Flight of the Huia by Kerry-Jayne Wilson

Author:Kerry-Jayne Wilson [Kerry-Jayne Wilson]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978–1–927145–20–3
Publisher: Independent Publishers Group
Published: 2012-03-13T04:00:00+00:00

Biomass of birds and mammals in New Zealand forests

Bob Brockie113 calculated that the Orongorongo forest supported an average of 25 kilograms per hectare of possums, 0.6 kg/ha of birds and only 0.25 kg/ha of rodents and carnivores combined. Elsewhere in New Zealand the density of possums can be even higher, up to 76 kg/ha in some Westland forests. This is an unusually high biomass for a single species of herbivore. New Zealand plants evolved in the absence of herbivorous mammals, and most do not have defense chemicals characteristic of plants elsewhere. The biomass of possums could be the result of a susceptible flora being eaten out by a recent invader. As the forest composition alters in response to browsing mammals and browse-tolerant species replace the susceptible, possum biomass may decline. When possums and rats were the only introduced mammals present on Kapiti, the island had a bird biomass about four times that of Orongorongo. Since the eradication of rats and possums, bird biomass on Kapiti has become even higher.

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