Distribution and abundance of small mammals in relation to habitat in Pureora Forest Park.

Abstract

every three months from November 1982 to November 1987 in logged and unlogged native forest and in exotic plantations of various ages at Pureora Forest Park, central North Island. Mice (n=522 collected) were fewest in unlogged native forest, more abundant in road edge cutover forest, and most abundant in a young (5-10 year old) plantation. Traps catching most mice were set in dense ground cover under a low, sparse canopy. Ship rats (n=1793) were absent from the young plantation, present but not abundant in older exotic forest, and abundant in all native forest regardless of logging history. Traps set on warmer, steeper sites caught most ship rats, and those set in early successional habitats caught fewest. There was a marked reciprocal relationship between the distributions of ship rats and of mice: the proportion of mice in the total catch of rodents decreased significantly at the least disturbed forest sites (P< 0.001). Most (81%) Norway rats (n=43) were caught in a single trap in unlogged native forest on the bank of a stream. Stoats (n=57) were most abundant in the older exotic plantations; weasels (n=16) in the young plantation and along road edges in native forest; and ferrets (n=11) in unlogged native forest. Hedgehogs (n=290) were common in unlogged native forest far from any roads and also in older exotic forest. Our data suggest that selective logging and conversion to exotics have different effects on each of the six species we monitored. We hypothesise that (1)