How to use these standards
Start by reading this introduction to animal pest monitoring. It has decision trees and comparative tables to help you choose the best monitoring method for your project.
Choosing the best method for animal pest monitoring (PDF, 702K)
Methods
Deer – faecal pellet counts
Count deer faecal pellets to calculate an index of relative abundance of deer populations.
Deer and goats – motion activated cameras
Use motion-activated cameras to monitor deer and goat populations.
- Camera trap catch indices for deer and goats (PDF, 1,587K)
- Camera trap distance sampling for deer and goats (PDF, 441K)
Pigs – ground disturbance monitoring
Assess pig impacts by monitoring ground disturbance.
Possums – trap catch
Use traps to estimate the relative abundance of possum populations.
Rabbits – spotlights
Use spotlighting to estimate the relative abundance of rabbit populations.
Rodents – snap traps
Use snap traps to estimate the relative abundance of rodent populations.
Rodent and mustelid – tracking tunnels
Use tracking tunnels to estimate the relative abundance of rodents or mustelid populations.
- Tracking tunnels of small mammals (PDF, 608K)
- How to apply tracking tunnels in the field (PDF, 1,029K).
Bennett's wallaby – population estimates
A case study using distance sampling to estimate the population of Bennett’s wallaby.
Resources
- Tier 1 possum monitoring trials factsheet (PDF, 902K)
- How to cite publications in the toolbox.
- Project planning guides
- Online DOC training courses
More information
We welcome feedback and suggestions – contact biodiversitymonitoring@doc.govt.nz.