BSc Land Management student George Rockell safely returned
from his research adventure in New Zealand, where he went off in search of the
elusive long tailed bats inhabiting remote forest regions of Pureora Forest
Park near Taupo in the North Island. George was kind enough to give a detailed
diary account of his adventures, and here is what he had to say……
‘After a gruelling 24 hour flight via France and China I
arrived at Auckland International Airport optimistic and eager to embark on the
long-tail bat project. First stop was Taupo where I met Jess (Scrimgeour) who
briefed me on the Department of Conservations expectations and supplied me with
five bat monitors, a GPS device and a thermal imagery camera. An hour to the
west lies Pureora Forest Park where a cohort of DOC biodiversity scientists are
situated. Here I met lead biodiversity officer Tertia (Thurley) who provided me
with a further 10 bat monitors and other equipment which proved invaluable.
Here in Pureora I would spend the next month living with Canadian Phd student
Zenon (Cenze) in a cabin which bordered the forest’.
‘I was eager to explore the forest interior so on the
following day I entered into the unknown and started assessing stream habitats
within the sub-tropical rainforest. The cluttered, humid environment was at
first quite intimidating and claustrophobic, not to mention a navigational
nightmare! However, within a few days I became comfortable travelling through
the forest and my navigational skills progressively improved. After one week
surveying habitat characteristics, 32 sample sites were completed spanning
roughly 6 km of three streams’.
‘After a relaxing Christmas and New Year spent lounging
on the beach with family in the Coromandel, I returned to Pureora energised and
excited to start the bat surveys.
My days were once again spent trekking through the forest
in order to seek out the sample sites previously surveyed before Christmas. Bat
monitors were placed in the 32 sample sites over the remaining weeks of my
stay. The bat monitors remotely recorded bat calls and, in one sample site,
accounted for over 300 recorded bat calls over the three nights of
surveying’.
‘At sunset each night I used the thermal imagery camera
at two stream locations known to be bat ‘hotspots’. The camera was used to find
out how long-tail bats behaved along interior stream networks. The night bat
surveys were the most challenging and daunting part of the project. At night
the forest transforms into a entirely different environment. Noises intensify and,
as night fell, it felt like the forest really came to life. Walking with a head
torch unfortunately attracted a few ‘friends’ such as the Huhu beetle (photo in
album) which I can only compare to a flying cockroach! They would often
clumsily fly into your face after being attracted to the torch light. The
screeching of the Morpork (ruru) owl and the crackling sounds produced by the
weta beetle were heard on a regular basis. Sitting beside the stream was at
times unpleasant as it was rife with mosquitoes, but after seeing the first
long-tail bat flying along the stream and swooping down to take a drink from
the stream it was worth all the bites. It was remarkable to see how bats drink
and I was amazed at how they are able to fly at such fast speeds within
cluttered environments and can manage to drink on the wing with such grace and
finesse. Bats were not the only animals I could see through the camera. I also
saw numerous rats and possums who were oblivious of my presence. Rats and
possums are both invasive species which adversely impact on forest ecosystems.
DOC have been undergoing trapping projects over the past 4 years to try to
eradicate / control the pests but obviously to little avail’.
‘After two hours with the camera I would often head off
to meet with Tertia or Zen to help out with their own work where I was given
the opportunity to handle both long-tail and short-tail bats (photos in album).
I gained valuable experience handling bats and learnt the correct methods of
radio-tracking bats successfully, which I am sure will prove useful in future
ecological consultancy work’.
‘It only remains for me to thank everyone who made this
memorable trip possible: my supervisor Dr James Littlemore, Corinna Coleman and
the University of Northampton (for grant funds), Jess Scrimgeour, Tertia
Thurley and all Pureora DOC staff - and, of course, Zenon Cenze who provided
accommodation and much appreciated hospitality’.
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