The limitations of using kiore ( Rattus exulans ) diet‐sampling to determine woodrose ( Dactylanthus tay/ori , Balanophoraceae) distribution on Hauturu (Little Barrier Island), New Zealand

We tested the use of a vertebrate diet‐sampling technique to assess its suitability for detemining woodrose ( Dactylanthus taylorii ) distribution on Haum (Little Barrier Island). Gore ( Rattus exulans ) is the only suitable vertebrate occurring on the island. Populations of kiore varied between three years of comparison and were not predictable during flowering periods of D. taylorii. Stains of presumed D. taylorii colouring were recorded in guts, but no confirmed D. taylorii bracts or flowers were recorded. Furthermore, no signs of D. taylorii were recorded in the gut of an animal six hours after it was observed eating a D . taylorii specimen. We concluded that the technique has limited application with kiore as a sampling animal.