Consultancy services
Consultancy services are provided by a team of experienced professionals that specialise in animal pest ecology, modelling, epidemiology, and control strategies with a focuses on providing improved pest management through new and improved management strategies, tools and techniques - ranging from biological control to traps and toxins.
Animal pest monitoring & control
Landcare Research has extensive experience in developing, implementing, and assessing pest control and monitoring programmes at a range of scales and for a range of species, including:
- mustelids (ferrets, stoats, weasels)
- marsupials (possums, wallabies)
- ungulates (deer, goats, thar, chamois)
- lagomorphs (rabbits, hares)
- rodents (mice, rats)
Animal population modelling
Landcare Research has national and internationally recognised expertise in the design and implementation of a suite of modelling approaches - population, time series, deterministic, stochastic, epidemiological, spatial simulation and matrix modelling - for a range of research and management scenarios.
Baits and toxins
Efficient pest control requires the development of new and improved baits and toxins that are humane, safe, and cost-effective. Landcare Research provides comprehensive advice, formulation, and assessment services.
Landcare Research has excellent information and expertise on currently used vertebrate pesticides (e.g. 1080, cyanide, anticoagulants), and can provide both analytical testing for these substances and specialised advice on the risks and benefits of their application in pest management.
Reptiles
New Zealand’s native reptiles, bar the iconic tuatara, are among its most underappreciated animals. Landcare Research has considerable expertise in developing and providing monitoring programmes for native skinks and geckos, and control of their predators.
Landcare Research’s herpetological expertise is also applied to protecting New Zealand’s borders against exotic reptiles: we can provide advice on detection and control strategies.
Trap design and testing
Effective and publicly acceptable pest control requires the development of new and improved traps that are humane, safe, and cost-effective. Landcare Research provides comprehensive advice, design, and assessment services.
Landcare Research has excellent information and expertise on currently used traps, and can provide specialised advice on the risks and benefits of their use in pest management.
Wildlife population ecology
New Zealand leads the world in understanding the population dynamics of introduced mammal species. Landcare Research has considerable expertise in the design and implementation of large-scale ecological experiments, and statistical modelling of the resultant data, including the use of high-tech genetic approaches.