Invasive species in New Zealand

A number of introduced species, some of which have become invasive species, have been added to New Zealand's native flora and fauna. Both deliberate and accidental introductions have been made from the time of the first human settlement, with several waves of Polynesian[1] people at some time before the year 1300,[2] followed by Europeans after 1769.[3]

Almost without exception,[4][5] the introduced species have been detrimental to the native flora and fauna, but some, such as farmed sheep and cows and the clover upon which they feed, now form a large part of the economy of New Zealand. Possibility of introduced herbivores (deer) to serve as ecological proxies for extinct moa has been questioned.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12]

Biosecurity New Zealand maintains registers and lists of species that are invasive, potentially invasive, or a threat to agriculture or biodiversity.[13] They also manage a small number of species under the National Interest Pest Responses (NIPR) programme. The rainbow lorikeet is the one animal that has been covered by the NIPR, and was eradicated in 2014. All the other species covered by the NIPR, past or present, are weeds.[14]

Clematis vitalba (old man's beard) smothering a cabbage tree (Cordyline australis) in the Port Hills of Christchurch

## Animal species

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Many invasive animal species are listed in schedules 5 and 6 of the Wildlife Act 1953. Those in Schedule 5 have no protection and may be killed. Those in Schedule 6 are declared to be noxious animals and subject to the Wild Animal Control Act 1977. In 2016 the New Zealand government introduced Predator Free 2050, a project to eliminate all non-native predators (such as rats, possums and stoats) by 2050.[15]

Some of the invasive animal species are as follows.

### Mammals

[edit]

* Brown rat or Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus)
* Black rat (Rattus rattus)
* Kiore (Polynesian rat)[16]
* Cat
* Chamois
* Common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula)[17][18]
* Dog
* European hare
* European hedgehog[19]
* European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)[20]
* Fallow deer
* Ferret (Mustela putorius furo)[21]
* Goat
* Himalayan tahr
* Horse (Equus ferus caballus)
* House mouse (Mus musculus)[22]
* Least weasel
* Pig
* Stoat (Mustela erminea)[17][23]
* Red deer
* Rusa deer
* Sambar deer
* Sika deer
* Wallaby
* Wapiti (elk)
* Whitetail deer

### Reptiles

[edit]

* Plague skink or rainbow skink (Lampropholis delicata)[24]

### Birds

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* Australian magpie
* Canada goose[25]
* Cirl bunting
* Common myna[17]
* Common redpoll[26]
* Common starling
* Dunnock
* European goldfinch
* European greenfinch
* Mallard[27]
* Mute Swan[28]
* Rainbow lorikeet
* Rook
* Yellowhammer

### Fish

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* Koi[29]
* Gambusia affinis[30]
* Common rudd[31]
* Catfish
* Brown trout[32]

### Invertebrates

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* Argentine ant (Linepithema humile)
* Asian paddle crab (Charybdis japonica)
* Asian paper wasp (Polistes chinensis)
* Australian paper wasp (Polistes humilis)[33]
* Carpet sea squirt (Didemnum vexillum)
* Common wasp (Vespula vulgaris)
* European paper wasp (Polistes dominula)[34]
* German wasp (Vespula germanica)
* Varroa mite (Varroa destructor)

#### Spiders

[edit]

* As of 18 January 2021[update] there are 73 known introduced spiders, of which 50 are Australian, including

* Philoponella congregabilis[35]
* The redback, Latrodectus hasselti, thought to have arrived with a steel shipment in the 1980s[35]

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## Plant and other non-animal species

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The National Pest Plant Accord, with a listing of about 120 genus, species, hybrids and subspecies, was developed to limit the spread of plant pests. Invasive plants are classified as such on a regional basis with some plants declared as national plant pests. Biosecurity New Zealand manages a small number of weeds under the National Interest Pest Responses programme. As of May 2024, NIPR covers nine weeds. Hornwort (Ceratophyllum demersum) was covered until it was eradicated in 2014.[14] Additionally, the Department of Conservation lists 328 vascular plant species as environmental weeds.[36]

