Invasive species in New Zealand

A number of introduced species, some of which have become invasive species, have been added to New Zealand's native flora and fauna. Both deliberate and accidental introductions have been made from the time of the first human settlement, with several waves of Polynesian[1] people at some time before the year 1300,[2] followed by Europeans after 1769.[3]

Almost without exception,[4][5] the introduced species have been detrimental to the native flora and fauna, but some, such as farmed sheep and cows and the clover upon which they feed, now form a large part of the economy of New Zealand. Possibility of introduced herbivores (deer) to serve as ecological proxies for extinct moa has been questioned.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12]

Biosecurity New Zealand maintains registers and lists of species that are invasive, potentially invasive, or a threat to agriculture or biodiversity.[13] They also manage a small number of species under the National Interest Pest Responses (NIPR) programme. The rainbow lorikeet is the one animal that has been covered by the NIPR, and was eradicated in 2014. All the other species covered by the NIPR, past or present, are weeds.[14]

Clematis vitalba (old man's beard) smothering a cabbage tree (Cordyline australis) in the Port Hills of Christchurch

Animal species

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Many invasive animal species are listed in schedules 5 and 6 of the Wildlife Act 1953. Those in Schedule 5 have no protection and may be killed. Those in Schedule 6 are declared to be noxious animals and subject to the Wild Animal Control Act 1977. In 2016 the New Zealand government introduced Predator Free 2050, a project to eliminate all non-native predators (such as rats, possums and stoats) by 2050.[15]

Some of the invasive animal species are as follows.

Plant and other non-animal species

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The National Pest Plant Accord, with a listing of about 120 genus, species, hybrids and subspecies, was developed to limit the spread of plant pests. Invasive plants are classified as such on a regional basis with some plants declared as national plant pests. Biosecurity New Zealand manages a small number of weeds under the National Interest Pest Responses programme. As of May 2024, NIPR covers nine weeds. Hornwort (Ceratophyllum demersum) was covered until it was eradicated in 2014.[14] Additionally, the Department of Conservation lists 328 vascular plant species as environmental weeds.[36]

Some of the better-known invasive plant species are:

Auckland has been declared to be the weediest city in the world.[40]

See also

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Animals in New Zealand

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Plants in New Zealand

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References

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  1. ^ Howe, K. R. (2003). The Quest for Origins. p. 179. ISBN 0-14-301857-4.
  2. ^ Rat remains help date New Zealand's colonisation. New Scientist. 4 June 2008. Retrieved 23 June 2008.
  3. ^ Abel Tasman did not land, so is unlikely to have introduced anything.
  4. ^ Hutching, Gerard. "Swamp harrier". Te Ara. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  5. ^ Seaton, R. "Swamp harrier". New Zealand Birds Online. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  6. ^ David M. Forsyth, Janet M. Wilmshurst, Robert B. Allen, David A. Coomes, 2010, Impacts of introduced deer and extinct moa on New Zealand ecosystems
  7. ^ Kate Guthrie, April 25, 2019, Moa vs Deer – are they so different?, Predator Free NZ Trust
  8. ^ Beth Daley, October 19, 2022, Despite the myth, deer are not an ecological substitute for moa and should be part of NZ’s predator-free plan, The Conversation
  9. ^ Hannah Rae, February 6, 2022, NZ Hunter - Deer Vs Moa, Everand
  10. ^ Farah Hancock, April 14, 2019, Deer are not like moa, Newsroom
  11. ^ Rebekah White, Too much browsing, New Zealand Geographic
  12. ^ Adrian Currie, April 3, 2017, Much Ado About Niches, Extinct
  13. ^ "Registers and lists for pests and diseases". Biosecurity New Zealand. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  14. ^ a b "National Interest Pest Responses programme". Biosecurity New Zealand. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  15. ^ Roy, Eleanor Ainge (25 July 2016). "No more rats: New Zealand to exterminate all introduced predators". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  16. ^ "Kiore » Pest Detective".
  17. ^ a b c Lowe S., Browne M., Boudjelas S. and de Poorter M. (2000, updated 2004). 100 of the World's Worst Invasive Alien Species: A selection from the Global Invasive Species Database Archived 16 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine. The Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG), a specialist group of the Species Survival Commission (SSC) of the World Conservation Union (IUCN), Auckland.
  18. ^ "Trichosurus vulpecula alien range". Global Invasive Species Database. Archived from the original on 27 October 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2009.
  19. ^ "Erinaceus europaeus alien range". Global Invasive Species Database. Archived from the original on 27 October 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2009.
  20. ^ "Oryctolagus cuniculus alien range". Global Invasive Species Database. Archived from the original on 27 October 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2009.
  21. ^ "Mustela furo alien range". Global Invasive Species Database. Archived from the original on 27 October 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2009.
  22. ^ "Mus musculus alien range". Global Invasive Species Database. Archived from the original on 27 October 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2009.
  23. ^ "Mustela erminea alien range". Global Invasive Species Database. Archived from the original on 27 October 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2009.
  24. ^ "Plague skinks". Wellington, NZ: Department of Conservation. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  25. ^ www.upane.it, Upane -. "GISD". www.iucngisd.org.
  26. ^ "Common redpoll". New Zealand Birds Online. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  27. ^ "GISD". www.iucngisd.org.
  28. ^ "GISD". www.iucngisd.org.
  29. ^ Mitchell, Charlie (26 January 2020). "The Liberator: How one man's 15,000 pest fish changed New Zealand's waterways". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  30. ^ "Gambusia (formerly known as mosquito fish)". Department of Conservation. Archived from the original on 1 February 2019.
  31. ^ "Rudd". Department of Conservation. Archived from the original on 1 December 2020.
  32. ^ "Management of invasive freshwater fish: striking the right balance!" (PDF). Department of Conservation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2018. Retrieved 13 September 2017. There will be sites where the Department will want to eradicate salmonids species because they pose a significant threat to the maintenance of a threatened species or ecosystem...
  33. ^ Robert L. Brown (May 2021). Feasibility of successful biological control of paper wasps, Polistes spp (PDF) (Report). Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  34. ^ Howse, Matthew W. F.; McGruddy, Rose A.; Felden, Antoine; Baty, James W.; Haywood, John; Lester, Philip J. (22 February 2022). "The native and exotic prey community of two invasive paper wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in New Zealand as determined by DNA barcoding". Biological Invasions. 24: 1797–1808. doi:10.1007/s10530-022-02739-0.
  35. ^ a b Jong, Eleanor de (19 January 2021). "Australian spider that crushes its prey among species taking hold in New Zealand". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  36. ^ a b Howell, Clayson (May 2008). Consolidated list of environmental weeds in New Zealand (PDF). DRDS292. Wellington: Department of Conservation. ISBN 978-0-478-14413-0. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
  37. ^ "New Zealand imports insects to fight plant invader". BBC News. 19 January 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  38. ^ "Castor oil plant". Auckland Council. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
  39. ^ "Weed Information Sheet". Weedbusters.
  40. ^ Landcare Research. "Attitude change prescribed for weedy Auckland" (Press release). Snoop. Auckland has the dubious honour of being the weediest city in the world, with 220 weeds (and climbing).

Further reading

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Publications
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