For this exciting task you are to get your research thinking caps on and find out about some of New Zealand's wild life. Be they small creepy crawlies, insects or birds; how will we attract them and support them in our adopted school area.
Firstly, come up with a chosen fauna species; then find out as much as you can about it. We need to know how it will be attracted to our area, and how we can keep them in their natural environment, this means finding out about what fauna we may need to plant.
This is going to be great.
Room 18 - you are excellent scientists, so lets start studying!
9 comments:
Introduction:
NZ Fauna
Information:
NZ Fauna is the native animals.This is the birds, insects and mammals which lived in NZ before humans.The interesting thing is NZ had no natural predators so the numerous birds developed with no wings because they didn't need to escape from predators! This is when the kiwi evolved from and the now extinct Moa.
We have other interesting insects like the Wetas' like the;
Giant Weta:
(Wetapunga, which means the "God of ugly thins".
What is it?
It is a giant insect that almost changed from the ancestors of 190 million years ago.
What does it look like?
Where does it live?
On little Barrier Island in the Hauraki Gulf.
What does it eat?
It eats the green leaves of trees and shrubs
It's Characteristics:
Weta have large heads and small mouths with strong jaws. Their antennae are twice as long as their bodies.
they look fierce, and when threatened they will throw their hind legs up in the air.
They bite only when directly under threat.
The female lays 100-300 eggs.
Wetas mature at about eighteen months, but will live for only two years.
It sheds its hard outer layer, or exoskeleton.
Native New Zealand fauna
TUI- Tui are considered very intelligent, they could clearly imitate human speech-like parrots. They prefer broadleaf forests below 1500 meters, but will tolerate quite small remnant patches, regrowth, exotic plantations and well-vegetated suburb. Tui eat nectar, fruit, insects, pollen and seeds.
WETA- Weta are known as herbivores, but some eats insects. They live in grassland, shrub land, forests, and caves. In total, there are 70 species, 16 are endangered.
FANTAIL- Fantails have small bodies (11.5-21 cm long), but also have long and pretty tails. Grey Fantails can be found in New Zealand, Polynesia, Indonesia, Philippines, Southeast Asia, China, India and Himalayas. They live in Mangrove forests and primary rainforests. Fantails eat insects and invertebrates.
STICK INSECT- Stick insects are well camouflaged because they look like twigs or leaves and some even sway like real leaves. At night they are more active seeking out for their preferred leaves.
FLAX SNAIL- Flax Snails live in the broadleaf forests and surrounding scrub land in northern New Zealand. The young live in trees and feed on micro-organisms that grow on the leaves. When they mature, they move down to the ground. They do not feed on flax, but eat the fallen leaves of trees such as karaka, kohekohe and rangiora.
KAURI SNAIL- The Kauri Snails feed on worms, insects, and other snails. They live in Kauri forests but don't live in the trees. They can live up to 20 years.
Reference: http://www.doc.govt.nz/conservation/native-animals/, www.wikipedia.com, www.google.co.nz, http://www.teara.govt.nz/TheBush/InsectsAndOtherInvertebrates/
BY: DAPHNEY ^_^
Attracting native animals.
information:
Native animals need a number of conditions if they are to live in forest fragments successfully. All forest birds need year-round food supplies and very few predators so that nesting is safe. Invertebrates thrive in fragments with plenty of moist soil, rotting logs, shade and thick leaf litter on the ground. Fish living in the streams running through forest fragments need good water quality and few aquatic weeds. There are many ways you can help create these conditions to attract native animals to your forest fragment.
Bringing back the birds:
.Fence fragments to help a diverse understorey to develop, and canopy trees to regenerate.
.Plant trees like miro, puriri, karamu, kohuhu, korokio, lemonwood, five-finger, putaputaweta and kohekohe for a winter supply of fruit and/or nectar. Some species have separate male and female (fruit bearing) plants, so plant many saplings of each species to guarantee fruit.
.Even individual trees of a fruiting or nectar-producing species planted in a garden setting can in time provide a valuable food source, which birds may return to year after year.
.Stoats, cats, rats and possums eat young birds and eggs. Regularly control these pests, especially just before nesting (around September).
.Leave dead standing trees for birds like kingfishers to nest in.
Fantail facts:
.There are about 10 sub-species of fantail, three of which live in New Zealand: the North Island fantail, the South Island fantail and the Chatham Islands fantail.
.Fantails use their broad tails to change direction quickly while hunting for insects. They sometimes hop around upside-down amongst tree ferns and foliage to pick insects from the underside of leaves. Their main prey are moths, flies, spiders, wasps, and beetles, although they sometimes also eat fruit. They seldom feed on the ground.
.The fantail lifespan is relatively short in New Zealand (the oldest bird recorded here was 3 years old, although in Australia they have been recorded up to 10 years). Fantails stay in pairs all year but high mortality means that they seldom survive more than one season.
.The success of the species is largely due to the fantail’s prolific and early breeding. Juvenile males can start breeding between 2–9 months old, and females can lay as many as 5 clutches in one season, with between 2–5 eggs per clutch.
.Fantail populations fluctuate greatly from year to year, especially when winters are prolonged or severe storms hit in spring. However, since they are prolific breeders, they are able to spring back quickly after such events.
.Both adults incubate eggs for about 14 days and the chicks fledge at about 13 days. Both adults will feed the young, but as soon as the female starts building the next nest the male takes over the role of feeding the previous brood. Young are fed about every 10 minutes – about 100 times per day!
