Aotea / Great Barrier Natural Environment-Islands monthly update

Aotea / Great Barrier Natural
Environment-Islands monthly update
May 2021
Prepared for the Aotea / Great Barrier Local Board

Aotea / Great Barrier Local Board funded programmes
Ōkiwi Community Ecology Project
   • Rodent trapping continues to be undertaken by residents on private properties. Bree
       Biederman continues her fortnightly servicing of four trap lines. Communication with those
       who are trapping but not recording data continues.
   • Weekly meetings with the senior students involved with the crab trapping project to work
       on a presentation is well underway
   • Students have created a PowerPoint presentation to present to the community at the
       marine education hui on the 16 June 2021
   • Support for the Tū Mai Taonga project continues.

Aotea Great Barrier Conservation Advisor
   • The islands team would like to welcome Annamarie Clough who started work with us on
       Monday 31 May 2021. Annamarie is a welcome addition and her experience with community
       engagement will contribute to the work that the islands team are carrying out and
       developing.

Argentine/Darwin’s ant surveillance
   • Follow-up monitoring was undertaken at Whangaparapara wharf to check for the presence
       of Darwin’s ants. No detections were made. Darwin’s ants appear to have been eliminated
       from this site.

Aotea Great Barrier pest animal programmes
Feral cats
• 15 cats were caught this month from 696 trap nights (251 traps)

 35

 30

 25

 20

 15

 10

  5

  0

                                  2020/2021       2019/2020

Argentine and Darwin’s ant programme
    • Medlands Road: full monitoring of the site was undertaken. Argentine ants were detected
        near the garden area at the Medland Road site (one pottle) where they were found and
        treated last season, as well as on the driveway entering the site on the adjacent property
        (one pottle). Both detections were treated with toxic paste and baited pottles. Five
        warranted staff carried out monitoring and treatment work for Argentine ants on 2-3 May
        2021 under a notice on a property associated with this site.
    • Sugarloaf: Completed a full monitor of the site. Argentine ants were detected in the western
        aspect of the site (29 pottles) as well as one other location near the eastern property (four
        pottles). The denser population to the west was blanket/droid treated and the smaller
        infestation was treated separately with toxic paste/droids.
    • Sandhills: Full monitor completed with no detections made.
    • Mason Road: completed monitoring including old nursery site, no detections made.
    • Mohunga: carried out second treatment of Darwin's ant detections.
    • Puriri Bay: carried out second blanket treatment toxic paste and droids.
    • Oceanview Road: Began monitoring south side of the road. Ant samples taken for
        identification - potential Darwin's ants.
Nest steps
    • Complete Argentine ant monitoring at the Oceanview and Gray Road sites
    • Surveillance sites to complete at Ōkupu
    • Follow up treatments at the Sugarloaf and Medlands Road
    • Ant review recommendations to discuss with innovations team
    • Treatment for Darwin's ants Oceanview Road
Highlights
    • No Argentine ants detected at the Sandhills road and Masons Road site for the two rounds of
        monitoring carried out in the 2020/2021 season

Darwin’s ants Oceanview Road

Rat management
Layout of stations and track cutting continued on Motutaiko. Bait was ordered for June service of all
stations and to carry out the Double Tap trial on Motutaiko.

Rabbits
May and June rabbit control works has started. A combined pre-commencement meeting was held
with Auckland Council, Department of Conservation and the contractor to go through accidental
discovery protocol, shoot schedule and conditions of using Magtoxin fumigant on PCL land.

Aotea / Great Barrier pest plant programmes

Site-led weeds
Kaitoke dunes
    • Pampas removal
    • Agapanthas removal

Golf course wetland
    • Ladder fern removal
    • Agapanthus removal

Ladder fern removal

            Agapanthus removal

Low incidence pest plants

Weed surveillance
  • May’s weed surveillance put emphasis on auditing and checking progress on the removal of
      known infestations of progressive containment, eradication and one off finds of exotic plants
      that have weedy tendencies. Approximately 100 properties involved in this process which
      involved reviewing 273 records. During the surveillance 28 new records of significant species
      were captured plus another two low incident species were encountered that we had
      previously recorded but not put on the revisit list (Asparagus plumosus and Eomecon
      chionantha).
  • An invasive wetland/lake weed (Lagarosiphon) was also discovered at Ōkupu and a species of
      yet to be identified Myriophyllum.

Weed control
  • Ergeria: removed from Mulberry Grove pond and replaced with a native wetland species
      Potomogeten
  • Sagittaria: check on pond at Mason road, landowner requested the lining be removed.
      Sagittaria is still present, approximately 1x1 metre.
  • Moth plant: removal at Port Fitzroy
  • Madeira vine: Removal carried out at Cape Barrier Road, Whangaparapara lodge and landfill.
  • Pennywort: grid search Landfill without any finds
  • Chocolate vine: Infestation at tramline track entrance was controlled this month

Sagittaria- Mason road

Moth plant -Port Fitzroy

Madeira vine -Claris Landfill

                                                     Chocolate vine: Tramline track

Next month
   • Post-control rabbit spotlight counts
   • Marine education hui 16 June 2021