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Wellington Bush Ecosystem Impacts

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Wellington Bush Ecosystem Impacts

Read the field notes, then use evidence from them to investigate how people and environmental changes affect Wellington’s bush. Answer every question; explain your thinking where asked.

Field notes: a bush reserve near Wellington

A patch of native bush is home to trees such as kāmahi and kohekohe, and birds including kererū and kākā. Kererū eat fruit and spread seeds in their droppings. Kākā feed on nectar, fruit and insects. Insects and leaf litter help recycle nutrients in the soil. The reserve is bordered by houses and roads. When bush is cleared for buildings, animals lose feeding and nesting places. Smaller patches can become isolated from one another. Rats, stoats and possums are introduced mammals that may eat eggs, chicks, seeds or native plants. Warmer temperatures and changes in rainfall can also affect flowering, fruiting and the timing of food availability. People can help by protecting connected areas of native plants, planting local species, keeping rubbish and food scraps secure, and supporting safe pest control. These actions work best when people monitor results and adapt their plans.

1.Which statement best describes an ecosystem?

Living things interacting with one another and with their non-living surroundings
Only the animals living in one place
A list of trees found in a forest
The weather on one particular day

2.Name two introduced mammals in the field notes that can harm native bush species.

3.How does kererū feeding help native plants spread? Explain the link between the bird and the plants.

4.A road and new houses divide one large bush into two small patches. Give one way this could affect wildlife.

5.True or false: Changes in temperature and rainfall can affect when plants flower or produce fruit, changing when food is available to birds.

TrueFalse

6.Match each action to its likely benefit.

Plant local native species
Keep food scraps secure
Connect bush patches

Avoid attracting pest animals
Provide suitable food and shelter
Make it easier for wildlife to move between habitats

7.A volunteer notices fewer ripe berries this season and fewer kererū near the reserve. Give one possible connection between these observations, and one other piece of information the volunteer should collect before deciding what caused the change.

8.A community has time to do only one project this month: plant a strip of local native shrubs between two bush patches, or put up a sign asking people to be quiet. Which project is more likely to improve habitat connectivity? Explain why.

9.Choose one practical action a Wellington resident or community group could take to protect native bush. Explain how it could help at least one part of the ecosystem.