New and rare finds in Te Paki

NorthTec tutor’s research uncovers new and rare finds in Te Paki

NorthTec tutor Dr. Olivier Ball’s and Department of Conservation biodiversity manager Patrick Whaley’s three-year research project in Te Paki has led to the discovery of two new sub-populations of the nationally critical Mecodema “Te Paki” ground beetle. In addition new species of spiders and weta, and other known, but as yet unnamed, beetles have been uncovered in the Te Paki area. Experts from Te Papa and Auckland University have helped identify these.

The joint project was intended to identify whether the Mecodema “Te Paki” beetle was still in the area – since its discovery it had previously only been seen on nine occasions – and to find out exactly where it was within the large Te Paki area. Local iwi representatives Ngati Kuri Trust Board and Muriwhenua Incorporation gave their blessing for the research, and to include their own land in the study.

In order to do this the researchers amassed tens of thousands of trap-days, using pitfall traps. “Once we discovered that the beetle was quite easy to catch using this technique we switched from using a combination of live and kill trapping to using only live trapping,” said Dr Ball. “We thought that it might take years to find any at all so we were thrilled to locate populations of the beetle so quickly, whilst also largely avoiding unnecessary killing of the creatures. We even had some success using manual searching, that is by looking under logs.”

A small number of beetles were sent to the National Arthropod Collection run by Landcare Research as the species is still awaiting formal description. Most of the beetles, however, were able to be released immediately to the wild unharmed.

The researchers recorded environmental information in the areas where beetles were and weren’t found, such as soil acidity, temperature and the type of surrounding vegetation. “We were delighted to find the beetles in two new areas where they hadn’t previously been found. We are hoping in the future to establish whether the sub-populations of beetle that have been found are interconnected. We’re interested in finding out how far they can travel and how dense the populations are.”

Dr Ball is now hoping to obtain additional funding to continue the research. Meanwhile experts at Te Papa and Auckland University are looking at many of the other invertebrates caught during the project, including new or previously undescribed species.

NorthTec is the Tai Tokerau (Northland) region's largest provider of tertiary education, with campuses and learning centres in Whangarei, Kerikeri, Rāwene, Dargaville, Kaikohe and Kaitaia. NorthTec also has over 60 community-based delivery points from Coatesville in rural Rodney to Ngataki in the Far North.

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