scholarly journals Tipping back the balance: recolonization of the Macquarie Island isthmus by king penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) following extermination for human gain

2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 237-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
John van den Hoff ◽  
Clive R. McMahon ◽  
Iain Field
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Season ◽  
Breeding Population ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
King Penguin ◽  
Breeding Sites ◽  
Macquarie Island ◽  
Aptenodytes Patagonicus ◽  
Breeding Behaviour ◽  
Temporal Discontinuity

AbstractDuring the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when blubber oil fuelled house lamps, the king penguin population at Macquarie Island was reduced from two very large (perhaps hundreds of thousands of birds) colonies to about 3000 birds. One colony, located on the isthmus when the island was discovered in 1810, was extinct by 1894 and it took about 100 years for king penguins to re-establish a viable breeding population there. Here we document this recovery. The first eggs laid at Gadget Gully on the isthmus were recorded in late February 1995 but in subsequent years egg laying took place earlier between November and February (this temporal discontinuity is a consequence of king penguin breeding behaviour). The first chick was hatched in April 1995 but the first fledging was not raised until the following breeding season in October 1996. The colony increased on average 66% per annum in the five years between 1995 and 2000. King penguins appear resilient to catastrophic population reductions, and as the island's population increases, it is likely that other previously abandoned breeding sites will be reoccupied.

scholarly journals Foraging ecology and choice of feeding habitat in the New Zealand Fairy Tern Sternula nereis davisae

2013 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
STEFANIE M. H. ISMAR ◽  
TOM TRNSKI ◽  
TONY BEAUCHAMP ◽  
SARAH J. BURY ◽  
DAVID WILSON ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Foraging Ecology ◽  
Avicennia Marina ◽  
Breeding Population ◽  
Breeding Bird ◽  
Breeding Sites ◽  
Sand Spit ◽  
Feeding Habitat

SummaryNo published information is available on the foraging ecology and choice of feeding habitat of New Zealand’s rarest breeding bird: the New Zealand Fairy Tern (NZFT) Sternula nereis davisae. To address this gap, we conducted an assessment of the largest remaining breeding population at Mangawhai Harbour, Northland, New Zealand, during the chick-rearing period of the 2010/2011 breeding season. We combined visual tracking of birds with prey surveys and stable isotope analyses, and we present the first quantitative assessment of NZFT foraging. We recorded 405 foraging dives that show NZFT foraging habitat includes the water edges, shallow channels, and pools on the tidal flats of mangrove-lined (Avicennia marina var. resinifera) parts of the estuary; tidal pools on mud- and sandflats in the mid-estuary and lower harbour; the shallow margins of the dredged main channel in the lower harbour; the oxbow lagoons on the sand spit; and coastal shallows. Our study identifies the mangrove-lined highly tidal and shallow mid-estuary and the lagoon on the sand spit as foraging hotspots for the Mangawhai breeding population of the NZFT. The prey survey employed a seine-net sampling method at identified NZFT foraging sites and yielded 4,367 prey-sized fish of 11 species, two of which had not previously been reported in Mangawhai Harbour, as well as numerous shrimps. The most abundant fish were gobies of the genus Favonigobius. Our stable isotope results highlight gobies as the most important prey for NZFT chick rearing, also indicating that flounder Rhombosolea sp. contribute to NZFT diet. We raise the possibility that shrimps may also constitute a substantial diet component for NZFT, potentially providing up to 21% of diet mass for adult birds. While our results provide a first basis to understanding the feeding ecology of NZFT during their breeding season in order to facilitate conservation planning, further research is required to address inter-annual variation and to identify key foraging grounds for this Critically Endangered bird at other breeding sites.

Airdrops and king penguins: a potential conservation problem at sub-Antarctic Marion Island

Polar Record ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 30 (175) ◽  
pp. 277-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Cooper ◽  
Nico L. Avenant ◽  
Peter W. Lafite
Keyword(s):  
King Penguin ◽  
Marion Island ◽  
Absolute Minimum ◽  
Macquarie Island ◽  
Aptenodytes Patagonicus ◽  
Direct Observations ◽  
Conservation Problem ◽  
The Absolute

ABSTRACTEvidence for the disturbance of king penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) and other seabirds at sub-Antarctic islands by fixed-wing aircraft making airdrops is reviewed. Based on direct observations of panicking birds at king penguin colonies at Marion Island as Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft flew past, it is postulated that the incident at Macquarie Island in 1990 when many king penguins were found dead shortly after a flypast was most likely caused by panic induced by the aircraft's passage. Visits by fixed-wing aircraft to sub-Antarctic islands should be kept to a minimum and no airstrips should be built on them. Specific recommendations are given for fixed-wing aircraft visits to Marion Island, in order to reduce disturbance to king penguins and other seabirds to the absolute minimum. These recommendations should be adopted at all sub-Antarctic islands.

