The Albany researcher is tracking Tiritiri Matangi and Motuora islands' newest inhabitants for his masters thesis as part of the university's reptile project.
Thirty-nine geckos were released on both islands and 20 have been fitted with transmitters, which are worn like a backpack over their front legs.
Mr Van Winkel says the backpacks do look cumbersome but don't restrict their movement.
So far they haven't got caught up or come off, he says.
Because geckos are nocturnal Mr Van Winkel tracks them through the night at two hourly intervals. He has help from a group of volunteers and Massey professors because he can't be on both islands at once.
"In the end I hope to get a whole lot of grids on the map so I can plot their movement," he says.
He created the backpacks out of the inner tube of a bicycle tyre after seeing similar designs in another gecko study.
The geckos were captured from Mercury Island and brought back to Massey for quarantine, then released on to Tiritiri Matangi and Motuora islands just before Christmas.
The Duvaucel's gecko is New Zealand's largest gecko and is only found on islands on the top half of the North Island, he says.
Mr Van Winkel says they purposely captured a few pregnant females to increase numbers on the islands.
The project is designed to both restore the islands to their natural state and help protect the gecko population, he says.
On the island their only predators are the native birds as both islands are free from pests, he says.
Mr Van Winkel is joined by fellow university researcher Ben Barr, who is studying the habits of skinks that were released on the islands at the same time.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/sundaystartimes/auckland/3929453a6497.html
Thirty-nine geckos were released on both islands and 20 have been fitted with transmitters, which are worn like a backpack over their front legs.
Mr Van Winkel says the backpacks do look cumbersome but don't restrict their movement.
So far they haven't got caught up or come off, he says.
Because geckos are nocturnal Mr Van Winkel tracks them through the night at two hourly intervals. He has help from a group of volunteers and Massey professors because he can't be on both islands at once.
"In the end I hope to get a whole lot of grids on the map so I can plot their movement," he says.
He created the backpacks out of the inner tube of a bicycle tyre after seeing similar designs in another gecko study.
The geckos were captured from Mercury Island and brought back to Massey for quarantine, then released on to Tiritiri Matangi and Motuora islands just before Christmas.
The Duvaucel's gecko is New Zealand's largest gecko and is only found on islands on the top half of the North Island, he says.
Mr Van Winkel says they purposely captured a few pregnant females to increase numbers on the islands.
The project is designed to both restore the islands to their natural state and help protect the gecko population, he says.
On the island their only predators are the native birds as both islands are free from pests, he says.
Mr Van Winkel is joined by fellow university researcher Ben Barr, who is studying the habits of skinks that were released on the islands at the same time.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/sundaystartimes/auckland/3929453a6497.html