{"id":7087,"date":"2024-12-16T16:51:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-16T03:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unitec.ac.nz\/epress\/?page_id=7087"},"modified":"2025-10-03T11:06:05","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T22:06:05","slug":"rekohu-birds-2024","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.unitec.ac.nz\/epress\/index.php\/perspectives-in-biodiversity\/volumes\/2025-1\/rekohu-birds-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Perspectives in Biodiversity | 2025 | Volume 3 | pp 1\u201314"},"content":{"rendered":"<nav class=\"is-responsive wp-block-navigation is-layout-flex wp-block-navigation-is-layout-flex\" aria-label=\"Perspectives in Biodiversity\" \n\t\t data-wp-interactive=\"core\/navigation\" data-wp-context='{\"overlayOpenedBy\":{\"click\":false,\"hover\":false,\"focus\":false},\"type\":\"overlay\",\"roleAttribute\":\"\",\"ariaLabel\":\"Menu\"}'><button aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-label=\"Open menu\" class=\"wp-block-navigation__responsive-container-open\" 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class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Contact Us <\/span><\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/nav>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Annotated Checklist<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.unitec.ac.nz\/epress\/index.php\/perspectives-in-biodiversity\/volumes\/2025-1\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"7080\">Volume 3<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Observations of avifauna on R\u0113kohu \/ Wharekauri \/ Chatham Island, Chatham Islands group, in February 2024<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-2469-8567\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-2469-8567\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\" class=\"wp-image-5587\" style=\"width: 20px;\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unitec.ac.nz\/epress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/image.png\" alt=\"\"><\/a> Rachel R. Klein<sup>1<\/sup>, Hannah Coyle<sup>1<\/sup>, Renee Flower<sup>1<\/sup>, <a href=\"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-4078-4692\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-4078-4692\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\" class=\"wp-image-5587\" style=\"width: 20px;\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unitec.ac.nz\/epress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/image.png\" alt=\"\"><\/a> Clay D. Heath<sup>1<\/sup>, <a href=\"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-0637-7139\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-0637-7139\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\" class=\"wp-image-5587\" style=\"width: 20px;\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unitec.ac.nz\/epress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/image.png\" alt=\"\"><\/a> Campbell James<sup>1<\/sup>, <a href=\"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6515-5041\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6515-5041\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\" class=\"wp-image-5587\" style=\"width: 20px;\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unitec.ac.nz\/epress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/image.png\" alt=\"\"><\/a> Saryu Mae<sup>2<\/sup>, Sophie Rear<sup>1<\/sup>, Shannon O\u2019Brien<sup>1<\/sup>, Amelia Tapp<sup>1<\/sup>, Dayna Thia<sup>1<\/sup>, Hamish Tuanui-Chisholm<sup>3<\/sup>, <a href=\"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6699-7083\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6699-7083\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\" class=\"wp-image-5587\" style=\"width: 20px;\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unitec.ac.nz\/epress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/image.png\" alt=\"\"><\/a> Peter J. de Lange<sup>1<\/sup>, <a href=\"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0389-4807\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0389-4807\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\" class=\"wp-image-5587\" style=\"width: 20px;\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unitec.ac.nz\/epress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/image.png\" alt=\"\"> <\/a>Marleen Baling<sup>1, *<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>1 <\/sup>School of Environmental &amp; Animal Sciences, Unitec, Private Bag 92025, Victoria Street West, Auckland 1142, New Zealand.<br><sup>2<\/sup> 119 Titirangi Road, New Lynn, Auckland 0600, New Zealand<br><sup>3<\/sup> 1007 Waitangi-Tuku Road, Chatham Islands 8016, New Zealand.<br>* corresponding author: <a href=\"mailto:m.baling@gmail.com\">m.baling@gmail.