Public participation theory assumes that empowering communities leads to enduring support for new initiatives. The New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy, approved in 2000, embraces this assumption and includes goals for community involvement in resolving threats to native flora and fauna. Over the last 20 years, community-based ecological restoration groups have proliferated, with between 600 and 4000 identified. Many of these groups control invasive mammals, and often include protection of native species and species reintroductions as goals. Such activities involve the groups in "wicked" problems with uncertain biological and social outcomes, plus technical challenges for implementing and measuring results. The solution might be to develop a citizen science approach, although this requires institutional support. We conducted a web-based audit of 50 community groups participating in ecological restoration projects in northern New Zealand. We found great variation in the quality of information provided by the groups, with none identifying strategic milestones and progress towards them. We concluded that, at best, many group members are accidental scientists rather than citizen scientists. Furthermore, the way community efforts are reflected in biodiversity responses is often unclear. The situation may be improved with a new approach to data gathering, training, and analyses.
Abstract:The house crow (Corvus splendens), a native of the Indian subcontinent, has shown a rapid expansion of habitat range across Eastern Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Europe and Asia. It is an adaptable, gregarious commensal bird which is regarded globally as an important pest species due to its impacts on livestock, agricultural and horticultural crops and indigenous fauna and as a fecal contaminator of human environments and water resources. Two Maxent (v3.3.3k) models (A) with presence data in Australia and (B) with simulated entry data locations in New Zealand) and a third ArcGIS model (C) with environmental and social layers) are used to determine an overall suitability index and establish a niche-based model of the potential spatial distribution for C. splendens within New Zealand. The results show that New Zealand, particularly the northern regions of North Island, has suitable environments for the establishment of the house crow. In order of suitability Model B showed highest potential land area suitability (31.84%) followed by Model A (13.79%) and Model C (10.89%). The potential for further expansion of this bird's invasive range is high and, if New Zealand is invaded, impacts are likely to be significant.
Ecological restoration is an integral part of conservation efforts worldwide. Projects are actioned at all stakeholder levels, with many projects claiming success. However, debate over what constitutes "success" in the context of ecological restoration is long-running. Local communities commonly collaborate with government agencies in restoration projects, with many taking on responsibilities for project management. This study surveyed restoration practitioners in New Zealand at both community and agency levels to explore perceptions of what constitutes restoration "success," and how this is measured. We found all stakeholders perceived their projects to be successful, although different perceptions of determinants and measures of success were evident. Agencies with ecological management responsibilities claim to follow systems-level attributes of success although monitoring is often limited to standards that are the easiest to measure. Community-based practitioners identify with gains in ecosystem structure, but their measurements of success tend to be of species-focused standards, possibly because of the ease by which such outcomes can be measured and, especially for New Zealand, focused by widespread publicity about threatened species and the impact of invasive species. Also, for long-running projects, perceptions of success may shift as ecological milestones are achieved. Although all restoration stakeholders aspire to universal outcomes of improved ecological status, for many community-based participants, social motivation, and rewards may be as important as their environmental stewardship intentions. We highlight the need to recognize the scientific and social duality of modern ecological restoration, particularly as community engagement is an explicit aspiration of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030
SummarySmall urban forest reserves in New Zealand have been shown to have value in conserving indigenous beetle diversity. However there is little information available on the ability of non-native vegetation areas such as tree privet to support indigenous beetle assemblages. To investigate this for one site, ground-living beetles were collected using pitfall traps over a year at a small urban forest of the invasive tree Ligustrum lucidum (tree privet) in Auckland, New Zealand. A total of 815 beetles were found, from 20 families and 42 relative taxonomic units. Using monthly data, there was no correlation between soil moisture and diversity index (P = 0.805) or species richness (P = 0.375). These results raise the question of whether urban patches of non-native tree privet may have potential as reservoirs of beetle diversity, if only until they are replaced with native vegetation.
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