Establishment and extinction of a population of South Georgian diving petrel<i>(Pelecanoides georgicus)</i>at Mason Bay, Stewart Island, New Zealand, during the late Holocene

Holdaway, Richard N.; Jones, Martin; Athfield, Nancy R. Beavan

doi:10.1080/03014223.2003.9517748

Cited by 18 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 58 publications

(63 reference statements)

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“…The historic distribution of P . whenuahouensis in New Zealand likely encompassed the Otago Peninsula on the South Island, Mason’s Bay on Stewart Island, Enderby and Dundas Islands on the Auckland Islands and the Chatham Islands [ 6 , 29 , 30 , 40 , 72 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analyses of phenotypic differentiations among South Georgian Diving Petrel (Pelecanoides georgicus) populations reveal an undescribed and highly endangered species from New Zealand

et al. 2018

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Unresolved taxonomy of threatened species is problematic for conservation as the field relies on species being distinct taxonomic units. Differences in breeding habitat and results from a preliminary molecular analysis indicated that the New Zealand population of the South Georgian Diving Petrel (Pelecanoides georgicus) was a distinct, yet undescribed, species. We measured 11 biometric characters and scored eight plumage characters in 143 live birds and 64 study skins originating from most populations of P. georgicus, to assess their taxonomic relationships. We analysed differences with principal component analyses (PCA), factorial ANOVAs, and Kruskal-Wallis rank sum tests. Results show that individuals from New Zealand differ significantly from P. georgicus from all other populations as following: 1) longer wings, 2) longer outer tail feathers, 3) deeper bills, 4) longer heads, 5) longer tarsi, 6) limited collar extent, 7) greater extent of contrasting scapulars, 8) larger contrasting markings on the secondaries, 9) paler ear coverts, 10) paler collars, and 11) paler flanks. Furthermore, we used a species delimitation test with quantitative phenotypic criteria; results reveal that the New Zealand population of P. georgicus indeed merits species status. We hereby name this new species Pelecanoides whenuahouensis sp. nov. Due to severe reductions in its range and the very low number of remaining birds (~150 individuals limited to a single breeding colony on Codfish Island/Whenua Hou) the species warrants listing as ‘Critically Endangered’. An abstract in the Māori language/Te Reo Māori can be found in S1 File.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analyses of phenotypic differentiations among South Georgian Diving Petrel (Pelecanoides georgicus) populations reveal an undescribed and highly endangered species from New Zealand

et al. 2018

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“…Following the designation as a new species, the WHDP warrants listing as ‘Critically Endangered’ on the IUCN Red List (Fischer et al ., ). WHDPs were historically widespread through southern New Zealand, but predation by invasive species caused local extinctions throughout their range, including the Chatham Islands, Auckland Islands, Stewart Island and the Otago peninsula (Worthy, ; Taylor, ; Holdaway et al ., ; Wood & Briden, ; Fischer et al ., ). Today, the WHDP is restricted to Codfish Island (Whenua Hou, 14 km 2 , Fig.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One of the Procellariiform species that breeds on Codfish Island is the “Critically Endangered” Whenua Hou Diving Petrel Pelecanoides whenuahouensis ; WHDP hereafter. This species faced major range restrictions and population declines due to the impacts of invasive predators and is now restricted to a single colony on Codfish Island, New Zealand (Taylor, ; Holdaway, Jones & Athfield, ; Fischer et al ., ). While invasive predators have been removed from Codfish Island, little is known about past and contemporary population estimates and trends of the WHDP, hindering any assessment of the population responses to the eradication efforts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Population growth estimates of a threatened seabird indicate necessity for additional management following invasive predator eradications