Some of the better-known invasive plant species are:

* Acacia species (mostly Australian) especially wattle
* Acanthus \- bear's breeches
* Agapanthus
* Arrowhead (Sagittaria sagittifolia)
* Arundo donax \- giant reed (or elephant grass)[37]
* Asiatic knotweed (Reynoutria japonica or Fallopia japonica)
* Banana passionfruit
* Blackberry[36]
* Boneseed (Chrysanthemoides monilifera)
* Boxthorn (Lycium ferossimum)
* Broom (Cytisus scoparius)
* Buckthorn (Rhamnus alaternus)
* Californian thistle (Cirsium arvense)
* Cape sundew (Drosera capensis)
* Cape tulip
* Castor oil plant (Ricinus communis)[38]
* Christmasberry (Schinus terebinthifolius)
* Climbing asparagus (Asparagus scandens)
* Darwin's barberry (Berberis darwnii)
* Didymosphenia geminata ("didymo" or "rock snot")
* Field horsetail (Equisetum arvense)
* Glyceria maxima, also called Poa aquatica
* Gorse (Ulex europaeus)
* Heather (Calluna vulgaris)
* Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica)
* Jasmine (Jasminum polyanthum)
* Kahili ginger (Hedychium gardnerianum)
* Lantana camara
* Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta)
* Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica)
* Lupin
* Madeira vine (Anredera cordifolia)
* Mexican daisy (Erigeron karvinskianus)
* Mexican devil (Ageratina adenophora)
* Mile-a-minute (Dipogon lignosus)
* Mistflower (Ageratina riparia)
* Morning glory (Convolvulus)[39]
* Moth plant (Araujia sericifera)
* Old man's beard (Clematis vitalba)
* Oxygen weed (Egeria)
* Oxygen weed (Lagarosiphon major)
* Pampas grass (Cortaderia selloana)
* Privet
* Tree privet (Ligustrum lucidum)
* Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinense)
* Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)
* Queen of the night (Cestrum nocturnum)
* Ragwort
* Rhododendron ponticum
* Royal fern (Osmunda regalis)
* Salix cinerea (gray willow)
* Salix × fragilis (crack willow)
* Scotch thistle (Onopordum acanthium)
* Smilax (Asparagus asparagoides)
* Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus)
* Tradescantia fluminensis
* Water pennywort (Hydrocotyle umbellata)
* Woolly nightshade (Solanum mauritianum)
* Yellow flag (Iris pseudacorus)

Auckland has been declared to be the weediest city in the world.[40]

## See also

[edit]

* Fauna of New Zealand
* Invasive species of New Zealand origin

### Animals in New Zealand

[edit]

* Gypsy moths in New Zealand
* Painted apple moth in New Zealand

### Plants in New Zealand

[edit]

