The doubly-labelled water technique was used to measure energy expenditure in 20 free-living kakapo (Strigops habroptilus) on Codfish and Little Barrier Islands. Daily energy expenditure (DEE) averaged 799 kj/d, equivalent to 1.4 x BMR (basal metabolic rate), the lowest value recorded for any adult wild bird. DEE was higher in males than females, and was greater on Codfish Island than on Little Barrier Island. Supplementary food taken from hoppers by kakapo supplied about half of their DEE; a few individuals apparently obtained virtually all their energy needs from supplementary food. Use of food from hoppers did not affect energy expenditure directly, but apparently did so via long-term elevation of body mass. Supplementary feeding, particularly of energy-dense items such as nuts and seeds, greatly depressed body-water turnover rates. Some implications of the often high level of supplementary food taken by kakapo are discussed. Adjusting the supplementary feeding programme to meet more precisely the needs of individual birds would probably improve the overall nutrition of the surviving kakapo population.
The kakapo (Strigops habroptilus) is a critically endangered, flightless parrot endemic to New Zealand. In 2002, 24 chicks were raised on Codfish Island (Whenua Hou) to increase the total population by 37% to 86 individuals. Data on hatching and fledging of kakapo chicks allowed comparisons to be made between males and females, and between broods of one and two chicks, in hatching weight, growth, weight at fledging, and age of fledging. There was no significant difference in hatching weight between sexes or brood sizes but males were significantly heavier at 60 days old and at fledging. Chicks from broods of one grew more slowly and fledged earlier at lighter weights than chicks from broods of two. Early fledging of solitary chicks might be in response to a lack of mental and physical stimulation.
Conservation and management of kakapo (Strigops habroptilus) has spanned more than a century and has cost many millions of dollars. Government policy goals have supported these efforts throughout this long period but decisions made have not always reflected an optimal approach to achieving them. Decisions made have influenced not only whether kakapo will recover, but also the time span to recovery and its cost, which have impacted on the ability to meet broader biodiversity goals. The establishment, in 1987, of a single conservation agency, administering both the land and the species contained thereon, significantly changed the way biodiversity management was delivered in New Zealand and created enormous potential for integrated conservation outcomes. Despite this, decision-making for managers of threatened species conservation programmes has become more complex as an increasing number of endangered species compete for limited resources. Using kakapo as an example, historic and recent recovery decisions are evaluated and the need for a decision-making framework to improve threatened species recovery and overall biodiversity maintenance is discussed.
We describe and name a new subspecies of fulmar prion as Pachyptila crassirostris fl emingi. This little-known seabird has less than 1,000 pairs breeding at the Auckland Islands and 1,000-10,000 pairs breeding on Heard Island. It is probably largely sedentary around these islands in winter, with possible stragglers reaching mainland New Zealand and Tasmania.
35,289 southern royal albatrosses (Diomedea epomophora) were banded on Campbell Island between 1941 and 1998, including 24,258 chicks and 11,031 adults. By 2003, 240 (0.68%) band recoveries and live recaptures away from Campbell Island had been reported. Birds banded as chicks were reported at a median age of 2 years (range 1-28 yrs), and adults at a median of 4 years after banding (range 0-27 yrs). The peak of band recoveries occurred close to the peak of banding in the late 1960s. Recoveries were generally made between latitudes 30-55
A previously unknown population of Coenocorypha snipe was discovered on Jacquemart Island, a rat-free 19 ha islet adjacent to Campbell Island in the New Zealand subantarctic, on 9 November 1997. This was the first evidence of Coenocorypha snipe occurring in the Campbell Island group, which is believed to have been infested by Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) before the first naturalists visited in 1840. Rats were eradicated from 11,268 ha Campbell Island by the New Zealand Department of Conservation in July 2001. Two snipe were seen, and one caught, on Campbell Island adjacent to Jacquemart Island on 10 March 2005. The bird caught was a fully-feathered chick, indicating successful breeding on Campbell Island. The Campbell Island snipe remains undescribed and critically endangered.