Status and demographic rates of the Christmas shearwater Puffinus nativitatis on Kure Atoll
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Published source details
VanderWerf E.A., Smith D.G., Vanderlip C., Marie A., Saunter M., Parrish J. & Worcester N. (2015) Status and demographic rates of the Christmas shearwater Puffinus nativitatis on Kure Atoll. Marine Ornithology, 43, 199-205.
Published source details VanderWerf E.A., Smith D.G., Vanderlip C., Marie A., Saunter M., Parrish J. & Worcester N. (2015) Status and demographic rates of the Christmas shearwater Puffinus nativitatis on Kure Atoll. Marine Ornithology, 43, 199-205.
Summary
Control mammalian predators on islands for seabirds
A before–and–after study in the 1980s and 2001–2013 on Kure Atoll, Hawaii, USA (VanderWerf et al. 2015) reported that after managing two alien species (eradicating Polynesian rats Rattus exulans and controlling golden crownbeard Verbesina encelioides), the abundance of Christmas shearwaters Puffinus nativitatis increased. Rats were eradicated between 1993 and 1995. Crownbeard has been controlled since the 1990s (see Shluker 2002). Previous publications reported a population of 40–60 Christmas shearwaters on Kure in the 1980s. Surveys between 2001 and 2013 reported a mean population of 358 individuals (range 250–480 individuals/year). Surveys in the 2000s involved catching birds on a runway at night. Caught birds were ringed. The study does not distinguish between the effects of eradicating rats and controlling crownbeard, but suggests that rat eradication was the primary reason for the shearwater population increase.
Remove vegetation to create nesting areas
A before–and–after study in the 1980s and 2001–2013 on Kure Atoll, Hawaii, USA (VanderWerf et al. 2015) reported that after managing two alien species (controlling golden crownbeard Verbesina encelioides and eradicating Polynesian rats Rattus exulans), the abundance of Christmas shearwaters Puffinus nativitatis increased. Crownbeard has been controlled since the 1990s (see Shluker 2002). Rats were eradicated between 1993 and 1995. Previous publications reported a population of 40–60 Christmas shearwaters on Kure in the 1980s. Surveys between 2001 and 2013 reported a mean population of 358 individuals (range 250–480 individuals/year). Surveys in the 2000s involved catching birds on a runway at night. Caught birds were ringed. The study does not distinguish between the effects of controlling crownbeard and eradicating rats, but suggests that rat eradication was the primary reason for the shearwater population increase.
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