Effects of unregulated visitor access on chick fledging mass and survival in yellow-eyed penguins

Context Wildlife tourism is expanding and can detrimentally affect taxa such as penguins, if not managed carefully. The yellow-eyed penguin (Megadyptes antipodes) is an endangered species, with mainland populations projected to decline to extinction in the next 40 years, despite conservation interventions. Their nesting sites are exposed to increasing numbers of human visitors, which contributes to reduced reproductive success. AimsWe evaluated the effectiveness of a breeding colony (Boulder Beach) closure to the public, which was implemented to reduce visitor disturbance. MethodsWe compared reproductive success 5 years before and 5 years during the closure with success at an adjacent site (Sandfly Bay) that experiences high human disturbance, over the same time periods. Key resultsBeach closure did not result in an increase in chick mass or survival at Boulder Beach; however, trends at adjacent Sandfly Bay suggested that, without the closure, chick survival at Boulder Beach would likely have declined. Chick survival decreased at Sandfly Bay across the two 5-year periods, whereas chick survival at Boulder Beach did not decline, but remained constant during the closure years. ConclusionsThe beach closure was beneficial because it appeared to buffer environmental factors, so that mean chick survival remained constant rather than declining. Implications Beach closures might be difficult to implement because of public expectations regarding free access to coastal land in New Zealand, but they should be considered at sites where increasing numbers of visitors are likely to have detrimental impacts on wildlife. Without urgent action, these culturally important animals will likely be extinct on mainland New Zealand within the next few decades. Beach closures may represent an effective management measure to increase population resilience by decreasing the detrimental impacts of visitors on breeding success.

Assessing the Effects of Introduced Norway Rats (Rattus Norvegicus) on Survival and Productivity of Least Auklets (Aethia Pusilla)

We assessed potential effects of introduced Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) on Least Auklets (Aethia pusilla) breeding at Sirius Point on Kiska Island, the largest auklet colony in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. We compared productivity, chick growth, and adult survival of Least Auklets during 2001-2003 at Kiska and two nearby, rat-free Least Auklet colonies on Buldir and Kasatochi islands. During 2001 and 2002 (when rats were abundant), productivity at Kiska was the lowest ever recorded for this species (0.09–0.16 chicks fledged per eggs laid), primarily because of high mortality of newly hatched chicks. Growth rates and mean fledging mass were both lower on Kiska than on rat-free islands, though there were some interannual differences in these patterns. Adult survival rates were highly variable among years but strongly concordant among colonies, and survival from 2001 to 2002 on Kiska (0.881 ± 0.033) did not differ significantly from long-term averages on either Buldir (0.853 ± 0.014, 1990-2003) or Kasatochi (0.893 ± 0.027, 1996-2003) islands. Although we found little evidence at nesting crevices of predation on adults, eggs, or chicks, low productivity and slow chick growth were both consistent with disturbance caused by rats, particularly through disruption of adults attempting to brood or provision young chicks. Breeding failure may have been exacerbated by low prey availability for chick provisioning, but the lack of concordance in either productivity or chick growth rates between Kiska Island and nearby rat-free Buldir Island cast doubt on this possibility. Évaluer les Effets de Rattus norvegicus Introduits sur la Survie et la Productivité de Aethia pusilla

Effects of Chronic Avian Malaria (Plasmodium Relictum) Infection on Reproductive Success of Hawaii Amakihi (Hemignathus Virens)

We studied the effects of chronic avian malaria (Plasmodium relictum) infections on the reproductive success of a native Hawaiian honeycreeper, Hawaii Amakihi (Hemignathus virens). Chronic malaria infections in male and female parents did not significantly reduce reproductive success as measured by clutch size, hatching success, fledging mass, number of nestlings fledged, nesting success (daily survival rate), and minimum fledgling survival. In fact, nesting success of pairs with chronically infected males was significantly higher than those with uninfected males (76% vs. 38%), and offspring that had at least one parent that had survived the acute phase of malaria infection had a significantly greater chance of being resighted the following year (25% vs. 10%). The reproduction and survival of infected birds were sufficient for a per-capita population growth rate >1, which suggests that chronically infected Hawaii Amakihi could support a growing population. Efectos de las Infecciones Crónicas de Malaria Aviaria (Plasmodium relictum) en el Éxito Reproductivo de Hemignathus virens

Resource allocation in fledglings of the rhinoceros auklet under different feeding conditions: an experiment manipulating meal size and frequency

By manipulating meal size and frequency in an alcid, the rhinoceros auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata (Pallas, 1811)), we examined two hypotheses: (1) poorly fed chicks allocate resources preferentially to developing organs essential for fledging, and (2) intermittently fed chicks deposit more lipids than regularly fed ones. Chicks were fed normal (NORMAL; 40–80 g, mean meal mass in a normal year), small (LOW; 26–54 g, half of NORMAL), or large (HIGH; 80–160 g, twice as much as NORMAL) amounts of sandlance (Ammodytes personatus Girard, 1856) every day or the large meal (80–160 g) every 2 days (INTERMITTENT). Chicks fed more food grew faster. The HIGH group had the greatest fledging mass and shortest fledging period. The wingspan and brain mass of fledglings did not differ among groups. The heart, liver, and breast muscle at fledging were 15%–25% smaller in the LOW group than in the NORMAL group but did not differ between the NORMAL and HIGH groups. The total lipid was 43% greater in the HIGH group than in the NORMAL group, and that of the LOW group was 38% smaller. The INTERMITTENT group had a similar lipid mass to the NORMAL group. Chicks feeding on small meals seemed to maintain the growth of organs essential for fledging, while chicks feeding on large meals seemed to deposit a surplus as lipid rather than allocate more to the development of organs.