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Conservation of kakerori (Pomarea dimidiata), Rarotonga

Biodiversity Conservation

Available Online

Robertson, H.A.

The Department of Conservation has assisted the Cook Islands Conservation/Environment Service, and more recently the Takitumu Conservation Area Project, to plan and implement a recovery programme for the endangered endemic forest bird, the kakerori.

tonga

Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae of Santa Cruz Island, California

Available Online

Longino, John T.

Miller, Scott E.

Trager, James C.

Ward, Philip S.

Wetterer, Andrea L.

Wetterer, James K.

We conducted ant surveys on Santa Cruz Island, the largest of the California Channel Islands, in 1975/6, 1984, 1993 and 1998. Our surveys yielded a combined total of 34 different ant species: Brachymyrmex cf. depilis, Camponotus anthrax, C. clarithorax, C. hyatti, C. semitestaceus, C. vicinus, C. sp. near vicinus, C. yogi, Cardiocondyla ectopia, Crematogaster californica, C. hespera, C. marioni, C. mormonum, Dorymyrmex bicolor, D. insanus (s.l.), Formica lasioides, F. moki, Hypoponera opacior, Leptothorax andrei, L. nevadensis, Linepithema humile, Messor chamberlini, Monomorium ergatogyna, Pheidole californica, P. hyatti, Pogonomyrmex subdentatus, Polyergus sp., Prenolepis imparis, Pseudomyrmex apache, Solenopsis molesta (s.l.), Stenamma diecki, Sn. snellingi, S. cf. diecki, and Tapinoma sessile. The ant species form a substantial subset of the mainland California ant fauna. We found only two ant species that are not native to North America, C. ectopia and L. humile. Linepithema humile, the Argentine ant, is a destructive tramp ant that poses a serious threat to native ants.

The legitimacy of international governance: a coming challenge for international environmental law? / by Daniel Bodansky

Biodiversity Conservation

Available Online

Bodansky, Daniel

This article is about a problem only just becoming visible the legitimacy of international environmental law, and more specifically, the perception that the international environmental process is insufficiently democratic. Until, now international lawyers have tended to focus on what environmental standards are needed and how those standards can be made effective/ But as decision-making authority gravitates from the national to the international level, the question of legitimacy will likely emerge from the shadows and become central issue in international environmental law. This article seeks to clarify the nature of the legitimacy challenge and to survey possible sources of legitimacy for international institutions.

governance

Status of birds in Vanuatu

Biodiversity Conservation

There are records of 122 species of birds of which 32 species are widely ranging seabirds, 15 species are shore birds and 74 are land and freshwater birds for Vanuatu.

vanuatu

Fossil and archaeological avifauna of Niue Island, Pacific Ocean / by T.H. Worthy, R.Walter, and A.J. Anderson

Biodiversity Conservation

Available Online

Anderson, A.J.

Walter, R.

Worthy, T.H.,

The archaeological and fossil avifauna of Niue Island in the southwest Pacific is described from ten sites. Fourteen species of birds, including an extinct species each of Gallirallus and Nydicorm, and an extirpated megapode (Megapodiuspritchardii) were found. This increases the number of taxa known for the Niue fauna to 15 resident species, but faunas from surrounding islands indicate this is almost certainly an underestimate of original diversity

Kiwis and dog predation: observations in Waitangi state forest / by Michael Taborsky

Available Online

Taborsky, Michael

A wild dog was found to kill 13 out of 23 kiwis marked with transmitters. The whole population may have lost 500 out of 900 birds, although this estimate may be conservative. The population will probably need 10-20 years and a rigorous protection scheme to recover previous densities.

Extinct and extirpated birds from Aitutaki and Atiu, Southern Cook Islands / by David W. Steadman

Steadman, D.W.

