Recovery Plan for Whitaker's Skink and Robust Skink
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Assessment of Lizards for a Proposed Expansion of the Kiwi Point Quarry, Ngauranga Gorge, Wellington
ASSESSMENT OF LIZARDS FOR A PROPOSED EXPANSION OF THE KIWI POINT QUARRY, NGAURANGA GORGE, WELLINGTON Barking gecko (Naultinus punctatus), one of the lizard species potentially present within the proposed quarry footprint. Contract Report No. 4378b December 2017 Project Team: Carey Knox - Field work, report author Astrid van Meeuwen-Dijkgraaf - Field work Prepared for: Wellington City Council PO Box 2199 Wellington 6140 WELLINGTON OFFICE: 22 RAIHA STREET, ELSDON, P.O. BOX 50-539, PORIRUA Ph 04-237-7341; Fax 04-237-7496 HEAD OFFICE: 99 SALA STREET, P.O. BOX 7137, TE NGAE, ROTORUA Ph 07-343-9017; Fax 07-343-9018, email [email protected], www.wildlands.co.nz CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION 1 2. DESKTOP ASSESSMENT OF WELLINGTON LIZARD TAXA 1 3. SURVEY METHODS 2 3.1 Overview 2 3.2 Survey methods used 4 3.3 Information collected during the survey 6 4. SURVEY RESULTS 6 4.1 Likelihood of species presence 8 5. SURVEY LIMITATIONS 11 6. POTENTIAL ADVERSE EFFECTS 11 7. POSSIBLE MITIGATION FOR CLEARANCE OF LIZARD HABITAT 11 8. PERMIT REQUIREMENTS 12 9. CONCLUSIONS 13 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 13 REFERENCES 13 Reviewed and approved for release by: _______________________ W.B. Shaw Director/Principal Ecologist Wildland Consultants Ltd Wildland Consultants Ltd 2017 This report has been produced by Wildland Consultants Ltd for Wellington City Council. All copyright in this report is the property of Wildland Consultants Ltd and any unauthorised publication, reproduction, or adaptation of this report is a breach of that copyright. © 2017 Contract Report No. 4378b 1. INTRODUCTION Kiwi Point Quarry has been operating on Wellington City Council (WCC)-owned land in the Ngauranga Gorge since the 1920s. -
Alpine Skinks
AUSTRALIAN THREATENED SPECIES ALPINE SKINKS Alpine Water Skink Eulamprus kosciuskoi; Conservation Status (Victoria): Critically Endangered* Alpine She-oak Skink Cyclodomorphus praealtus ; Conservation Status (Victoria): Endangered* *Advisory List of Rare or Threatened Vertebrate Fauna, Department of Sustainability and Environment (2003) and listed under Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 What do they look like? Australia and its external territories occur nowhere else in the world. Generally, skinks (family Scincidae ) are small- • to medium-sized lizards. The reptile fauna of the alpine region of Victoria is dominated by skinks (in terms of Two threatened alpine skinks are the Alpine she- numbers), although one dragon lizard and oak skink — a relatively broad-headed, short- three venomous snakes also occur in this legged, smooth-scaled lizard and the Alpine area. • water skink – a robust skink, with a body length Two other Victorian alpine skinks, the of up to 80 millimetres. Alpine bog skink ( Pseudemoia cryodroma) and the Guthega skink ( Egernia guthega) are also threatened with extinction in Where do they live? Victoria. Although some alpine skink species also occur in • The Alpine skinks give birth to live young. other parts of Victoria, several are endemic to the • A large proportion of the known range of the Alps. Nearly half of the skinks are officially Alpine she-oak skink occurs within, or listed as threatened by the Victorian Department adjacent to, the Mt Hotham and Falls Creek of Sustainability and Environment. Some of Alpine Resorts. these reptiles are abundant and readily observed, whilst others are rare and/or secretive. The Alpine water skink is restricted to sphagnum bogs, streamsides and wet heath vegetation. -
Plant Section Introduction
Re-introduction Practitioners Directory - 1998 RE-INTRODUCTION PRACTITIONERS DIRECTORY 1998 Compiled and Edited by Pritpal S. Soorae and Philip J. Seddon Re-introduction Practitioners Directory - 1998 © National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development, 1998 Printing and Publication details Legal Deposit no. 2218/9 ISBN: 9960-614-08-5 Re-introduction Practitioners Directory - 1998 Copies of this directory are available from: The Secretary General National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development Post Box 61681, Riyadh 11575 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Phone: +966-1-441-8700 Fax: +966-1-441-0797 Bibliographic Citation: Soorae, P. S. and Seddon, P. J. (Eds). 