Event Details: In 2023, volunteers protected mohua during a predator plague. Now, innovative bioacoustic mapping and community efforts aim to ensure long-term conservation amidst ongoing challenges.

In 2023, a large-scale predator plague unfolded with no planned widespread mitigation. Undeterred, dedicated volunteers from Central Otago Forest & Bird, supported by the Southern Lakes Sanctuary (SLS), took action to launch a targeted response. By setting up bait stations across a 400-hectare monitored site, the SLS/COLB alliance successfully safeguarded the breeding mohua when it was most critical. Monitoring showed that 95% of adult mohua under surveillance survived, and 67% of monitored pairs successfully hatched chicks.

Unfortunately, outside this intensively managed area, the birds did not fare as well, leaving the population in a precarious state. How to recover from this and rebuild the local mohua population is now the most urgent challenge faced by this dedicated community group.

In a time of mounting financial pressures, accelerating climate change, and political uncertainty, what can a community organisation do to prevent further biodiversity loss in this pristine forest?

While the COLB/SLS alliance works to secure the long-term health and viability of the forest, an exciting collaboration between SLS and Atarau Sanctuary is using bioacoustics to map individual mohua songs.

Come and discover how these innovative technologies and community-led initiatives are working to ensure the long-term conservation of the mohua.

Cost: $25

Meet Your Speakers:

Jo Tilson - Biodiversity Coordinator - Southern Lakes Sanctuary

Sarah Forder - Makarora Hub Coordinator - Southern Lakes Sanctuary

Laura Molles - Atarau Sanctuary/ Digi-lab