199.103 Animals and the Environment - Lecture 31: NZ Biodiversity Today

This flashcard set covers the key definitions, taxonomic groups, and conservation legislation related to New Zealand's unique biodiversity as discussed in Lecture 31.

Biodiversity

The 'variety of life', first introduced as a resource management concept at the Rio Earth Summit in $1992$.

Convention on Biological Diversity $1992$

Defined biodiversity as 'the variability among living organisms from all sources, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species, and ecosystems'.

Te Taiao

In a Māori worldview, it represents the Earth, Universe, and everything within it, existing in a kinship-based relationship with humans.

Endemic

Term for plants and animals that exist only in one specific geographic region.

Native

A species that is found in a certain ecosystem due to natural processes, such as natural distribution and evolution.

Introduced (Exotic species)

A species that is not native to a location and has instead been accidentally or deliberately transported there by human activity.

Vagrant

A species that arrives in a location naturally but has not established a permanent population, such as yellow-bellied sea snakes washed up by storm surges.

Order Rhyncocephalia

An endemic order of lepidosaurs with only one surviving species, the Tuatara ($Sphenodon\,punctatus$).

Temperature-dependent sex determination (Tuatara)

The process where soil temperature determines the sex of offspring: cooler temperatures ($18\,^{\circ}C$) produce $100\%$ females, while warmer temperatures ($22\,^{\circ}C$) produce $100\%$ males.

Oligosoma

The single genus of skink native to New Zealand, containing at least $63$ species.

Apterygidae

An endemic family of birds consisting of the five species of kiwi.

Strigopidae

An endemic family of New Zealand parrots including the Kaka, Kea, and Kakapo.

Callaeidae

An endemic family of New Zealand wattlebirds, including the Saddleback, Kokako, and the extinct Huia.

Notiomystidae

The endemic New Zealand bird family represented by the Hihi (Stitchbird).

Acanthisittidae

An endemic family of New Zealand wrens, which includes the Rifleman, Rock wren, and the extinct Bush wren.

Long-tailed bat

An endemic dark brown bat weighing $10-12\,g$ that acts as an aerial insectivore foraging outside forests.

Lesser short-tailed bat

An endemic frosted grey-brown bat weighing $11-15\,g$ that is restricted to old-growth indigenous forest interiors.

Wildlife Act $1953$

Legislation that protects all terrestrial vertebrate animals except those specifically excluded; it also protects some designated invertebrates and marine fish.

Conservation Act $1987$

An act that protects plants and animals specifically when they are located on public conservation land.

Marine Mammals Protection Act $1978$

Legislation that provides protection for all marine mammals within New Zealand.

Native Plants Protection Act $1934$

Allows for protection of native plant species by a Warrant issued by the Governor-General, but does not infer general protection outside national parks and reserves.

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)

Designated marine regions where protection levels vary; as of $2024$, they cover approximately $30.4\%$ of New Zealand's territorial waters.

No-take marine reserves

A specific type of marine protection where all extractive activities like fishing are prohibited; currently includes just $0.6\%$ of New Zealand coastal waters.