1998. Re-introduction Practitioners Directory. Published jointly by the IUCN Species Survival Commission’s Re-introduction Specialist Group, Nairobi, Kenya, and the National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 97pp. Cover Photo: Arabian Oryx Oryx leucoryx (NWRC Photo Library) Re-introduction Practitioners Directory - 1998 CONTENTS FOREWORD Professor Abdulaziz Abuzinadai PREFACE INTRODUCTION Dr Mark Stanley Price USING THE DIRECTORY ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS PART A. ANIMALS I MOLLUSCS 1. GASTROPODS 1.1 Cittarium pica Top Shell 1.2 Placostylus ambagiosus Flax Snail 1.3 Placostylus ambagiosus Land Snail 1.4 Partula suturalis 1.5 Partula taeniata 1.6 Partula tahieana 1.7 Partula tohiveana 2. BIVALVES 2.1 Freshwater Mussels 2.2 Tridacna gigas Giant Clam II ARTHROPODS 3. ORTHOPTERA 3.1 Deinacrida sp. Weta 3.2 Deinacrida rugosa/parva Cook’s Strait Giant Weta Re-introduction Practitioners Directory - 1998 3.3 Gryllus campestris Field Cricket 4. LEPIDOPTERA 4.1 Carterocephalus palaemon Chequered Skipper 4.2 Lycaena dispar batavus Large Copper 4.3 Lycaena helle 4.4 Lycaeides melissa 4.5 Papilio aristodemus ponoceanus Schaus Swallowtail 5. -
Assessment of Microbranding As an Alternative Marking Technique for Long-Term Identification of New Zealand Lizards
AvailableHitchmough on-line et al.: at: Microbranding http://www.newzealandecology.org/nzje/ as an alternative marking technique for New Zealand Lizards 151 Assessment of microbranding as an alternative marking technique for long-term identification of New Zealand lizards Rod Hitchmough1*, Keri Neilson1,5, Kara Goddard2, Mike Goold2, Brett Gartrell3, Stu Cockburn1 and Nicholas Ling4 1Research & Development Group, Department of Conservation, PO Box 10 420, Wellington 6143, New Zealand 2Hamilton Zoo, Hamilton City Council, Private Bag 3010, Hamilton 3240, New Zealand 3New Zealand Wildlife Health Centre, Institute of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences, Massey University Manawatu, Private Bag 11 222, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand 4Department of Biological Sciences, University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton 3240, New Zealand 5Present address: Lake Management Officer, River & Catchment Services, Environment Waikato Regional Council, PO Box 4010, Hamilton East 2032, New Zealand * Author for correspondence (Email: [email protected]) Published on-line: 1 May 2012 Abstract: ‘Microbranding’, a system for individually identifying reptiles and amphibians based on a numbered code of spot brands applied to the body and limbs, was tested on New Zealand skinks and geckos. Common geckos (Woodworthia maculata) and copper skinks (Oligosoma aeneum) were used as test animals. Brands applied in autumn took 3 months or more to heal. There was no evidence of brand-related mortality or increased parasite loads in branded animals. However, after healing the brands faded very rapidly in the skinks to become totally unreadable in all surviving branded skinks after 2.5 years and not accurately readable in most geckos after 3 years. We therefore consider the technique unsuitable as a standard marking procedure for New Zealand lizards. -
Oligosoma Ornatum; Reptilia: Scincidae) Species Complex from Northern New Zealand
Zootaxa 3736 (1): 054–068 ISSN 1175-5326 (print edition) www.mapress.com/zootaxa/ Article ZOOTAXA Copyright © 2013 Magnolia Press ISSN 1175-5334 (online edition) http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3736.1.2 http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:B7D72CD9-BE5D-4603-8BC0-C9FA557C7BEE Taxonomic revision of the ornate skink (Oligosoma ornatum; Reptilia: Scincidae) species complex from northern New Zealand GEOFF B. PATTERSON1,5, ROD A. HITCHMOUGH2 & DAVID G. CHAPPLE3,4 1149 Mairangi Road, Wilton, Wellington, New Zealand 2Department of Conservation, Terrestrial Conservation Unit, PO Box 10-420, Wellington 6143, New Zealand 3School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton Victoria 3800, Australia 4Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, P.O. Box 600, Wellington 6140, New Zealand 5Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] Abstract Although the New Zealand skink fauna is known to be highly diverse, a substantial proportion of the recognised species remain undescribed. We completed a taxonomic revision