Abstract
Giant weta (Orthoptera: Anostostomatidae) are large flightless New Zealand insects vulnerable to predation from introduced mammals. Some species have been transferred to islands or mammal-free mainland sanctuaries to establish additional populations. Radiotelemetry was used to investigate behaviour, movements and survival of adult Cook Strait giant weta (Deinacrida rugosa) immediately after translocation into Karori Sanctuary, New Zealand, to describe their initial movements, and to assess the importance of this establishment phase in relation to the long-term viability of the population. The average distance moved between consecutive daytime refuges for translocated male D. rugosa within Karori Sanctuary was significantly further than for resident weta on Matiu-Somes Island. In contrast, translocated female weta moved significantly smaller distances between consecutive daytime refuges within Karori Sanctuary than those on Matiu-Somes Island. Translocated D. rugosa travelled significantly further between consecutive daytime refuges between 19 and 45 days after release than during the first 19 days and more than 45 days of radiotracking. Deinacrida rugosa survived well following translocation and there was only limited evidence of predation despite an increased abundance of indigenous avian and reptilian predators being present, and the presence of low numbers of mice. The establishment potential of this population was not adversely affected by movements and survival of the weta immediately after translocation. It still remains to be seen if a self-sustaining population of D. rugosa develops in Karori Sanctuary but the indications are that the species is present because progeny of the translocated weta are regularly seen within Karori Sanctuary. Radiotelemetry provided valuable insights into the behaviour of adult D. rugosa and it could be appropriate for monitoring other large bodied invertebrates.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Armstrong DP, Castro I, Alley JC, Feenstra B, Perrott JK (1999) Mortality and behaviour of hihi, an endangered New Zealand honeyeater, in the establishment phase following translocation. Biol Conserv 89:329–339
Cunningham DM, Moors PJ (1996) A guide to the identification and collection of New Zealand rodents. Department of Conservation, Wellington, p 23
Diekotter T, Csencsics D, Rothenbuhler C, Billeter R, Edwards PJ (2005) Movement and dispersal patterns in the bush cricket Pholidoptera griseoaptera: the role of developmental stage and sex. Ecol Entomol 30:419–427
Dodd CK, Siegel RA (1991) Relocation, repatriation, and translation of amphibians and reptiles: are they conservation strategies that work? Herpetologica 47:336–350
Field LH (2001) The biology of weta, king crickets and their allies. CABI Publishing, Wallingford
Gibbs GW (1998) Why are some weta (Orthoptera: Stenopelmatidae) vulnerable yet other are common? J Insect Conserv 2:161–166
Gibbs GW (1999) Four new species of giant weta, Deinacrida (Orthoptera: Anostostomatidae: Deinacridinae) from New Zealand. J R Soc N Z 29:307–324
Gibbs GW (2001) Habitats and biogeography of New Zealands Deinacridine and tusked weta species. In: Field LH (ed) The biology of weta, king crickets and their allies. CABI Publishing, Wallingford, pp 35–55
Gibbs GW (2009) The end of an 80-millon year experiment: a review of evidence describing the impact of introduced rodents on New Zealand’s ‘mammal-free’ invertebrate fauna. Biol Invasions 11:1587–1593
Gibbs GW, McIntyre ME (1997) Abundance and future options for wetapunga on Little Barrier Island. Science for Conservation 48. Department of Conservation, Wellington, p 24
Heidinger IMM, Poethke H, Bonte D, Hein S (2009) The effect of translocation on movement behaviour—a test of the assumptions of behavioural studies. Behav Process 82:12–17
Jamieson IG, Forbes MR, McKnight EB (2000) Mark-recapture study of mountain stone weta Hemideina maori (Orthoptera, Anostostomatrnidae) on rock tor ‘islands’. N Z J Ecol 24:209–214
Janowski-Bell ME, Horner NV (1999) Movement of the male brown Tarantula, Aphonopelma hentzi (Araneae, Theraphosidae) using radio telemetry. J Arachnol 27:503–512
Kelly CD, Bussière LF, Gwynne DT (2008) Sexual selection for male mobility in a giant insect with female-biased size dimorphism. Am Nat 172:417–423
Lorch PD, Sword GA, Gwynne DT, Anderson GL (2005) Radiotelemetry reveals differences in individual movement patterns between outbreak and non-outbreak Mormon cricket populations. Ecol Entomol 30:548–555
McCartney J, Armstrong DP, Gwynne DT, Kelly CD, Barker RJ (2006) Estimating abundance, age structure and sex ratio of a recently discovered New Zealand tusked weta Motuweta riparia (Orthoptera, Anostostomatidae), using mark-recapture analysis. N Z J Ecol 30:229–235
McIntyre M (1992) Dispersal and preliminary population estimates of the giant weta, Deinacrida rugosa, following the eradication of mice from Mana Island. Unpublished report, Department of Conservation, Wellington, p 9
