Lagomorph Abundance around Yellow-eyed Penguin (megadyptes Antipodes) Colonies, South Island, New Zealand
نویسندگان
چکیده
New Zealand Journal of Ecology (1998) 22(1): 65-70 ©New Zealand Ecological Society However, if buffer zones do not reduce lagomorph abundance and consequently chick predation, there is a danger from relaxation of conventional predator control measures which could potentially increase rates of predation on chicks. In addition, increased predation on chicks may result if buffer zones actually increase lagomorph abundance. Alternatively, the presence of more lagomorphs within the buffer zones may reduce predation of chicks by providing predators with other prey. Hitherto, vegetation buffer zones have been widely adopted to reduce predation on yellow-eyed penguin chicks with no assessment of their impact. This study tests the hypothesis that lagomorph abundance is reduced in and around ungrazed penguin breeding sites.
منابع مشابه
Historical records of yellow-eyed penguin (Megadyptes antipodes) in southern New Zealand
The yellow-eyed penguin (Megndyptes antipodes) on the South Island of New Zealand was believed to have suffered a population decline that continued into the 1980s. Unpublished census results from L. Richdale (1930s-1950s) and S. Sharpe (1950s-1960s) for Otago Peninsula show that there were only 44 nests in 1940, but the number increascd in the 1940s-1960s. Numbers peaked at 276 nests in the mid...
متن کاملSHORT COMMUNICATION Avian malaria parasites (Plasmodium spp.) in Dunedin and on the Otago Peninsula, southern New Zealand
There is concern that avian malaria maybe partly responsible for fluctuations in yellow-eyed penguin (Megadyptes antipodes) populations in New Zealand. Recent findings, however, have provided no evidence of avian malaria parasites infecting yellow-eyed penguins on the Otago Peninsula, raising questions as to whether this area is currently free of such parasites. To test this possibility we coll...
متن کاملRelict or colonizer? Extinction and range expansion of penguins in southern New Zealand.
Recent human expansion into the Pacific initiated a dramatic avian extinction crisis, and surviving taxa are typically interpreted as declining remnants of previously abundant populations. As a case in point, New Zealand's endangered yellow-eyed penguin (Megadyptes antipodes) is widely considered to have been more abundant and widespread in the past. By contrast, our genetic and morphological a...
متن کاملHeart rate responses provide an objective evaluation of human disturbance stimuli in breeding birds
Intuition is a poor guide for evaluating the effects of human disturbance on wildlife. Using the endangered Yellow-eyed penguin, Megadyptes antipodes, as an example, we show that heart rate responses provide an objective tool to evaluate human disturbance stimuli and encourage the wider use of this simple and low-impact approach. Yellow-eyed penguins are a flagship species for New Zealand's wil...
متن کاملLost in translation or deliberate falsification? Genetic analyses reveal erroneous museum data for historic penguin specimens.
Historic museum specimens are increasingly used to answer a wide variety of questions in scientific research. Nevertheless, the scientific value of these specimens depends on the authenticity of the data associated with them. Here we use individual-based genetic analyses to demonstrate erroneous locality information for archive specimens from the late nineteenth century. Specifically, using 10 ...
متن کامل