of the ornate skink (Oligosoma ornatum (Gray, 1843)) as a pre- vious molecular study indicated that it represented a species complex. As part of this work we have resolved some nomen- clatural issues involving this species and a similar species, O. aeneum (Girard, 1857). A new skink species, Oligosoma roimata sp. nov., is described from the Poor Knights Islands, off the northeast coast of the North Island of New Zealand. This species is diagnosed by a range of morphological characters and genetic differentiation from O. ornatum. The con- servation status of the new taxon appears to be of concern as it is endemic to the Poor Knights Islands and has rarely been seen over the past two decades. -
Care Sheet: Robust and Mcgregor's Skinks
Care Sheet: Robust and McGregor’s skinks Robust skink (Oligosoma alani) McGregor’s skink (Oligosoma macgregori) Adult Size: up to 150mm SVL. Adult Size: up to 114mm SVL. Threat status: ‘At Risk – Recovering’. Threat status: ‘At Risk – Recovering’. Lifespan: over 32 years. (likely over 40). Lifespan: over 35 years. Habitat: coastal forest, flaxland, deep rock Habitat: coastal forest, flaxland, boulder beaches, piles, iceplant herbfield, seabird burrows, deep deep rock piles, iceplant herbfield, seabird burrows, leaf litter and under rocks / logs. deep leaf litter and under rocks / logs. Permit Level: Conservation species. Permit Level: Insurance population species. Enclosure: Minimum recommended enclosure size = 150x70x70cm (LxWxH). Ideal Group Size: 1:1 (M:F). Compatible Species: Duvaucel’s geckos (but authorisations usually prohibit housing with other species). Recommended Cage Furnishing: The enclosure should be decorated with live plants (though these are not entirely necessary), logs, low branches for climbing, and a thick layer of leaf litter for these skinks to forage and take refuge in. Robust and McGregor’s skinks are particularly susceptible to evaporative water loss through their skin, so it is crucial that they be provided adequate damp refuge sites in the form of buried containers filled with damp leaf litter and/or damp sphagnum moss. The provision of dry refuges is also equally important as despite these lizards’ requirement for damp habitats, they will usually take refuge in cool dry refuges. Issues with skin infections can be experienced if these species are kept in conditions that are too damp where they aren’t provided adequate dry refuge sites. Refuge sites that have proved popular in captivity include rock piles, sections of bamboo or polythene pipe (with one end blocked up) buried in leaf litter, rock piles, bark stacks, hollow ponga logs, and stacks of Onduline semi-buried in leaf litter. -
Recovery Plan for Whitaker's Skink and Robust Skink
RECOVERY PLAN FOR WHITAKER'S SKINK AND ROBUST SKINK Prepared by David Towns (Science and Research Division) for Threatened Species Unit, Wellington Department of Conservation P.O. Box 10-420 Wellington NEW ZEALAND May 1992 ISSN 1170-3806 ISBN 0-478-01382-5 Threatened Species Recovery Plan Series No. 3 FOREWORD This recovery plan is one of a series of Threatened Species Unit publications produced by the Department of Conservation. Recovery plans are statements of the department's intentions for the conservation of plants and animals for a defined period. In focusing on goals and objectives for research and management, and the tasks by which these will be achieved, recovery plans serve to guide the department in its allocation of resources. Following the preparation of a technical report which was refined by scientists and managers within the department a draft of this plan was forwarded to the N. Z. Conservation Authority and relevant Conservation Boards and other interest groups for comment. After further refinement this plan was formally approved by the Director- General of Conservation on 1 April 1992. The department acknowledges the need to take into account the views of the tangata whenua and the application of their values in the conservation of natural resources. As the expression of these values may vary between iwi, it is not possible to incorporate these variations within a general theme in all recovery plans. This recovery plan will be refined and implemented in such a way as to ensure that consultation with tangata whenua of the areas in which Whitaker's and robust skinks are present has been carried out. -
Mana Island Ecological Restoration Plan