McIntyre M (2001) The ecology of some large weta species in New Zealand. In: Field LH (ed) The biology of weta, king crickets and their allies. CABI Publishing, Wallingford, pp 231–242
Meads MJ, Moller H (1978) Introduction of giant wetas (Deinacrida rugosa) to Maud Island and observations of tree wetas, paryphantids and other invertebrates. Unpublished report, DSIR Ecology Division, Lower Hutt, p 29
Meads MJ, Notman P (1992) Resurvey for giant wetas (Deinacrida rugosa) released on Maud Island, Marlborough Sounds. DSIR Land Resources technical record 90, Lower Hutt, p 24
New TR (2000) Conservation biology: an introduction for Southern Australia. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Pratt RC, Morgan-Richards M, Trewick SA (2008) Diversification of New Zealand weta (Orthoptera: Ensifera: Anostostomatidae) and their relationships in Australasia. Philos Trans R Soc B 363:3427–3437
Ramsay GW (1955) The exoskeleton and musculature of the head, and the life-cycle of Deinacrida rugosa Buller, 1870. MSc thesis, Victoria University of Wellington
Richards GE (1994) Ecology and behaviour of the Mahoenui giant weta, Deinacrida nov. sp. MSc thesis, Massey University
Seddon PJ, Armstrong DP, Maloney RF (2007) Developing the science of reintroduction biology. Conserv Biol 21:303–312
Sherley G (1994) Translocations of the Mahoenui giant weta Deinacrida n. sp. and Placostylus land snails in New Zealand. In: Serena M (ed) Reintroduction biology of Australian and New Zealand fauna. Surrey Beatty & Sons, Chipping Norton, pp 57–64
Sherley G (1998) Translocating a threatened New Zealand giant Orthopteran, Deinacrida sp. (Stenopelmatidae): some lessons. J Insect Conserv 2:195–199
Trewick SA, Morgan-Richards M (2004) Phylogenetics of New Zealand’s tree, giant and tusked weta (Orthoptera: Anostostomatidae): evidence from mitochondrial DNA. J Orthoptera Res 13:185–196
Vinatier F, Chailleux A, Duyck P-F, Salmon F, Lescourret F, Tixier P (2010) Radiotelemetry unravels movements of a walking insect species in heterogeneous environments. Anim Behav 80:221–229
Watts CH, Thornburrow D (2009) Where have all the weta gone? 2009. Results after two decades of transferring a threatened New Zealand giant weta, Deinacrida mahoenui. J Insect Conserv 13:287–295
Watts CH, Thornburrow D (2011) Habitat use, behaviour and movement patterns of a threatened New Zealand giant weta, Deinacrida heteracantha (Anostostomatidae: Orthoptera). J Orthoptera Res 20:127–135
Watts C, Stringer I, Sherley G, Gibbs G, Green C (2008) History of weta (Orthoptera: Anostostomatidae) translocation in New Zealand: lessons learned, islands as sanctuaries and the future. J Insect Conserv 12:359–370
Watts CH, Stringer I, Thornburrow D, Sherley G, Empson R (2009) Morphometric change, distribution and habitat use of Cook Strait giant weta (Deinacrida rugosa: Orthoptera: Anisostomatidae) after translocation to Matiu-Somes Island. N Z Entomol 32:59–66
Watts CH, Stringer I, Thornburrow D, MacKenzie D (2011) Are footprint tracking tunnels suitable for monitoring giant weta (Orthoptera: Anostostomatidae)? Abundance, distribution and movement in relation to tracking rates. J Insect Conserv 15:433–443
Acknowledgments
This research was funded by the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology (under contract C09X0508), Karori Sanctuary Trust, Endeavour Trust and Weta Workshop. Thanks to Jo Greenman and Matt Sidaway for their help while on Matiu-Somes Island. Weta were caught on Matiu-Somes Island with the help of Greg Sherley, Ian Stringer, Matu Booth, Bernard Smith, Matt Ward, Neil Anderson, Andrew Morrison and Stuart Smith. We thank the numerous people who assisted with radiotracking weta, including Greg Sherley, Ian Stringer, and Lynn Adams (DOC); Anrik Drenth, Gil Roper, Dave Banks, Liz Hibbs, Peter Williams, Helen Griffiths, Jenny Whyte, Phoebe van der Pol, Phillippe Hogemann, Daniel Reger, Veronika Pedrini, Richard Gray, Malcolm Stayner (Karori Sanctuary volunteers); Matu Booth, Matt Ward, Bernard Smith, Neil Anderson, Matt Robertson, Ron Goudswaard, Ken Drayton, Russ Drewry, Andrew Grimes, Rob Cross (Karori Sanctuary staff) and Laura Keenan. We are grateful to Neil Fitzgerald and Craig Briggs (Landcare Research) for assistance with GPS mapping. In-kind support was provided by Alicia and Stephen Lange. George Gibbs, Ian Stringer, John Innes, and Anne Austin provided useful comments on the draft manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Appendix
Appendix
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Watts, C., Empson, R., Thornburrow, D. et al. Movements, behaviour and survival of adult Cook Strait giant weta (Deinacrida rugosa; Anostostomatidae: Orthoptera) immediately after translocation as revealed by radiotracking. J Insect Conserv 16, 763–776 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-012-9461-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-012-9461-8