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Received: 1 November 2024 | Accepted: 28 November 2024 | Published: 15 May 2025<br>Associate Editor: Lilith Fisher<br><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.34074\/pibdiv.003101\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.34074\/pibdiv.003101<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.unitec.ac.nz\/epress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/PBD-Klein-etal-2025.pdf\" data-type=\"attachment\" data-id=\"7285\">Download PDF<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\"><br><strong>Abstract<\/strong><br>This study examines the avifauna of R\u0113kohu \/ Wharekauri \/ Chatham Island, a remote island group harbouring a diverse range of endemic, indigenous and introduced bird species. Here we report the avifauna observations from a Unitec visit to R\u0113kohu (8\u221217 February, 2024). During the ten-day trip, avifauna were recorded from 33 locations. Species diversity was compared between species using the Shannon Diversity Index and Species Evenness. Forty avian species were encountered, most commonly in open farmland and coastal environments. The common starling (<em>Sturnus vulgaris vulgaris<\/em>) and black swan (<em>Cygnus atratus<\/em>) were the most frequently observed. Species diversity in 2024 was lower than the avian survey conducted by Unitec in 2023 (H=2.35 vs. H=2.67), likely due to a few species dominating overall counts (E=0.64 vs E=0.73). There were 6x more black swans (n=871) and 3x starlings (n=971) than in the 2023 survey, likely due to favourable weather conditions and increased observer effort in 2024. In contrast, we noted a significant decrease (70.4%, n=50) in white-fronted terns (<em>Sterna striata<\/em>) in 2024 compared to 2023. Motuhinahina Island had lower species diversity in 2024 than in 2023 (H=1.07 vs. H=1.73), although we had new recordings of white-faced herons (<em>Egretta novaehollandiae<\/em>) and potentially silvereye (<em>Zosterops lateralis<\/em>). Counts of Pitt Island Shag (<em>Phalacrocorax featherstonii<\/em>) and Chatham Island Shag (<em>Leucocarbo onslowi<\/em>) on Motuhinahina and Shag Rock were consistent with 2023 survey counts. Kopi Bush exhibited higher avian diversity than the smaller Motuhinahina (H=1.75 vs. H=1.07). Throughout R\u0113kohu, uncommon species such as feral greylag geese (Anser anser), feral chickens (<em>Gallus gallus<\/em>), kingfisher (<em>Todiramphus sanctus vagans<\/em>), and yellow hammer (<em>Emberiza citrinella<\/em>) were recorded in low numbers. Emu (<em>Dromaius novaehollandiae<\/em>) were also encountered, confirming their continued presence on the island. Our findings highlight the importance of continued monitoring to understand the changes in R\u0113kohu&#8217;s avifauna and provide valuable baseline data for future research and conservation efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><strong>Cite as<\/strong><br>Klein, R. R., Coyle, H., Flower, R., Heath, C. D., James, C., Mae, S., Rear, S., O\u2019Brien, S., Tapp, A., Thia, D., Tuanui-Chisholm, H., de Lange, P. J., Baling, M. (2025). Observations of avifauna on R\u0113kohu \/ Wharekauri \/ Chatham Island, Chatham Islands group, in February 2024. <em>Perspectives in Biodiversity<\/em>, 3(1): 1\u201314. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.34074\/pibdiv.003101\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.34074\/pibdiv.003101<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Annotated Checklist Volume 3 Observations of avifauna on R\u0113kohu \/ Wharekauri \/ Chatham Island, Chatham Islands group, in February 2024 Rachel R. Klein1, Hannah Coyle1, Renee Flower1, Clay D. Heath1, Campbell James1, Saryu Mae2, Sophie Rear1, Shannon O\u2019Brien1, Amelia Tapp1,&#8230; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unitec.ac.nz\/epress\/index.php\/perspectives-in-biodiversity\/volumes\/2025-1\/rekohu-birds-2024\/\">Continue Reading &rarr;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"parent":7080,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-7087","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unitec.ac.nz\/epress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7087","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unitec.ac.nz\/epress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unitec.ac.nz\/epress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unitec.ac.nz\/epress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unitec.ac.nz\/epress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7087"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/www.unitec.ac.nz\/epress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7087\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7543,"href":"https:\/\/www.unitec.ac.nz\/epress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7087\/revisions\/7543"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unitec.ac.nz\/epress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unitec.ac.nz\/epress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}