Island Biogeography and the Conservation of New Zealand Indigenous Forest-Dwelling Avifauna

It will be necessary to establish reserves for the conservation of New Zealand's forest avifauna largely in the absence of detailed autecological studies. Hence the empirical findings of island biogeography may provide the best available guide to the reserve size necessary for the preservation of both species communities and individual species. The occurrence of indigenous forest birds on offshore islands suggests that reserves of the order tens of km² or larger of comparable forest habitat may be necessary on the mainland to ensure a high probability of the long-term survival of all species which still occur there. The area requirements of individual species tend to increase with the degree of endemism and reliance on indigenous forest habitats.