* Blue morning glory in New Zealand
* Wilding conifer

## References

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1. ^ Howe, K. R. (2003). The Quest for Origins. p. 179\. ISBN 0-14-301857-4.
2. ^ Rat remains help date New Zealand's colonisation. New Scientist. 4 June 2008. Retrieved 23 June 2008.
3. ^ Abel Tasman did not land, so is unlikely to have introduced anything.
4. ^ Hutching, Gerard. "Swamp harrier". Te Ara. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
5. ^ Seaton, R. "Swamp harrier". New Zealand Birds Online. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
6. ^ David M. Forsyth, Janet M. Wilmshurst, Robert B. Allen, David A. Coomes, 2010, Impacts of introduced deer and extinct moa on New Zealand ecosystems
7. ^ Kate Guthrie, April 25, 2019, Moa vs Deer – are they so different?, Predator Free NZ Trust
8. ^ Beth Daley, October 19, 2022, Despite the myth, deer are not an ecological substitute for moa and should be part of NZ’s predator-free plan, The Conversation
9. ^ Hannah Rae, February 6, 2022, NZ Hunter - Deer Vs Moa, Everand
10. ^ Farah Hancock, April 14, 2019, Deer are not like moa, Newsroom
11. ^ Rebekah White, Too much browsing, New Zealand Geographic
12. ^ Adrian Currie, April 3, 2017, Much Ado About Niches, Extinct
13. ^ "Registers and lists for pests and diseases". Biosecurity New Zealand. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
14. ^ a b "National Interest Pest Responses programme". Biosecurity New Zealand. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
15. ^ Roy, Eleanor Ainge (25 July 2016). "No more rats: New Zealand to exterminate all introduced predators". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
16. ^ "Kiore » Pest Detective".
17. ^ a b c Lowe S., Browne M., Boudjelas S. and de Poorter M. (2000, updated 2004). 100 of the World's Worst Invasive Alien Species: A selection from the Global Invasive Species Database Archived 16 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine. The Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG), a specialist group of the Species Survival Commission (SSC) of the World Conservation Union (IUCN), Auckland.
18. ^ "Trichosurus vulpecula alien range". Global Invasive Species Database. Archived from the original on 27 October 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2009.
19. ^ "Erinaceus europaeus alien range". Global Invasive Species Database. Archived from the original on 27 October 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2009.
20. ^ "Oryctolagus cuniculus alien range". Global Invasive Species Database. Archived from the original on 27 October 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2009.
21. ^ "Mustela furo alien range". Global Invasive Species Database. Archived from the original on 27 October 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2009.
22. ^ "Mus musculus alien range". Global Invasive Species Database. Archived from the original on 27 October 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2009.
23. ^ "Mustela erminea alien range". Global Invasive Species Database. Archived from the original on 27 October 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2009.
24. ^ "Plague skinks". Wellington, NZ: Department of Conservation. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
25. ^ www.upane.it, Upane -. "GISD". www.iucngisd.org.
26. ^ "Common redpoll". New Zealand Birds Online. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
27. ^ "GISD". www.iucngisd.org.
28. ^ "GISD". www.iucngisd.org.
29. ^ Mitchell, Charlie (26 January 2020). "The Liberator: How one man's 15,000 pest fish changed New Zealand's waterways". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
30. ^ "Gambusia (formerly known as mosquito fish)". Department of Conservation. Archived from the original on 1 February 2019.
31. ^ "Rudd". Department of Conservation. Archived from the original on 1 December 2020.
32. ^ "Management of invasive freshwater fish: striking the right balance!" (PDF). Department of Conservation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2018. Retrieved 13 September 2017. "There will be sites where the Department will want to eradicate salmonids species because they pose a significant threat to the maintenance of a threatened species or ecosystem..."
33. ^ Robert L. Brown (May 2021). Feasibility of successful biological control of paper wasps, Polistes spp (PDF) (Report). Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
34. ^ Howse, Matthew W. F.; McGruddy, Rose A.; Felden, Antoine; Baty, James W.; Haywood, John; Lester, Philip J. (22 February 2022). "The native and exotic prey community of two invasive paper wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in New Zealand as determined by DNA barcoding". Biological Invasions. 24: 1797–1808\. doi:10.1007/s10530-022-02739-0.1797-1808&rft.date=2022-02-22&rft_id=info:doi/10.1007/s10530-022-02739-0&rft.aulast=Howse&rft.aufirst=Matthew+W.+F.&rft.au=McGruddy,+Rose+A.&rft.au=Felden,+Antoine&rft.au=Baty,+James+W.&rft.au=Haywood,+John&rft.au=Lester,+Philip+J.&rft_id=https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs10530-022-02739-0&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Invasive+species+in+New+Zealand" class="Z3988">
35. ^ a b Jong, Eleanor de (19 January 2021). "Australian spider that crushes its prey among species taking hold in New Zealand". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
36. ^ a b Howell, Clayson (May 2008). Consolidated list of environmental weeds in New Zealand (PDF). DRDS292. Wellington: Department of Conservation. ISBN 978-0-478-14413-0. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
37. ^ "New Zealand imports insects to fight plant invader". BBC News. 19 January 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
38. ^ "Castor oil plant". Auckland Council. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
39. ^ "Weed Information Sheet". Weedbusters.
40. ^ Landcare Research. "Attitude change prescribed for weedy Auckland" (Press release). Snoop. "Auckland has the dubious honour of being the weediest city in the world, with 220 weeds (and climbing)."