Manage one beach or two? Movements and space-use of the threatened hooded plover (Thinornis rubricollis) in south-eastern Australia

2009 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. Weston ◽  
Glenn C. Ehmke ◽  
Grainne S. Maguire
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Season ◽  
Space Use ◽  
Breeding Population ◽  
Breeding Period ◽  
Research Attention ◽  
Breeding Sites ◽  
Kernel Analysis ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Southern Central ◽  
Breeding Seasons

An understanding of space use and dispersal of a wildlife species is essential for effective management. We examined the movements of a beach-dwelling, threatened population of hooded plover (Thinornis rubricollis) in southern central Victoria, Australia, by analysing sightings of colour-banded birds (4897 sightings; 194 birds tracked for up to 9 years). Most movements were relatively short (5050 ± 305 m), with 61.4% <1 km and 95.3% <20 km; they lacked directional or sexual bias. The extent of coastline used by individual birds was 47.8 ± 58.0 km. Regional differences in average distances moved by adults were apparent. For adults, movement rates (mean distance per day) were higher during the non-breeding season than during the breeding season. Non-breeding adults generally remained close to their partners (non-breeding, 456.3 ± 163.9 m; breeding, 148.2 ± 45.3 m). Largest flock sizes were recorded during the non-breeding period, and flocking was not uniformly distributed along the coast but appeared to be concentrated in particular locations. The frequency of pair cohesion (i.e. when the distance between partners was zero on a given day) was similar during the breeding (69.6%) and non-breeding seasons (67.7%). Breeding territories (kernel analysis) were 36.7 ± 5.7 ha and overlapped from year to year in all cases (23 pairwise comparisons; 47.9 ± 7.1% overlap). The high fidelity and constancy of territories confirms they warrant ongoing management investment, although the species relies on a matrix of breeding and non-breeding sites. The latter appear to occur in specific parts of the coast and warrant enhanced protection and more research attention. Fragmentation of the breeding population might occur where habitat is rendered unsuitable for > ~50 km.

scholarly journals Modulation of heart rate response to acute stressors throughout the breeding season in the king penguin Aptenodytes patagonicus

2015 ◽  
Vol 218 (11) ◽  
pp. 1686-1692 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. A. Viblanc ◽  
A. D. Smith ◽  
B. Gineste ◽  
M. Kauffmann ◽  
R. Groscolas
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Heart Rate Response ◽  
King Penguin ◽  
Aptenodytes Patagonicus

scholarly journals Increased summer food supply decreases non-breeding movement in black-legged kittiwakes

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 20190725 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shannon Whelan ◽  
Scott A. Hatch ◽  
David B. Irons ◽  
Alyson McKnight ◽  
Kyle H. Elliott
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Season ◽  
Food Supply ◽  
Light Level ◽  
Food Supplementation ◽  
Reproductive Phenology ◽  
Rissa Tridactyla ◽  
Breeding Behaviour ◽  
Unlimited Supply ◽  
Migration Phenology ◽  
Carry Over

Individual condition at one stage of the annual cycle is expected to influence behaviour during subsequent stages, yet experimental evidence of food-mediated carry-over effects is scarce. We used a food supplementation experiment to test the effects of food supply during the breeding season on migration phenology and non-breeding behaviour. We provided an unlimited supply of fish to black-legged kittiwakes ( Rissa tridactyla ) during their breeding season on Middleton Island, Alaska, monitored reproductive phenology and breeding success, and used light-level geolocation to observe non-breeding behaviour. Among successful breeders, fed kittiwakes departed the colony earlier than unfed controls. Fed kittiwakes travelled less than controls during the breeding season, contracting their non-breeding range. Our results demonstrate that food supply during the breeding season affects non-breeding phenology, movement and distribution, providing a potential behavioural mechanism underlying observed survival costs of reproduction.

Biology of the Feral Cat, Felis Catus (L.), On Macquarie Island.

1985 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 425 ◽  
Author(s):  
NP Brothers ◽  
IJ Skira ◽  
GR Copson
Keyword(s):  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Felis Catus ◽  
Feral Cat ◽  
Feral Cats ◽  
Macquarie Island ◽  
Pregnant Females

246 feral cats were shot on Macquarie Island, Australia, between Dec. 1976 and Feb. 1981. The sex ratio ( males : females ) was 1:0.8. The percentages of animals with tabby, orange and black coats were 74, 26 and 2 resp. [sic]. Of the 64 orange cats, 56 were males . The breeding season was Oct.-Mar., with a peak in Nov.-Dec. The number of embryos in the 14 pregnant females averaged 4.7 (range = 1-9). The size of the 23 litters that were observed averaged 3 (range = 1-8). Kitten survival to 6 months of age was estimated to be <43%.

scholarly journals Breeding of the common kingfisher Alcedo atthis at the Boracka River

2016 ◽  
pp. 105-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivana Novcic
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Season ◽  
Riparian Vegetation ◽  
Breeding Population ◽  
Stream Habitat ◽  
Breeding Density ◽  
The Common

The breeding population of the common kingfisher Alcedo atthis was studied in the Boracka River area in 2006 and 2007. A high breeding density was docu?mented in 2007 with five breeding pairs recorded along the 1.4 km section of a stream habitat. All of the studied nests were placed in vertical banks without excessive riparian vegetation, while the distance between adjacent nests ranged 120-430 m. The same nest holes were used in both years, although birds excavated a couple of new ones in 2007. One pair bred in two consecutive years; the same pair had two breeding attempts in 2007, while three breeding attempts were recorded for one male. Birds used the same holes for subsequent clutches or excavated new nests. Also, one nest was used by different pairs in the same breeding season. In the study period 21 individuals were banded - none of the juvenile in?dividuals was recaptured, suggesting that the fledglings dispersed shortly after they had left their nests. Also, none of the breeding individuals was recaptured at the river outside the breeding season.

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