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Site-specific reproductive failure and decline of a population of the endangered yellow-eyed penguin: a case for foraging habitat quality
Citation
King, SD and Harper, GA and Wright, JB and McInnes, JC and van der Lubbe, JE and Dobbins, ML and Murray, SJ, Site-specific reproductive failure and decline of a population of the endangered yellow-eyed penguin: a case for foraging habitat quality, Marine Ecology Progress Series, 467 pp. 233-244. ISSN 0171-8630 (2012) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
© Inter-Research 2012
Abstract
Sub-populations within species can exhibit differing population growth trajectories in relation to one another depending on various environmental factors. In threatened species, negative population growth in some sub-populations can ultimately cause the demise of the species; therefore, understanding causal factors of population change is critical to inform management aimed at reversing population declines. Feral house cats Felis catus are potential predators of Endangered yellow-eyed penguins Megadyptes antipodes and were considered the principal causal factor in the species’ decline on Stewart Island/Rakiura, New Zealand. The number of yellow-eyed penguins breeding on Stewart Island is low relative to the number on close outlying islands, where cats are absent, and a census had recorded few juveniles on Stewart Island, suggesting poor reproductive success. Yellow-eyed penguin breeding attempts on the northern coast of Stewart Island and outlying islands were monitored for 5 yr, but predation by cats was not evident. Instead, disease, probably aggravated by starvation and poor dietary provisioning, was found to be a significant cause of chick mortality on Stewart Island. Reproductive success was consistently low there (0−33%), in contrast to outlying islands (27−76%). Little recruitment was recorded on Stewart Island, and the number of breeding pairs on the northern coast of Stewart Island declined by 27% between 1999 and 2008. Factors unique to the north coast of Stewart Island are believed to be adversely affecting nesting yellow-eyed penguins, as a similar decline was not recorded elsewhere on the island or on outlying islands.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | Megadyptes antipodes, feral cat, population decline, breeding success, chick mortality, starvation, disease, ‘junk-food’ hypothesis |
| Research Division: | Biological Sciences |
| Research Group: | Ecology |
| Research Field: | Population ecology |
| Objective Division: | Environmental Management |
| Objective Group: | Marine systems and management |
| Objective Field: | Assessment and management of pelagic marine ecosystems |
| UTAS Author: | McInnes, JC (Dr Julie McInnes) |
| ID Code: | 148760 |
| Year Published: | 2012 |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 9 |
| Deposited By: | Ecology and Biodiversity |
| Deposited On: | 2022-02-07 |
| Last Modified: | 2022-03-04 |
| Downloads: | 8 View Download Statistics |
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