DOC's work with gecko

DOC has eradicated mammalian pests from several offshore islands. This has not only greatly helped local gecko populations, but has also allowed geckos from elsewhere to be safely translocated to islands, establishing new populations.

An example is the successful translocation of Pacific geckos (H. pacificus) to Lady Alice Island in the Hen and Chickens group following the eradication of the Pacific rat (kiore).

Some species can survive on islands in tiny numbers in safe refuges such as steep cliffs, and take many years after pest eradication to increase in numbers and spread out enough to become detectable.

For example, common geckos (H. maculatus) were found on Tiritiri Matangi Island for the first time in 2004, after kiore were eradicated in 1993.

DOC continues to work on gaining a better understanding of what species we have, where they are found and how healthy their populations are.

Current reseach projects

There are currently three large research projects being undertaken on New Zealand geckos:

Developing monitoring techniques for shrubland geckos

Shrublands provide habitat for up to 64 lizard species nationwide; arboreal geckos make up a large component of this diversity. To be able to carry out long-term research and monitoring of these lizard populations, and to evaluate the success of conservation management activities, we need to develop suitable data collection and management systems.

Harlequin geckos are being used as a model species. This species inhabits extreme climates in the southern parts of New Zealand and Stewart Island/Rakiura, and as a consequence has a ‘slow’ life history profile (pregnancy spans 3-4 years, and individuals are very long-lived). This means that it will have a heightened sensitivity to threats affecting adults, and can thus act as a national indicator for biodiversity decline.

Harlequin gecko (Hoplodactylus
rakiurae), Stewart Island/Rakiura

Lizard distribution across New Zealand

The current distribution of New Zealand lizards is not only influenced by factors such as biogeography and geology, but also by land clearance and mammalian predator invasions. These latter factors can be mitigated through management practices.

In this project, we will use our current knowledge to predict the extent of probable past distributions of the entire New Zealand lizard fauna and then compare these in detail with the currently known distributions of several species. This will allow us to identify those species that can respond to management and act as useful indicators of the effectiveness of management.

Gecko conservation management units

We cannot conserve species if we do not know that they exist, or if we cannot tell them apart from other, related species. More than half of the known species of New Zealand geckos have not been formally described.

This project will lead to the formal description and naming of these species, and the identification of features that will allow their reliable classification.

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