.In Māori mythology the fantail was responsible for the presence of death in the world. Maui, thinking he could eradicate death by successfully passing through the goddess of death, Hine-nui-te-po, tried to enter the goddess’s sleeping body through the pathway of birth. The fantail, warned by Maui to be quiet, began laughing and woke Hine-nuite- po, who was so angry that she promptly killed Maui.
Wow! What amazing information so far Room 18.
You are becoming experts on our native fauna and flora. I am sure you will be well prepared to create a well informed proposal for our currently barren rock garden.
Just a little advice to Duck and Rock n Roll - use your name at the end of your post, so we can be sure of who posted which comment.
Also, use references . Say where you got your information from - it is actually an offence (crime) to use other peoples work and claim it as your own. So check Daphney's work, you will see how she has referenced.
Keep it up!!
FANTAIL:
What is it?
The fantail is a native bird from New Zealand, it has been around even before the Maori times that’s over 200 years ago!!
What does a Fantail look like?
Most fantails are brown on the top and pale on the bottom, they are usually only around 14 - 21.5 centimetres, about the size of a sparrow.
What are the characteristics of a Fantail?
The Fantail’s most famous characteristic is its tail that is shaped like a fan. Another characteristic is that its beak is flat and shaped like a traingle which helps it to catch insects.
Where does it live?
Fantails usually live in the forests and bushlands of New Zealand making it’s nests out of fibre, moss and bark.
What fauna does this creature live/feed on?
It eats insects and other small invertebrates such as worms, slugs, snails etc. The bigger fantails can handle larger prey such as moths.
How will we attract this fauna species to our rock garden?
Fantails LOVE the water and rain so we could try to put some thing like a little stream or pond in the rock garden. Fantails aren’t attracted to any certain type of tree so it just makes it’s nest on any tree.
By Zach
Ref: www.britannica.com
Ref: www.teara.govt.nz/TheBush/
NativeBirdsAndBats/SmallForestBirds
I really like ducks information but maybe you should do more reserch on what it looks like.
NZ NATIVE FAUNA
Native fauna, are animals aldready existing before man.
These are some examples of native fauna, found in New Zealand:
1.STICK INSECTS:
Stick insects, eat a range of plants, including the kanuka and manuka, rata, and pohutukawa.
Stick insects are easily camouflageable, so they spend the day time, out of sight, by swaying like trees and eating.
The stick insect has also known to be the longest insect in the world.Their length is 21.6 inches.
2.NEW ZEALAND FALCON
The New Zealand Falcon, is a native bird, which mainly eats birds and small mammals.
Their aproximate height is about 41-48cm. Their natural habitat is usually in forests and in grassy areas. They are found throughout the main Islands.
3.THE WETA
New Zealand has over a hundred type of species of weta's in 2 families:the Anostostomatidae and the Rhaphidophoridae.
Anostostomatids are large-bodied weta's with heavy legs. There are four groups:
tree weta
giant weta
ground weta
tusked weta
Rhaphiophorids are more active and they also have much smaller bodies.
REFERENCES:
*http://www.teara.govt.nz/TheBush/InsectsAndOtherInvertebrates/Weta/1/en
*http://www.teara.govt.nz/TheBush/InsectsAndOtherInvertebrates/StickInsects/1/en
*http://labarker.com/NZbirds.html
By: Alicia
The Green gecko is found in the upper third of North Island of New Zealand, some Hauraki Gulf islands.
The habitat of this gecko is in the forest scrub, especially Kanuka and Manuka. It also likes flowers which it pollinates and a leaved ground that it can camouflage in.
The green gecko eats live flies, nectar water and fruit puree. And also other insects including; crickets, spiders, cockroaches, beetles, moths. They even eat insects bigger than themselves.
When a green gecko gives birth usually two young are born.
Usually a bright apple-green, this gecko may also be a bright yellow. It may be unmarked or have stripes, blotches or spots of yellow, pink or white. Inside the mouth is bright blue. It has excellent camouflage.
Predators of this small lizard include birds of prey, kingfishers and many introduced animals such as magpies, cats, rats, ferrets, mice and hedgehogs.
Most geckos will lose their tails if threatened. The tail is important for balance, grip and fat storage, so always take care not to hold any lizard by the tail. Once lost, although the lizard will recover, it is a serious loss of resource.
By Anneke
References:
http://www.hamiltonzoo.co.nz/page/pageid/2145835227/Green_Gecko
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_does_a_gecko_eat
Native Fauna and Flora
RURU:
What is the ruru?
a ruru is the Maori name for morepork.This will guard The Rock Garden from any mice,rats,ferrets,stoats and weasels.
They eat invertabrates e.g the Puriri moth and Wetas they also eat small rodents and birds and bats.
They like these types of trees:
pohutukawa trees or shrubs and beneath clumps of Astelia and other large epiphytes and other exotic plantations
Characteristics:
The ruru is more vocal than a daytime garden bird and breed in September.
By Oscar
I am doing my NZ fauna research on stick insects.I found out that there are more than 20 different species of stick insect in NZ. Most species are 8-10 cm long, but one species can, and does, grow up to 15 cm long!Making it NZ's largest insect.
I also found out the green stick insect's scientific name ,it is Clitarchus Hookeri.
The green stick insect also eats manuka and kanuka trees.
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