Invertebrate survey of coastal habitats and podocarp forest on Ulva Island,Rakiura National Park,New Zealand

Abstract

Inventory of the invertebrate fauna is important to establish taxonomic diversity, abundance and distribution, and hence the conservation of indigenous biodiversity. Invertebrate assemblages have been documented in some broadleaf‐podocarp forests and grassland habitats in New Zealand, but not in dense stands of coastal forest or in mature podocarp forest. This survey aimed to provide a taxonomic inventory of terrestrial invertebrates and their habitat associations on Ulva Island (Rakiura National Park, Stewart Island), an off‐shore sanctuary of significant conservation value in New Zealand. We systematically documented the invertebrate assemblages collected in ground litter and on tree trunks on the island. The invertebrate specimens identified represented 4 phyla, 6 classes, 25 orders and 62 species. The invertebrate fauna reported in this survey was distinct from those of lowland shrubland and broadleaved‐Nothofagus forests on the mainland, but shared species with that reported from another similar off‐shore island, Codfish Island (Whenua Hou).