Six archaeological sites up to 1000years old on Aitutaki, Cook Islands, have yielded bones of 15speciesof birds, five of which no longer occur ontheisland: Pterodromarostrata(Tahiti Petrel);Sula sula(Red-footedBooby); Dendrocygna,undescribedsp.(alarge,extinctwhistlingduck); Porzanatabuensis (Sooty Crake); and Vini kuhlii (Rimatara Lorikeet). Of these, only S. sula and P. tabuensis survive anywhere in the CookIslands today.The nearest record of anyspecies ofDendrocygnaisinFiji.Asidefrom theaquaticspeciesEgrettasacra (Pacific Reef-Heron) and Anas superciliosa (Gray Duck), the only native, resident land bird on Aitutakitoday isthe SocietyIslands Lorikeet(Viniperuviana), which may have been introduced from Tahiti. Residents ofAitutaki note that Ducula pacifica (Pacific Pigeon) and Ptilinopus rarotongensis (Cook Islands Fruit-Dove)also occurredthere until the 1940sor 1950s.There isno indigenous forest on Aitutaki today. The bones from Aitutaki also include the island's first record of the fruit batPteropus tonganus. Limestone caveson the island of Atiu yieldedthe undated bones of sixspeciesof birds, three of which no longer exist there or anywhere elsein the Cook Islands: Gallicolumba erythroptera (Society Islands Ground-Dove),Ducula aurorae (SocietyIslands Pigeon),and Vinikuhlii. Each of these specieshas been recovered from prehistoric sites on Mangaia as well. The limestone terrain of Atiu is mostly covered with native forest that supports populations of Ducula pacifica, Ptilinopus rarotongensis, Collocalia sawtelli(Atiu Swiftlet), and Halcyon tuta (Chattering Kingfisher). The survival of these land birds depends upon protection of Atiu's forests.

Feral goat control in New Zealand / by John P.Parkes

Parkes, J.P.

About 150feral goat herds occupy about 16% of New Zealand. They are pests because of their effects on indigenous biota. Since 1936, government agencies have attempted to eradicate or control many herds. Common flaws in control campaigns include confusing ends (protection of resources) with means (killing goats), no measures of effectiveness, and lack of sustained action where eradication is impossible. One of four strategic options may be adopted: no action--giving a stable but undesirable outcome; eradication-- giving a stable and desirable outcome; annual sustained control-- giving a stable and desirable outcome but only if inherently fickle government effort is sustained; and occasional sustained control--giving unstable outcomes with or without the desired results depending on the goals and hunting frequency. Control tactics used are hunting on foot with or without dogs, hunting from helicopters, poisoning natural foliage, and fencing.

Foods of feral house cats (Felis catus L.) in forest of the Orongorongo Valley, Wellington / by B.M. Fitzgerald and B.J. Karl

Fitzgerald, B.M. and Karl, B.J.

The foods of feral house cats in forest in the Orongorongo Valley, Wellington, were studied over 3 years and related to the availability of prey. Some cats were trapped, tagged, and released, and could be identified individually by coat colour and pattern. The number of cats, estimated from live-trapping and sightings, was stable during the study. Examination of 677 scats revealed that mammals (rat, rabbit, opossum, mouse, and stoat, in descending order of importance) formed the bulk of the diet by weight. Remains of birds occurred in 12% of scats, but birds were estimated to form only 4.5% by weight of the diet. Insect fragments were present in many scats; wetas (Orthoptera), cicadas (Hemiptera), and beetles (Coleoptera) were important seasonally. Although eaten in large numbers, they contributed very little by weight to the diet. Populations of rats, rabbits, and opossums were fairly stable during the study; mice were abundant for most of the first 18 months, but were scarce in the last year. The literature on the food habits of feral house cats is reviewed; it emphasises that cats are primarily predators of small mammals (rodents and lagomorphs). Predation by feral cats can be important in holding rat and rabbit populations at low densities and in reducing seasonal fluctuations in their numbers. Cats can also exert heavy predation pressure on low-density mouse populations. Although the cats now eat few birds, they may have been responsible for reducing the numbers of some forest birds in the past.

A reassessment of factors, particularly Rattus rattus L., That influenced the decline of endemic birds in the Hawaiian Islands / I.A.E. Atkinson

Atkinson, I.A.E.

Between 1892 and 1930, 58 percent (30 taxa) of Hawaiian endemic forest birds either were greatly reduced or became extinct. The order in which the islands experienced major declines ofseveral forest birds is Oahu (ca. 1873-1887), Hawaii (1892-1900), Mo10kai (1893-1907), Maui (18941901), Kauai (after 1900), and Lanai (1926-1932). Loss of habitat, reduced food supply, introduced avian diseases, as well as predation by man, feral cats, mongooses, and Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) all appear to have reduced some species ofbirds, but none ofthese factors adequately explains the accelerated rates ofdecline offorest birds that occurred after 1892. Although it has been assumed that roofrats (Rattus rattus) reached Hawaii with the first European ships at the end of the 18th century, there is circumstantial evidence, independent of the bird decline data, that indicates that this rat did not arrive until after 1840, probably between 1870 and 1880. The hypothesis is advanced that after its establishment on Oahu in the 1870s, R. rattus spread to the remaining large islands in the group, resulting in a stepwise accelerated decline offorest birds on each island in turn. Hawaii thus parallels some other Pacific islands where major reductions of birds have followed the establishment of R. rattus. The need for precautions to prevent rats from reaching rat-free islands in the Hawaiian group is emphasized.

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