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Chapter 19 - Isolation, invasion and innovation: forces of change in the conservation of New Zealand birds

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 November 2014

By
Sarah Withers
Edited by
Adam Stow ,
Norman Maclean  and
Gregory I. Holwell
Sarah Withers
Affiliation:
University of Auckland
Adam Stow
Affiliation:
Macquarie University, Sydney
Norman Maclean
Affiliation:
University of Southampton
Gregory I. Holwell
Affiliation:
University of Auckland
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Summary

Summary

New Zealand is home to a small but strange set of land-birds and is world-renowned as a hotspot of sea-bird diversity. This unique assemblage of species is the result of the fact that the New Zealand landmass is continental in origin but island-like in nature, being isolated from other countries by a large extent of ocean. A lack of mammalian predators means that many New Zealand birds have evolved remarkable features, including gigantism, flightlessness, ground-nesting habits and physiology which protects them from aerial avian predators. Unfortunately, these features have made New Zealand birds highly susceptible to the impacts of introduced mammalian predators and many species are now threatened. The high levels of extinction and rates of decline have spurred the development of highly innovative and revolutionary conservation techniques. New Zealand conservation efforts have paved the way for international conservation projects, in particular with regard to the use of offshore islands, pest control methodologies, species translocation and breeding manipulation. The use of these interventions has led to the recovery of numerous highly endangered species and the discipline continues to evolve, with New Zealand scientists contributing to ongoing development and discussion of conservation methods. While New Zealand is home to one of the largest public conservation organisations in the world, dwindling governmental and financial support is putting many successful conservation projects at risk and private initiatives are becoming increasingly vital for the ongoing protection of New Zealand’s unique species.

The history and origin of New Zealand’s avifauna

New Zealand has long been recognised as an environment which hosts a remarkable avian assemblage. During its history New Zealand has contained 245 species in 110 genera representing 46 families. Like Australia, New Zealand has a high level of endemism in its avifauna, with 176 (72%) of the 245 resident species endemic to the archipelago (Holdaway et al. 2001). Species diversity is dominated by three groups, the Procellariiformes (53 species), Charadriiformes (30 species) and Passeriformes (44 species) and the country has a global reputation as a hot-spot of sea-bird diversity, with almost a quarter of the 359 sea-bird species worldwide occurring as breeding populations in New Zealand, of which 36 (42%) are endemic (Gaskin and Rayner 2013). The prevalence of sea-birds, shore-birds and forest-birds reflects New Zealand’s unique environment as an isolated archipelago with a very recent history of human occupation and consequent destruction.

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Austral Ark
The State of Wildlife in Australia and New Zealand
 , pp. 405 - 421
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2014

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