9. Reptiles Designing a future reptile community on Mana Island required information on: what indigenous species are currently present what species are likely to have been present historically what nationally or regionally threatened species require habitats free of introduced mammals to ensure their continued survival, and whether there are other more appropriate sites for their introduction potential conflicts between proposed introductions and resident species and/ or other proposed introductions (including invertebrates and other reptiles), e.g., predation, competition, disease risk, hybridization. Mana island already has nationally important populations of two threatened lizard species (McGregor's skink and goldstripe gecko) and it is essential that future introductions and habitat management do not jeopardise their survival. The list of reptiles recorded from the entire Cook Strait Ecological District is not an appropriate model for guiding restoration of Mana Island's reptile fauna, as many lizard taxa do not occur on both sides of Cook Strait. Of 17 lizard species recorded from Cook Strait Ecological District, only eight (47%) occur on both sides of Cook Strait (Table 9.1). Most notably, Cook Strait is the southern limit of the skink genus Cyclodina, five species of which occur (or occurred) in the Wellington region. TABLE 9.1 REPTILE SPECIES RECORDED FROM COOK STRAIT ECOLOGICAL DISTRICT, WITH A SUMMARY OF PAST AND PRESENT DISTRIBUTION ON BOTH SIDES OF COOK STRAIT. NOTE THAT PACIFIC GECKOS OCCUR NEARBY IN THE WELLINGTON ECOLOGICAL DISTRICT, AND WERE PROBABLY PART OF THE ORIGINAL COOK STRAIT REPTILE FAUNA. OGLE (1989a) RECOMMENDED THAT THE TWO SIDES OF COOK STRAIT BE INCLUDED IN DIFFERENT ECOLOGICAL REGIONS OR DISTRICTS BASED ON DIFFERENCES IN FAUNA EITHER SIDE OF THE STRAIT. -
The Relationship of Herpetofaunal
Georgia Southern University Digital Commons@Georgia Southern Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies, Jack N. Averitt College of Spring 2009 The Relationship of Herpetofaunal Community Composition to an Elephant (Loxodonta Africana) Modified Savanna oodlandW of Northern Tanzania, and Bioassays with African Elephants Nabil A. Nasseri Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd Recommended Citation Nasseri, Nabil A., "The Relationship of Herpetofaunal Community Composition to an Elephant (Loxodonta Africana) Modified Savanna oodlandW of Northern Tanzania, and Bioassays with African Elephants" (2009). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 763. https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/763 This thesis (open access) is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies, Jack N. Averitt College of at Digital Commons@Georgia Southern. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@Georgia Southern. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE RELATIONSHIP OF HERPETOFAUNAL COMMUNITY COMPOSITION TO AN ELEPHANT ( LOXODONTA AFRICANA ) MODIFIED SAVANNA WOODLAND OF NORTHERN TANZANIA, AND BIOASSAYS WITH AFRICAN ELEPHANTS by NABIL A. NASSERI (Under the Direction of Bruce A. Schulte) ABSTRACT Herpetofauna diversity and richness were compared in areas that varied in the degree of elephant impact on the woody vegetation ( Acacia spp.). The study was conducted at Ndarakwai Ranch in northeastern Tanzania. Elephants moving between three National Parks in Kenya and Tanzania visit this property. From August 2007 to March 2008, we erected drift fences and pitfall traps to sample herpetofaunal community and examined species richness and diversity within the damaged areas and in an exclusion plot. -
A Biological Survey of the Murray Mallee South Australia
A BIOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE MURRAY MALLEE SOUTH AUSTRALIA Editors J. N. Foulkes J. S. Gillen Biological Survey and Research Section Heritage and Biodiversity Division Department for Environment and Heritage, South Australia 2000 The Biological Survey of the Murray Mallee, South Australia was carried out with the assistance of funds made available by the Commonwealth of Australia under the National Estate Grants Programs and the State Government of South Australia. The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of the Australian Heritage Commission or the State Government of South Australia. This report may be cited as: Foulkes, J. N. and Gillen, J. S. (Eds.) (2000). A Biological Survey of the Murray Mallee, South Australia (Biological Survey and