Process and pattern in the biogeography of New Zealand – a global microcosm?

Aim  To describe New Zealand's historical terrestrial biogeography and place this history in a wider Southern Hemisphere context.
Location  New Zealand.
Methods  The analysis is based primarily on literature on the distributions and relationships of New Zealand's terrestrial flora and fauna.
Results  New Zealand is shown to have a biota that has broad relationships, primarily around the cool Southern Hemisphere, as well as with New Caledonia to the north. There are hints of ancient Gondwanan taxa, although the long-argued predominance of taxa derived by vicariant processes, driven by plate tectonics and the fragmentation of Gondwana, is no longer accepted as a principal explanation of the biota's origins and relationships.
Main conclusions  Most of the terrestrial New Zealand flora and fauna has clearly arrived in New Zealand much more recently than the postulated separation of New Zealand from Gondwana, dated at c. 80 Ma. There is a view that New Zealand may have disappeared completely beneath the sea in the early Cenozoic, and acceptance of this would mean derivation of the entire biota by transoceanic dispersal. However, there are elements in the biota that seem to have broad distributions that date back to Gondwanan times, and also some that are thought unlikely to have been able to disperse to New Zealand across ocean gaps, especially freshwater organisms. Very strong connections to the biota of Australia, rather than to South America, are inconsistent with the timing of New Zealand's ancient and early separation from Gondwana and seem likely to have resulted from dispersal.     

A biogeographic review of Parahebe (Scrophulariaceae)

Distribution maps and notes are given for the 41 species of Parahebe sensu lata. The genus occurs in New Zealand, south-east Australia and New Guinea, with greatest diversity in New Zealand, especially in the Spenser Mountains region of South Island. A group of species with ciliate floral discs is found in north-east South Island, and also in eastern Papua New Guinea. This outer Australasian arc distribution is attributed to the group having originated before the break-up of Gondwana. Within New Zealand the P. catarraclae complex shows disjunction along the Alpine Fault, a plate boundary of the transform type. The disjunction is attributed to massive lateral displacement on the Fault during Tertiary time pulling apart plant populations. Parahebe sect. Paniculatae is newly described. The following new combinations are made: Parahebe brevistylis, P. macrantha, P. macrantha var. brachyphylla, P. raoulii, P. r. subsp. maccaskillii, P. r. subsp. pentasepala, P. lavaudiana, P. hulkeana, P. nivea, P. arenaria, P. velutina, P. blakelyi, P. arcuata, P. derwentiana subsp. maideniana, P. d. subsp. homalodonta, P. d. subsp. anisodonta and P. d. subsp. subglauca.     

Nothofagus (Fagaceae) and its invertebrate fauna—an overview and preliminary synthesis

The invertebrates directly associated with the southern hemisphere tree genus Nothofagus are described and discussed in terms of their organization into guilds and attributes of their hostplants. Using literature records, comparisons are made of the guild composition between host species and provenances; a full invertebrate-hostplant list is appended. Sap-sucking Homoptera are particularly diverse and usually host-species specific whereas defoliating insects seem less prevalent and less specific. Few seed-eating insects are reported. Some provenances and hostplants exhibit local radiations in certain taxa, such as Eriococcidae in New Zealand, Notophorina psyllids in South America and scolytid beetles on N. dombeyi. Environmental stresses such as drought, disturbance and landslips, can induce outbreaks of certain scale insects and borers, affecting the dynamics of the forest. Generally, however, the influence of invertebrates appears benign, but occasional large-scale defoliation is observed on N. solandri var. cliffortioides, N. moorei, N. antarctica and N. pumilio. Collectively this fauna has two elements: a geographically recurrent Gondwanic element, usually monophagous, and a provenance-specific element (often polyphagous) locally recruited following vicariance of the host genus. The fauna of Nothofagus can be in stark contrast to that of adjacent forest types. In Australia, the insect profile of Nothofagus has more in common with fagaceous trees on other continents than the more recent Eucalyptus forests which surround it. There is almost no evidence of fauna transfer from Nothofagus to Eucalyptus. Relative to New Zealand, the Australian Nothofagus fauna is depauperate and may reflect truncation in Pleistocene glaciations. Typically low insect populations on these trees may partly explain the limited range of insectivorous birds and spiders observed in Australia. Much more data on the phytophagous insects of this biome is needed for comparative purposes. The fauna of the montane tropical subgenus Brassospora pollen group is almost unknown but could hold the key to the origin of fagaceous insect communities more generally. The conservation value of remaining Nothofagus forests is enhanced by recognition of their co-adapted fauna, some of which are arranged in stable functional groups likely to give valuable insight into invertebrate-hostplant interactions originating in the Cretaceous. Elucidation of its role in the processes of these unique forests remains a fertile field for endeavour in the future.     

Local or global? Biogeography of some primitive Lepidoptera in New Zealand

Abstract

Distribution maps are presented for 30 species of small forest moths representing two genera of Micropterigidae and one genus of Mnesarchaeidae. Evolutionary patterns are interpreted by means of the panbiogeographic method in order to seek a relationship between dispersal patterns within New Zealand and the overseas links of the taxa in question. It is established that different evolutionary lines indeed exhibit different geographic dispersal patterns within New Zealand. Moreover, certain characteristics of these patterns can be attributed to the overseas affinities of the groups, i.e., groups of organisms with New Caledonian or Australian affinities have a western disjunct pattern, whereas those with circum-Pacific affinities have a different pattern in which the taxa occupying a basal position in the phylogeny are to be found in the eastern South Island. However, both groups have overlapping centres of diversity, particularly in NW Nelson.     

The asteralean affinity of the Mauritian Roussea (Rousseaceae)

Roussea , a monotypic genus endemic to Mauritius, has for a long time been associated with Brexia (Celastraceae). Recently, it has been shown that Roussea is placed correctly in the mainly Australasian Asterales, but the sister group to Roussea has not been unequivocally identified. Cladistic analysis of the chloroplast genes ndhF and rbcL identifies the sister group to.Roussea as Carpodetaceae. Recognizing this relationship, the monotypic Rousseaceae is merged with Carpodetaceae into Rousseaceae s.l. comprising two subfamilies. This group is characterized by many-locular ovaries and similarities in the appearance of the petals. Rousseaceae s.l. exhibit a disjunct distribution in Mauritius, East Australia, New Zealand and New Guinea