HABITAT PREFERENCES OF BIRDS IN SERAL KAHIKATEA DACRYCARPUS-DACRYDIOIDES (PODOCARPACEAE) FOREST OF SOUTH-WESTLAND, NEW-ZEALAND

Relationships between birds and vegetation structure were studied in two pairs of contiguous young and old stands of kahikatea Dacrycarpus dacrydioides forest in South Westland, New Zealand. Different bird species showed preferences for different-aged stands of kahikatea forest. The diversity of birds, and in particular the native species, was positively correlated with increasing structural complexity of the vegetation. Bird abundance changed markedly with season. Frugivorous birds were extremely common in the fruiting season of kahikatea. The successional ecology of kahikatea forests is dependent on frugivorous birds dispersing seed of both pioneer shrub species and kahikatea itself. Since the fieldwork was completed, much kahikatea forest in South Westland has been protected, but active reserve management is needed to allow natural patterns of succession to take place, free from grazing by farm stock.