## Further reading

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* Allen, Robert B.; Lee, William G., eds. (2006). Biological Invasions in New Zealand. Berlin: Springer. ISBN 3-540-30022-8.
* Hackwell, Kevin (1999). Pests & Weeds: The Cost of Restoring an Indigenous Dawn Chorus: A Blueprint for Action Against the Impacts of Introduced Pest Organisms on the New Zealand Environment. Wellington [N.Z.]: New Zealand Conservation Authority. ISBN 0-9583301-8-2.
* King, Carolyn M. (1985). Immigrant Killers: Introduced Predators and the Conservation of Birds in New Zealand. Auckland: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-558115-7.
* King, Carolyn M., ed. (1993). "The Great Lake Pest Summit - Proceedings of the National Mammalian Pest Forum, May 1993". New Zealand Journal of Zoology. 20 (4). Royal Society of New Zealand. doi:10.1080/03014223.1993.10420365. ISSN 0301-4223.
* Kirk, T. (1895). "The displacement of species in New Zealand". Transactions of the New Zealand Institute. 28: 1–27.1-27&rft.date=1895&rft.aulast=Kirk&rft.aufirst=T.&rft_id=http://rsnz.natlib.govt.nz/volume/rsnz_28/rsnz_28_00_000470.html&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Invasive+species+in+New+Zealand" class="Z3988">
* Rahman, Anis and Ian Popay (1 August 2001). "Review of emerging weed problems in hill country pastures". Archived from the original on 10 January 2011.
* Thomson, George Malcolm (1922). The naturalisation of animals & plants in New Zealand. England: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.55364. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
* Timmins, S; Williams, P. (1991). "Weed numbers in New Zealand's forest and scrub reserves" (PDF). New Zealand Journal of Ecology. 15 (2). New Zealand Ecological Society: 153–162.153-162&rft.date=1991&rft.aulast=Timmins&rft.aufirst=S&rft.au=Williams,+P.&rft_id=http://www.nzes.org.nz/nzje/free_issues/NZJEcol15_2_153.pdf&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Invasive+species+in+New+Zealand" class="Z3988">
* "The Future of Pest Management in New Zealand: A Think Piece" (PDF). Local Government New Zealand. August 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 25 March 2011.
* New Zealand Plant Protection Society (2004). An illustrated guide to common weeds of New Zealand / Bruce Roy ... [et.al.] (2nd ed.). Lincoln, Canterbury, N.Z: New Zealand Plant Protection Society. ISBN 0473097605.

## External links

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* Biosecurity New Zealand, government agency
* Official New Zealand Pest Register – searchable database at the Ministry for Primary Industries
* Pests and threats, Department of Conservation
* Information on plant pests at Weedbusters

Publications

* What's New in Biological Control of Weeds?, Landcare Research, ISSN 1177-8784
* "Kararehe Kino/ Vertebrate Pest Research Newsletter", Kararehe Kino = Vertebrate Pest Research, Landcare Research, ISSN 1170-3016, archived from the original on 6 June 2012, retrieved 14 June 2012

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Invasive species by country (Lists)

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By continent|

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Invasive species in Oceania

Sovereign states|

* Australia
* Federated States of Micronesia
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* Kiribati
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* New Zealand
* Palau
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Associated states
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* Cook Islands
* Niue

Dependencies
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* American Samoa
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* Easter Island
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