naturally west with fiona drummond
Hochstetter’s Frog; our special Waitãkere Ranges native frog
In the late 1980s Peter Maddison such as rats and cats. The Department of MNZM, then a West Auckland-based Conservation has purchased considerable conservationist and entomologist heard amounts of suitable land to prevent further that a Waiatarua resident, Isobel Beale, degradation of some of their habitat and had come across around 70 Hochstetter’s attempts are being made to better monitor frogs run over on the road. Peter was their populations. determined that this carnage would The frog is generally dark brown, grows not be repeated and in a short space of up to 50mm long, has partially webbed time organised for Humes NZ to install a feet and has more warts than the other concrete pipe as a safe frog thoroughfare native frogs. for the frogs, just beyond Brabant Road on Auckland Council has been working Scenic Drive. It remains today. to manage three distinct populations New Zealand’s native frogs (pepeketua) of Hochstetter frog on the mainland, in belong to the genus Leiopelma, an ancient the Hunua Ranges, Dome Valley and the group of frogs that have changed very little This Hochstetter’s frog was found by Roman Thomas in Waitākere Ranges. Monitoring by EcoQuest in the last 70 million years. These frogs a small drain on the side of the Upper Nihotupu dam in late 2020 showed that the Hunua Ranges are found only in New Zealand, and three access road this spring. population was stable, likely due to intense species are now extinct leaving only four native species including the predator control across the Hunua Ranges to protect the kōkako. most widespread species L. hochstetteri, the more aquatic of the four, Conversely the Waitākere Ranges population is steadily declining with which has a Declining and Vulnerable status throughout the North an estimated current number of around 1,000. No juvenile or sub adult Island. In the Waitākeres we have the sub-species L. hochstetteri frogs were detected at either site in this survey. The lack of young frogs ‘Waitākere’, and there are at least 10 other populations in the northern is indicative of a potentially declining population. half of the North Island. Frogs are present in a number of streams in the Waitākere Ranges, Members of the Leiopelma genus have a number of primitive and with the largest numbers in the Upper Huia Dam catchment area. unique traits that separate them from most other species. Their ribs Although this used to be a stronghold it has been the colony with the are not fused to vertebrae, they don’t have external eardrums, and greatest decline in numbers in recent years. there is no tadpole stage – the eggs hatch directly into frogs. They also Auckland Council has partnered with Conservation Volunteers New don’t croak like most frogs. Zealand and Mondelez International (owner of Cadbury) to set up a Hochstetter’s frogs are nocturnal and shelter by day in wet crevices predator control programme across a 309-hectare area in the Upper or under stones or logs close to the water’s edge in shaded streams in Huia Dam Catchment, including a grid of traps and bait stations native forest, emerging at night to feed on insects. installed within the riparian margin on each side of the streams. This The main threat to the species is the destruction and modification of will include a total of 900 bait stations and 45 traps across the 300its habitat including deforestation, gold mining, storm water discharge ha area, which will target both rats and mustelids (stoats, weasels and severe weather events, feral goats and pigs causing erosion and ferrets). Mondelez is sponsoring the programme for a minimum and stream siltation, and their vulnerability to introduced predators of three years with $180,000 funding, drawing on their Freddo Frog Cadbury brand, with Freddo “Helping to Save the Frogs” both in weather by the moon Australia and New Zealand. The Mondelez funding will help the recovery of the Hochstetter’s Frog by increasing predator control at key sites, monitoring and Ken Ring’s predictions for December and January population studies, habitat restoration and education. The fine periods this summer are the second and last weeks in Tracey Parsons, Auckland Council Senior Conservation Advisor says December, and the second and fourth weeks in January. December the first pest control round was in late 2019, the second was scheduled will be wetter than January. A mainly average season, there are for August this year and then postponed due to the Covid-19 lockdown. no heat waves, with the fine spells lasting no longer than about a She is hopeful that work will recommence soon. week. The hottest day is expected to be around January 22 (28°C). It is heartening to think there may be an increasing population of The wettest week this summer is the first week of December. Hochstetter’s frogs utilising the Scenic Drive tunnel constructed for There is heavy rain again at the end of the third week, and, them 30 years ago. after a changeable Christmas Day, the last week may be dry. The 11th/12th of December and 22nd/23rd of January should be the best weekends for outdoor activities. Most rain in January will be in the last two days. For fishermen, the highest tides in December and January are for Waitākere in the first week. December’s best fishing bite-times are noon on Councillor Councillor for Waitākere 1st-4th and 17th-20th, dusk on 9th-12th, and 25th-27th; and for Please feel free to January, noon on 2nd-4th and 16th-19th, and dusk on 9th-11th Please feel free to contact me with contact me with and 25th-27th. issues or ideas issues or ideas For gardeners, December planting is best on the 5th and pruning on the 20th. There is no day in January when planting is best, but 021 629 533 pruning is good on the 31st. For preserving and longer shelf-life, 021 629 533 linda.cooper@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz pick on the neap tide days of December 12th and 28th, and January linda.cooper@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz 13th and 27th.
Linda Cooper Linda Cooper
Always allow 24 hour error for all forecasting. For future weather for any date, visit www.predictweather.com. © Ken Ring 2021.
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The Fringe DECEMBER 2021 / JANUARY 2022
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