Conference 2003
Greening the City:
Bringing Biodiversity Back
into the Urban Environment
Abstract:
Habitat
and Distribution of Korimako / Bellbird in and around Christchurch
Heather North, Eric Spurr, Colin Meurk, Claire Newell, Kev Drew
& Steve Ferriss (Landcare Research, Lincoln)
Mature indigenous forest
generally provides good habitat for korimako populations in the
long term, but understanding korimako habitat use and population
sustainability in the fragmented, mixed vegetation of lowland Canterbury
is more complex.
Korimako are widespread
in Canterbury, indicating that the existing habitat cannot be altogether
unsuitable. They are found year-round in the indigenous forest
patches of Banks Peninsula and the Port Hills, and they visit urban
gardens and parks, some exotic plantations, and isolated flowering
gums on farms. So what constitutes "habitat" for this mobile and
generalist species? Is the current habitat quality good, or are
there actions that could be taken to improve habitat for more healthy
and sustainable korimako populations?
Our project seeks to
address these questions at a fundamental level, by collecting baseline
data on korimako movement and habitat use in Christchurch and the
Port Hills, and by developing spatially explicit models that describe
the observed habitat preferences.
We suggest that korimako
habitat requirements should be considered separately for the breeding
season and the non-breeding (winter) season, since the needs are
different in terms of plant species composition and structure, and
habitat patch size and connectivity. In a fragmented rural/urban
landscape, it may well be that no single site can meet year-round
needs, so birds must move around the landscape for different resources.
Compared to large-area natural forests, it is both more difficult
and more critical to gain detailed understanding of minimum habitat
requirements.
We present a map of korimako
habitat use for three study sites in the Port Hills during the breeding
season. We derive a quantitative description of breeding season
habitat, and apply this to a fourth study site to predict habitat
use by korimako there in the breeding season. These predictions
are compared to independently collected field data on korimako presence
in that study site. We also briefly outline data acquisition initiatives
aimed at determining habitat use during the non-breeding season.
These include colour-banding and reporting of korimako observations
by members of the public. The habitat characteristics that have
yet to be quantified are listed for further study.
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