids (e.g. stoats) are likely to eat large invertebrates like carabids, large spiders (e.g. Porrhothele antipodiana and Cambridgea sp.), native slugs, cave and tree weta. Although the control of these mammals will directly advantage the larger invertebrate species mentioned above, the reduction in mustelids will also mean an increase in rodents which also eat these invertebrates. Hedgehogs are a possibly the most significant predator of invertebrates, ground nesting birds and lizards and should be targeted with pest control. Restoration of invertebrates Many New Zealand endemic carabids are flightless and as such have poor dispersal power. This may result in small isolated native remnants of high botanical diversity remaining low in diversity even with complete predator control (rats, mice, hedgehogs, cats and mustelids) and may require active management (Lovei & Cartellieri 2000). This would mean translocation of carabids from larger remnants to isolated smaller ones or development of vegetation 'corridors' to allow dispersal and establishment of some species. Conclusions • The 'invertebrate health ranking' in order of best to worst was: Ahuriri > Kennedy's Bush 2 > Kennedy's Bush 1 > Otahuna 1 > Cooper's Knob> Sugarloaf 1 > Cass Peak > Orongomai > Sugarloaf 2 > Otahuna 2. • High occupancy rate was recorded for all motels except Cooper's Knob and Otahuna 2 • The addition of rat and mice control to existing predator control (possums, mustelids & hedgehogs), would boost invertebrate survival and abundance • Some translocation of flightless carabids from larger remnants to smaller remnants or development of vegetation 'corridors' may help dispersal of locally extinct species Recommendations • Continued monitoring of invertebrates using existing methodology • Monitoring of rodents using traps or rodent pest control • Planning towards creation of vegetation 'corridors' to link isolated remnants Acknowledgements Thanks to Dave Roscoe (Te Papa), Peter Johns (Canterbury Museum) and John Marris (Lincoln University) for identification of specimens. 9 References Bennett AF. 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Protected natural areas programme survey report no. 21 (for the Department of Conservation). 11 Appendix t: Species and numbers of spiders & large invertebrates collected in motels from ten Port Hills sites Species Spiders Neoramia janus Neoramia setosa Theridion xantholabio Cambridgeapeelensis Achaearanea veruculata Porrhothele antipodiana Cambridgea quadromaculata Nuisiana arboris Taieria sp. Zealaranea crassa? Unidentified spider sp. Immature spider Other invertebrates Isoplectron calcaratum Artystona wakefieldi Hemideina femorata Native slug AH CP CK 2 7 8 12 2 7 4 4 1 Port Hills reserve KBt KB2 OR OTt 2 14 6 4 8 12 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 3 1 1 OT2 SLt SL2 1 4 12 8 1 10 8 1 2 2 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 8 2 1 2 1 1 2 2 1 1 Key to reserves: AH =Ahuriri CP = Cass Peak CK = Cooper's Knob KB = Kennedy's Bush OR = Orongamai OT=Otahuna SL = Sugarloaf 12 Appendix 2: Species & number of invertebrates collected from wooden discs ten Port Hills sites Invertebrate species AH Carabidae Dicrochile atratus Holcaspis angustula Holcaspis elongella Holcaspis intermittans Holcaspis suteri Mecodema oregoides Megadromus antarcticus Oopterus laevicollis Zabronothus striatulus Carabid larvae Other beetles Curculionidae species 1 Curculionidae species 2 Scarabiidae Staphylinidae species 1 Staphylinidae species 2 Zeadelium zealandicum Pristoderus bakewelli Histeridae Unidentified Coleopteran Miscellaneous Native slug Flammulina zebra Charopa pseudocoma Chilopoda (centipede) Diplopoda (millipede) Amphipoda (Taltricidae) Native opiliones Tubellaria (flatworms) Annelida (earthworms) ant colony Dipteran larva Lepidopteran larva Spiders Uliodon Porrhothele antipodiana Misgolas sp. (Trapdoor) Unidentified spiders CP CK Port Hills reserve KBl KB2 OR OTl OT2 SLl SL2 3 3 3 2 1 1 1 3 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 4 1 1 1 3 2 4 1 3 1 3 1 2 1 1 6 1 1 2 1 3 1 6 1 8 3 2 1 3 1 6 2 6 12 2 1 2 1 4 3 4 8? 1 6 5 8 2 4 12 2 20 1 3 1 1 2 5 14 1 3 1 6 2 5 1 10 2 1 40 3 16 2 1 1 2 2 32 1 2 9 1 11 5 41 1 12 1 1 3 2 164 1 2 6 22 4 2 2 1 2 1 9 28 2 2 5 8 1 1 2 2 2 2 1 3 1 2 1 1 5 6 4 Key to reserves: AH Ahuriri CP = Cass Peak CK = Cooper's Knob KB Kennedy's Bush OR = Orongomai OT= Otahuna SL = Sugarloaf = = 13