Research, Department for Environment and Heritage and Geographic Analysis and Research Unit, Department for Transport, Urban Planning and the Arts). Copies of the report may be accessed in the library: Environment Australia Department for Human Services, Housing, GPO Box 636 or Environment and Planning Library CANBERRA ACT 2601 1st Floor, Roma Mitchell House 136 North Terrace, ADELAIDE SA 5000 EDITORS J. N. Foulkes and J. S. Gillen Biological Survey and Research Section, Heritage and Biodiversity Branch, Department for Environment and Heritage, GPO Box 1047 ADELAIDE SA 5001 AUTHORS D. M. Armstrong, J. N. Foulkes, Biological Survey and Research Section, Heritage and Biodiversity Branch, Department for Environment and Heritage, GPO Box 1047 ADELAIDE SA 5001. S. Carruthers, F. Smith, S. Kinnear, Geographic Analysis and Research Unit, Planning SA, Department for Transport, Urban Planning and the Arts, GPO Box 1815, ADELAIDE SA 5001. -
Best Practice Guide to Keeping New Zealand Lizards in Captivity
GUIDE TO KEEPING NEW ZEALAND LIZARDS IN CAPTIVITY Richard Gibson This Best Practice Guide has been written to help you understand how to best care for the native New Zealand lizards you hold in captivity and how you can meet your obligations under your Wildlife Act Authorisation. The Guide outlines broad principles some practical steps to help you meet the conditions of your Authorisation. The Guide provides general advice; it is not possible to deal with every situation that may arise. When using this Guide, discretion and judgement will be needed and it may be necessary to seek expert assistance. The Guide is regarded as a ‘living document’ which will be regularly reviewed and updated as necessary. Readers are encouraged to send in feedback so that the guidelines can be further improved through an ongoing process of communication and co-operation. To contribute, please contact [email protected]. All material in this publication, with the exception of photographs, is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence etc. If you wish to cite this guide please use the following format: Guide to keeping New Zealand lizards in captivity. Department of Conservation, Wellington - 2 - CONTENTS 1. Understanding the needs of an ectotherm 2. Housing native lizards – the vivarium 3. Handling and restraint 4. Nutrition and feeding 5. Breeding New Zealand lizards 6. Identification and record keeping 7. Transporting lizards 8. Lizard health and hygiene Glossary of terms Appendix 1: Products, materials and suppliers Appendix 2: Properties of different vivarium materials Appendix 3: Auckland Zoo native skink/gecko diet guideline Appendix 4: Quick guide for commonly kept species Further reading - 3 - 1. -
Skinks of the Wellington Region
Skinks of the Wellington region Common Skink Brown Skink Ornate Skink Copper Skink Spotted Skink Wellington Region – Skink Identification Card ID feature Common skink Brown skink Ornate skink Copper skink Spotted skink Oligosoma polychroma Oligosoma zelandicum Oligosoma ornatum Oligosoma aeneum Oligosoma lineoocellatum Maximum SVL (snout-to-vent length) 77mm 73mm 80mm 62mm 111mm “Vent” = anal opening Jaws rimmed with brown and white No Yes Yes Yes No pattern Lower margin of the eye has a No No Yes No No “teardrop” Back Brown. Brown. Brown. Brown. Brown or green. Has prominent stripes and Back is a lighter brown Has large pale blotches May be speckled. Often Has distinctive pale often highly speckled. than the sides. along top and sides of tail has a bright copper stripe spots edged in black. extending on to the back. at the edges especially (occasionally dark (some shoreline above the forelimbs. brown/almost black) populations black) Underside or stomach Grey to yellowish; usually Belly grey/straw coloured Yellowish often with red Belly creamy to yellow; Belly pink or red; may unspotted. or suffused with orange or tinges; may be spotted. unspotted. be spotted. red; sometimes spotted. Never orange or red. Throat paler than Throat grey with black Throat usually spotted. stomach; usually spotted. spots. Tail Re-grown tail may be Underside often flushed Especially the underside reddish above and below. with orange / red. may be flushed with red. Forelimbs with continuous stripe down Yes Yes No No No outer surface Soles of feet Grey to yellowish Dark brown to black Colour of iris Yellow Red Red Red Yellow References: Gill, BJ & Whitaker, AH 2001, New Zealand Frogs and Reptiles.