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In 1989, the kakerori (Pomarea dimidiata) was one of the 10 rarest birds in the world with a declining population of just 29 individuals living in forested hill country in the Takitumu Conservation Area (TCA) of south-eastern Rarotonga, Cook Islands. Following 12 years of rat poisoning, the population had increased to 255 birds in August 2001. The programme then shifted from ‘species recovery’ to ‘sustainable management’ of the Rarotonga population at 250 to 300 birds. The rat poisoning effort was reduced, and an ‘insurance’ population was established on Atiu. By August 2004, following the reduction of poisoning from weekly to fortnightly, and the transfer of 30 youngsters to Atiu in 2001–03, there were 281 birds on Rarotonga and 25 on Atiu. The southern Cook Islands were hit by five tropical cyclones in a four-week period in February–March 2005, and forests on Rarotonga were severely damaged. Kakerori survived the storms remarkably well, but the main effect was observed in the following breeding season (2005/06), when nesting success on Rarotonga was exceptionally poor. Reduced canopy cover caused nests to be exposed to abnormally wet conditions, and lack of fruit meant that rats were exceptionally hungry. Only 31 yearlings were known to be alive in August 2006—about half the expected number—and annual mortality of banded birds (25%) was the highest since management began. The kakerori population on Rarotonga fell 8% from 275 birds in August 2005 to a minimum of 254 birds in August 2006. The situation was better on Atiu, with the population growing from about 32 adult birds in 2005/06 to a minimum of 37 adult birds in 2006/07, and an Atiu-bred pair nested successfully for the first time. The 2006/07 breeding season on Rarotonga was moderately successful, with a minimum of 51 fledglings found. Because the ‘sustainable management’ regime of fortnightly rat poisoning in the TCA was only just adequate in giving protection to adult kakerori, the annual poisoning programme was modified by adding rounds of ‘interim’ poisoning in April and July 2007 aimed at reducing rat and cat numbers before the breeding season.

In June/July 2002 the eradication of Pacific rats from Maninita Island in the Vava'u group of the Kingdom of Tonga was attempted using Brodifacoum pellets in bait stations. In December 2002, Maninita was revisited and rat trapping carried out to determine if rats were present. While no rats were caught and none were seen, further monitoring in June 2003 is recommended before the island is declared "rat free '. Using the same techniques used on Maninita, the eradication of rats on neighbouring Taula and Lua Loli was attempted. Despite poor weather delaying rebaiting visits to the islands, the operation thus far appears successful. Permanent bait stations set up on Maninita to minimise the risk of rats re-invading the island were found to have been tampered with and evidence of booby chick harvesting was seen on Taula. Regular visits to the islands to maintain bait stations and maintain a presence are recommended.

Whale-watching as an industry in the Pacific is growing much faster than whale numbers are recovering and is proving to be by far the most lucrative use of whales, with the added attraction of doing them no harm, provided that the operations are well managed.

On 6 January 2004. cyclone Heta devastated much of the South Pacific island nation of Niue. Extensive damage was done to forest, particularly of the north- western sector, with many trees up-rooted and others stripped of branches and foliage. This report details our findings from a survey of Niue's birds and rodents during 3-19 September 2004 and compares these with results from a similar survey in September 1994. Five-minute bird count data, an index of conspicuousness, from three transects showed that heahea (Polynesian triller,Lalagc maculosa) were more abundant in 2004 than in 1994, but mid (Polynesian starling, Aplonis tabuensis), kulukulu (purple-crowned fruit dove. Ptilinopus porpbyraecus) and lupe (Pacific pigeon. Ducula pacifica) had declined. The 28-64% decline in the lupe population per transect w as probably primarily as a result of hunting, rather than mortality caused by cyclone Heta. Counts of birds seen per kilometre along three sections of road (lower, upper, inland) were also compared with September 1994 data. However, for various reasons we doubt that the results accurately reflect population numbers. The 212 kiu (Pacific golden plover. Pluvial is fulva) counted at sites accessible from main roads in September 2004 was similar to the 226 seen in September 1994. Rat trapping results (captures per 100 trap-nights) along the same three transects for December 1994 and September 2004 were not significantly different. Both kuma (Pacific rat. Rattus exulans) and ship rats (R. rattus) were trapped, but kuma were found only in regenerating scrub, whereas ship rats were present in both scrub and forest. Recommendations for future work are made mainly in relation to the long-term conservation of lupe, a toaga (treasured) species of Niueans.

Graphs use spatial arrangement on the page or screen to convey numerical information: they are often easier to interpret than repetitive numbers or complex tables. The assumption seems to be made that creating good graphs is easy and natural: yet many bad or sub-optimal graphs encountered in the literature disprove this. We aim to help you to produce good graphs, and to avoid falling into traps that common computer software packages seem to encourage. A scientific culture is one where good graphs, and innovative and specialised approaches, are valued. Hence we explain some relevant psychology behind the interpretation of graphs. We then review a variety of graph formats, including some less common ones. Their appropriate uses are explained, and suggestions are given for improving the visual impact of the message behind the data while reducing the distraction of non-essential graphical elements. We argue against the use of pie charts and most three- dimensional graphs, prefer horizontal to most vertical bar charts, and recommend using box plots and multipanel graphs for illustrating the distribution of complex data. The focus of this publication is on preparing graphs for written communications, but most principles apply equally to graphs used in oral presentations. The appendices illustrate how to create better graphs by manipulating some of the awkward default settings of Microsoft Excel ( 2002 version) and illustrate the S-PLUS programming language (both programs are currently available on the computer network of the New Zealand Department of Conservation).