The extant New Zealand herpetofauna is now considered to consist of at least 65 endemic species of terrestrial reptiles and amphibians, an increase of about 64% in the size of the known fauna since 1980. The list includes four species of Leiopelma*, two species of Sphenodon, seven Naultinus, 22 Hoplodactyius, eight Cyclodina, and 22 Leiolopisma, all endemic to New Zealand. Discoveries in the past decade include many cryptic species identified using allozyme data, but also some morphologically well-differentiated forms not previously known. At least 30 species (46%) are rare, threatened, or endangered, and 26 species (40%) are restricted largely or entirely to offshore islands. All but three species are protected. The New Zealand Department of Conservation has developed a comprehensive scheme for establishing management priority for indigenous species. At present, formal Recovery Plans exist in draft or approved form for at least 11 species, and more are in preparation.

Home ranges and aggressive behaviour, habitat preference and diet were studied in a guild of three congeneric skinks, Leiolopisma inconspicuum, L. maccanni and L. nigriplantare polychroma in tussock grassland in New Zealand. The three species displayed niche differences in microhabitat, prey size and prey taxa; there was extensive overlap along the prey niche axes, but significant differences in microhabitat utilization between species pairs. Interspecific aggression related to specific site defence was observed on numerous occasions. These results suggest that this lizard guild is structured mainly by species-specific microenvironmental preferences, controlled by interspecific competition for space.

No abstract

No abstract

The density of indigenous invertebrates was sampled on three islands in Fiordland which have similar soils, vegetation and climate, and presumably also originally had similar invertebrate faunas. Resolution Island (20,860 ha) now supports stoats and deer, and Breaksea Island (150 ha) has Norway rats; Gilbert Island No.6 (20 ha) is still completely free of mammals. Compared with Gilbert No.6, the densities of 13 groups of invertebrates were lower on Breaksea, and the densities of 2 groups were lower on Resolution. We interpret these differences to be the result of disturbance and predation by mammals introduced within the last 200 years.