New assessment of the conservation status of New Zealand wētā and grasshoppers (Orthoptera)
Introduction
Have your say on changes in status of New Zealand wētā and grasshoppers (Orthoptera). Consultation closed on 4 October 2021.Consultation closed on 4 October 2021.
This is a call for advice about any changes in status of New Zealand wētā and grasshoppers (Orthoptera) to inform a revision of the assessments for this group in the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS).
View the current list giving the status of ca. 177 taxa in Trewick et al. 2016, Conservation status of New Zealand Orthoptera (PDF, 517K).
Data can be accessed on the NZTCS website.
An expert panel will meet to review the classification of wētā and grasshoppers using information supplied.
An assessment will be made based on the size of the population and the expected trend (amount of decline or increase) for each taxon (species, subspecies, variety, etc) regardless of whether it is taxonomically determinate (having a formal scientific name) or indeterminate (having an informal ‘tag name’).
Guidance on the criteria used to assess the status of species is available in the NZ Threat Classification Manual 2008 (PDF, 478K).
How to contribute
Note that this consultation process is intended to provide information to the panel, not to lobby for a particular outcome.
Complete the questionnaire (Word, 394K) or (PDF, 354K) and send to:
Pascale Michel
Terrestrial Science Unit
Department of Conservation
P O Box 10-420
Wellington 6143
Email: threatstatus@doc.govt.nz
Separate advice should be provided for each species (or subspecies, variety, etc).
Consultation closed on 4 October 2021.
Email us at threatstatus@doc.govt.nz if you need any assistance or clarification about this consultation process.
Background information
The New Zealand Threat Classification System allows the classification of conservation status/risk of extinction of all organisms known to occur in a wild state in New Zealand. Endemics, non-endemic natives, migrants, vagrants, and introduced and naturalised species are all included, as are taxa which have not been formally described.
The NZTCS is not a priority setting system. It is a resource to support priority setting, among other functions.
Panels of experts from New Zealand’s scientific community determine conservation statuses by assessing population size (number of breeding adults or the area of occupied habitat), forecast change in population size (over either the next three generations or 10 years, whichever is longer), and whether the current state of the population is a result of human-induced effects. Groups of organisms are assessed approximately every five years.
The assessments of each group of organisms (eg birds, fungi, wētā and grasshoppers, marine invertebrates) are published as scientific monograph series which are considered part of the formal international scientific literature.
The PDF copy of the assessment report is publicly available on the DOC website.
The assessment data is publicly available on the NZTCS database.
