Two lines of tracking tunnels have been placed out in Charlesworth Wetland Reserve. The tracking tunnels will be monitored every two months to give relative abundance of rodents at Charlesworth Wetland Reserve following the guidelines given in Gillies and Williams (2013). The tunnels will also give indications of the presence of skinks in the reserve.

Two transects each containing 10 tunnels 50 m apart have been set out in the Reserve. On a fine night each tunnel will have a inked tracking card baited with peanut butter placed in it. The next day the cards will be collected. As each card is collected the transect line and tunnel number will be written on the card. It will be noted if the tunnel has been disturbed e.g. possum disturbance. Any fresh scats in the tunnel will also be noted. A photo will be taken of the tracking card showing the markings/scats and will be put up on NatureWatch under this project. Various resources such as Ratz (1997) and Agnew (2009) will be used along with NatureWatch to identify the markings.

References:

Gillies, C.A.; Williams, D. 2013: DOC tracking tunnel guide v2.5.2: Using tracking tunnels to monitor rodents and mustelids. Department of Conservation, Science & Capability Group, Hamilton, New Zealand. www.doc.govt.nz
Ratz, H. 1997: Identification of footprints of some small mammals. Mammalia 61(3): 431–441.
Agnew, W. 2009: What made those tracks? A guide to assist in interpreting the tracks of small mammals, lizards and insects. Chappell Printing Ltd, Warkworth, New Zealand.