Kerry M Borkin

New Zealand Department of Conservation · Terrestrial Science Unit

Clear-fell harvest of forest concerns many wildlife biologists because of loss of vital resources such as roosts or nests, and effects on population viability. However, actual impact has not been quantified. Using New Zealand long-tailed bats (Chalinolobus tuberculatus) as a model species we investigated impacts of clear-fell logging on bats in pla...

We investigated effects of roost loss due to clear-fell harvest on bat home range. The study took place in plantation forest, inhabited by the New Zealand long-tailed bat (Chalinolobus tuberculatus), in which trees are harvested between the ages 26-32 years. We determined home ranges by radiotracking different bats in areas that had and had not bee...

Roading projects may have adverse effects on indigenous wildlife. In New Zealand the effects of roading on long-tailed bats (Chalinolobus tuberculatus) is an issue and projects have attempted to monitor and mitigate effects on bats populations. However, how to undertake monitoring and mitigation is unclear. The New Zealand Transport Agency commiss...

PDF available here: https://newzealandecology.org/nzje/3376 Roads and associated land transport activities can affect a wide range of indigenous terrestrial vertebrate species. National legislation, particularly the Resource Management Act 1991, requires that developers ‘avoid, remedy or mitigate’ the adverse environmental effects of their activit...

Despite a growing body of evidence worldwide that bats are affected by roads, there has been little research into the effects of traffic volume on bat activity. In New Zealand, there is considerable uncertainty over whether, or to what extent, roads affect New Zealand’s endemic bat populations, and this has resulted in uncertainty during the planni...

Despite efforts across Aotearoa New Zealand to recover threatened species populations, only 430 (10%) of the 4118 taxa currently categorised as Threatened or At Risk are managed in at least one site, and < 2% are fully managed, meaning current actions are comprehensive enough to ensure their long-term persistence. One reason for this is that implem...

Accurate surveys and monitoring are required to guide the conservation and management of threatened species. Some fauna species are cryptic or difficult to observe because they are nocturnal, mimic other species, conceal themselves, or can be incredibly hard to survey. Emergence and activity of these species may be related to complex environmental...

To retrieve (open access) use this link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03014223.2023.2245760 Artificial light at night (ALAN) is considered a growing threat to bat species due to its potential impacts on circadian cycles, increased predation risk, and avoidance behaviour. Urban expansion and associated increases in ALAN may impact t...

The conservation status of all six known taxa of bats in Aotearoa New Zealand was reassessed using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS). A list of these taxa is presented, along with a statistical summary and notes on their current status. This list replaces all previous NZTCS lists for bats. In total, three taxa were assessed as be...

Cats are known predators of bats, but there are few published accounts of predation attempts. In this paper we report on two recent examples of bats being attacked by cats (Felis catus) in New Zealand. We found a Central lesser short-tailed bat (Mystacina tuberculata rhyacobia) in the gastrointestinal tract of a feral cat that was trapped in indige...

A summary of the ecology of long-tailed bats in New Zealand up until c.2020; an update from the 2nd edition with new text

The presence of bat species is commonly determined by placing acoustic bat detectors that record bat echolocation calls in the habitat they are likely to use. Detection rates are affected by variables including type of detection unit used. We compared detection rates of long-tailed bat (Chalinolobus tuberculatus) echolocation calls between two type...

Despite a growing body of evidence worldwide that bats are affected by roads, there has been little research into the effects of traffic volume on bat activity. In New Zealand, there is considerable uncertainty over whether, or to what extent, roads affect New Zealand’s endemic bat populations, and this has resulted in uncertainty during the planni...

The conservation status of all known New Zealand bat taxa was reassessed using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS). A full list is presented, along with brief notes on the most important changes. This list replaces all previous NZTCS lists for bats. Of the seven taxa assessed, one taxon was classed as Nationally Critical (New Zeala...

Distance sampling and fixed-width strip-transect counts were compared as methods for estimating population trends of the tomtit (Petroica macrocephala) from late September / early October to early November 2004, before and after aerial 1080-poisoning for control of the brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula). Two observers independently recorded t...

Red wood ants are ecologically important members of woodland communities, and some species are of conservation concern. They occur commonly only in certain habitats in Britain, but there is limited knowledge of their numbers and distribution. This study provided baseline information at a key locality (Abernethy Forest, 37 km2) in the central Highla...

To maximize energetic savings, female bats often roost communally whilst pregnant or with non-volant dependents, whereas male bats more often roost alone; however, differences in selection of roosts by sex have not often been investigated. Better understanding of female colony locations could focus management to protect the majority of bats. New Ze...

Individuals’ home ranges are constrained by resource distribution and density, population size, and energetic requirements. Consequently, home ranges and habitat selection may vary between individuals of different sex and reproductive conditions. Whilst home ranges of bats are well-studied in native habitats, they are often not well understood in m...

Lesser short-tailed bats, Mystacina tuberculata rhyacobia, use Pinus radiata plantation forests within the central North Island of New Zealand for foraging, commuting, and roosting. These plantations are generally contiguous with a large native forested area from which this species is already known. Short-tailed bats have been detected using native...

Environmental certification schemes have stimulated increasing interest in biodiversity and its management within exotic plantation forests. These schemes expect management to be scientifically-based, even though little is known about how often, or which, native species use exotic plantation forests. Greater knowledge of the ecology of native speci...

Radio transmitters were successfully attached to 7 male bellbirds (Anthornis melanura) in Kennedy’s Bush and Cass Peak Reserve, Port Hills, Christchurch, during the breeding season. A hand-held radio receiver was used to re-locate them. In addition, we used a grid of 4 remote continuously-operating proximity sensors (radio receivers connected to da...

On 21 February 2007 we were in Kinleith Forest, an exotic plantation situated near Tokoroa in the South Waikato, New Zealand. We were radio-tracking long-tailed bats (Chalinolobus tuberculatus), as part of a wider investigation into long-tailed bat ecology and observed a long-tailed bat being chased by a morepork (ruru, Ninox novaeseelandiae owl).

Targeted monitoring of threatened species within plantations is becoming more important due to forest certification programmes’ requirement to consider protection of threatened species, and to increase knowledge of the distribution of species. To determine patterns of long-tailed bat (Chalinolobus tuberculatus) activity in different habitat structu...

We investigated whether the abundance of the South Is robin (Petroica australis australis) could be explained by the abundance, species richness, diversity, or evenness of leaf-litter invertebrates. We recorded robin abundance indices and collected leaf-litter invertebrates in 3 forest types: mature Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii); mature Monte...