Fischer

Taylor

Cole³

et al. 2019

Animal Conservation

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The eradication of invasive predators from islands is a successful technique to safeguard seabird populations, but adequate post-eradication monitoring of native species is often lacking. The Whenua Hou Diving Petrel (Pelecanoides whenuahouensis; WHDP) is a recently-described and 'Critically Endangered' seabird, restricted to Codfish Island (Whenua Hou), New Zealand. Invasive predators, considered the major threat to WHDP, were eradicated on Codfish Island in 2000. However, estimates of WHDP population size and trends remain unknown, hindering assessments of the success of the eradications. We collated intermittent burrow counts (n = 20 seasons) conducted between 1978 and 2018. To estimate the population growth rate (k) before and after predator eradications, we used log-linear models in a Bayesian hierarchical framework while retrospectively accounting for differences in detection probabilities among burrow counts, due to differences in effort, marking and timing. The number of WHDP burrows was estimated at 40 (36-46) in 1978 and 100 (97-104) in 2018. The pre-eradication k was estimated at 1.023 (0.959-1.088), while the post-eradications k was estimated at 1.017 (1.006-1.029). The WHDP population appears to be increasing, yet the rate of increase is low compared to other Procellariiformes following predator eradications. The comparatively low post-eradication k, combined with an apparent lack of change between pre-and post-eradication k, indicates that additional threats might be limiting WHDP population growth and that further conservation management is required. The continuation of affordable and simple, albeit imperfect, monitoring methods with retrospective corrections facilitated the assessment of invasive predator eradications outcomes and should guide future management decisions. An abstract in Te Reo M aori (the M aori language) can be found in Appendix S1.Animal Conservation 23 (2020) 94-103 ª

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“…The size of this area was 100 x 900 m, encompassing the entire Sealers Bay dunes and all SGDP burrows identified in previous surveys (Taylor and Cole 2002, Cole 2004). While our study area included forest bordering dunes, we did not sample interior forest, as the SGDP in New Zealand appears to favour dune habitat (Marchant and Higgins 1990, Taylor 2000, Holdaway et al 2003, Wood and Briden 2008).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nest site selection of South Georgia Diving-petrels Pelecanoides georgicus on Codfish Island, New Zealand: implications for conservation management

Fischer

Debski

Taylor

et al. 2017

Bird Conservation International

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SummarySmall seabird species are often threatened by predation from invasive species at their breeding colonies and considerable efforts are invested into mitigating this threat. However, invasive predators may not be the only onshore threat affecting small seabird species. The South Georgia Diving-petrel Pelecanoides georgicus (SGDP) is a small seabird species, considered ‘Nationally Critical’ in New Zealand. Our objective was to identify terrestrial threats to the species at their sole remaining breeding colony in New Zealand, Codfish Island (Whenua Hou), following the successful eradication of invasive predators. To achieve our objective, we assessed the influence of five physical, three competition/attraction and three plant variables on SGDP nest site selection with generalised linear models (GLMs) and compared models using an information theoretic approach. Models including the distance to sea, slope, aspect, and sand flux outperformed other models and showed selection for steep seaward-facing foredunes with mobile soils. No invasive plant and competition/attraction variables were included in the best performing models. These results suggest that, due to the proximity of their preferred nesting habitat to the springtide line and the overall fragility of the foredunes, SGDPs on Codfish Island are extremely vulnerable to stochastic events and catastrophes, such as storms and storm surges. Eradication efforts directed at invasive predators on Codfish Island appear thus insufficient to safeguard this SGDP colony, necessitating further conservation strategies to secure the continued survival of this population.

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Establishment and extinction of a population of South Georgian diving petrel(Pelecanoides georgicus)at Mason Bay, Stewart Island, New Zealand, during the late Holocene

Cited by 18 publications

References 58 publications

Analyses of phenotypic differentiations among South Georgian Diving Petrel (Pelecanoides georgicus) populations reveal an undescribed and highly endangered species from New Zealand

Analyses of phenotypic differentiations among South Georgian Diving Petrel (Pelecanoides georgicus) populations reveal an undescribed and highly endangered species from New Zealand

Population growth estimates of a threatened seabird indicate necessity for additional management following invasive predator eradications

Nest site selection of South Georgia Diving-petrels Pelecanoides georgicus on Codfish Island, New Zealand: implications for conservation management

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