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Invasive carnivores are threatening the indigenous fauna of Aotearoa, but impacts vary with time, space and species. Conservation strategies require knowledge of predator-prey dynamics specific to different ecosystems and allowing for long-term guild shifts. To build this knowledge, we model the survivorship of the kea, a long-lived, ground-nesting parrot with an expansive species-range, using a dataset spanning two decades (1998–2021) and spanning several forest-dominated South Island montane ecosystems. Kea survivorship was lower in eastern ecosystems compared to western ones, depressed during carnivore irruptions, and elevated after predator control. Kea of all ages and both sexes fell prey to stoats and feral cats whilst foraging and roosting, not whilst nesting. Stoat depredation happened in all ecosystems, whereas feral cats featured more in eastern ones. Annual survivorship was high in most contexts (adults > 90%, juveniles > 70%), but a peak in stoat and feral cat predation in eastern ecosystems during 2020–2021 reduced adult survival to <60%. This predation peak followed a rodent population crash, the primary prey of carnivores in eastern beech forests. We conclude that predator impacts on kea are concentrated into post-mast years. Recommendations for management are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kea (Nestor notabilis) are nationally endangered, large endemic parrots in the South Island of New Zealand. In recent years, anecdotal evidence and sightings from forestry workers have confirmed that kea use exotic plantation forests in the Nelson/Tasman region. We documented kea habitat use and movements in Nelson plantation and neighbouring native forests. GPS-VHF units were used to track kea movements through the plantation-native forest matrix. All birds tracked in this study spent a notable proportion of their time in plantation forests, which included feeding, roosting and nesting. Feeding observations and faecal analysis were used to determine kea diet in plantation forests. In the summer, Pinus radiata seeds were commonly observed being eaten by kea, as was cambium tissue stripped off newly harvested Pseudotsuga menziesii logs. Of the items identified through faecal analysis, the most common group was invertebrates. This research was a preliminary study of kea activity in plantation forests and suggests the value of extending research to cover at least a full calendar year to record seasonal patterns in kea diet, habitat use and movements in and out of this habitat type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]