Climate change is putting NZ’s own alpine grasshoppers at risk

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2024-04-16 09:01

New Zealand

Photo credit: Steve Trewick

The North Island is home to just one species of alpine grasshopper, known as Sigaus piliferus. Researchers found there are two sub-groups that adapted to different local conditions across the North Island. The two “ecotypes” are likely to respond rather differently to global warming, but regardless, the rate of habitat loss from climate change that's predicted over the next 50 years will lead to small and fragmented populations of these local hoppers. They say conservation efforts should be focussed on the group of grasshoppers living in the Tararua Ranges before it goes extinct.

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Professor Mary Morgan-Richards, Professor in Wildlife Evolution, Massey University, comments:

"There is just one alpine grasshopper species in North Island NZ: Sigaus piliferus [which comes in lots of lovely colours]. We show that this species has two ecotypes – a northern one with long legs that lives in more shrubland subalpine habitat, and a southern ecotype with shorter legs that lives in the alpine tussock habitat. The two ecotypes are likely to respond rather differently to global warming, but both will have reduced possible distributions. Conservation action should be prioritized for the ecotype in the Tararua Ranges before this population goes extinct."

Last updated: 16 Apr 2024 9:36am

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Declared conflicts of interest Professor Mary Morgan-Richards is a co-author of this study.

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conference: Diversity and Distributions

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Organisation/s: Massey University

Funder: This research was supported by a doctoral scholarship from Massey University and a Massey University Doctoral Conference Grant (awarded to FLMJ). Open access publishing facilitated by Massey University, as part of the Wiley - Massey University agreement via the Council of Australian University Librarians.

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