Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More

Video | Business Headlines | Internet | Science | Scientific Ethics | Technology | Search

 

Endangered bird may be more at home in lowland environment

Endangered bird may be more at home in lowland environment

A native bird long thought to be most at home in Fiordland tussock may actually be more comfortable in wetlands and a Waikato University student has won a scholarship to find out where takahe prefer to live.

Masters student Tehani Withers has been awarded a $1500 Tertiary Achievement in Pacific Ako (TAPA) Award to research the habitat requirements of South Island takahe and is comparing open farmland scattered with few mixed gullies and small wetlands on Motutapu Island with the forest of Maungatautari. The aim of this comparative study is to create a template for takahe habitat requirements.

When takahe were rediscovered in 1948 they were found in a mountainous tussock environment and it was assumed that was their preferred habitat. However, pairs have been translocated to many pest-free, off-shore islands and this translocated population has been steadily increasing.

Takahe pairs have also been translocated to fenced mainland sites, such as Maungatautari.

There they were temporarily housed in the forested Southern Enclosure and surprisingly thrived in the environment.

Ms Withers’ research will consider whether takahe were originally a wetland bird species and were rediscovered in tussock grassland because that was their last refuge from predators.

This study will also consider whether takahe might also have lived in forested habitats.

She will compare the behaviour and diet of birds on Motutapu Island (mostly pasture) and Maungatautari (almost entirely forest) during the study.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

Ms Withers has first-hand experience with the birds, having recently been involved with the release of two takahe on Motutapu.

Ms Withers and her father – who was visiting at the time – were on Motutapu when the pair were being released and “because we were from Tahiti - and there is an island with the name Motutapu in French Polynesia – iwi asked me and my dad to release each bird,” she says.

She hopes the scholarship will allow her to establish a general plan for takahe habitat requirements, including preferred plants, for the restoration and management of takahe habitats and to help breeding success.

ends

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Business Headlines | Sci-Tech Headlines

 
GenPro: General Practices Begin Issuing Clause 14 Notices

GenPro has been copied into a rising number of Clause 14 notices issued since the NZNO lodged its Primary Practice Pay Equity Claim against General Practice employers in December 2023.More

SPADA: Screen Industry Unites For Streaming Platform Regulation & Intellectual Property Protections

In an unprecedented international collaboration, representatives of screen producing organisations from around the world have released a joint statement.More

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.