Academic literature on the topic 'Westland petrel'

Stable isotope studies have repeatedly shown marine nutrient incorporation from seabirds, anadromous fish and tidal wrack into terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems. However, little is known about the physiological consequences of marine-derived nutrient subsidies. Protein content and lipid storage are important physiologically, and the C:N ratio is a widely used proxy that reflects changes in these quantities. In this study we tested the response of C:N ratios in stream biota to the presence of marine-derived nutrients from Westland petrels, a forest breeding seabird. Samples of different stream invertebrate functional feeding groups, predatory freshwater fish, coarse particulate organic matter and riparian soil and vegetation came from four reference streams and four streams with a wide range of seabird densities. Samples were analysed for percentage C, percentage N and δ15N using isotope ratio mass spectrometry. The data were tested against petrel colony size, stream size and distance from colony to sampling site. Despite increased δ15N accompanying petrel presence (as reported previously), Westland petrels had no effect on stream biota C:N ratios, regardless of colony presence or absence or colony size. Despite the nutrients provided by petrels, we conclude that petrel N replaced rather than enhanced non-marine N in these stream ecosystems.

We describe a new Procellaria petrel species from the late Pliocene of Taranaki, New Zealand. The new species is most similar morphologically to the White-Chinned Petrel (P. aequinoctialis), Spectacled Petrel (P. conspicillata) and the Westland Petrel (P. westlandica). Compared with those taxa, the new species has a deeper and shorter premaxilla, longer coracoid and shorter wings, while its legs are a similar size. Today, New Zealand is the centre of global diversity of the genus, with four breeding species. This is the first fossil species of Procellaria to be described from New Zealand, attesting to a reasonably long history of this genus in the region.

Most Procellariform seabirds are pelagic, breed in summer when prey availability peaks, and migrate for winter. They also display a dual foraging strategy (short and long trips) and sex-specific foraging. The Westland petrel Procellaria westlandica , a New Zealand endemic, is one of the rare seabirds breeding in winter. Preliminary findings on this large and sexually dimorphic petrel suggest a foraging behaviour with no evidence of a dual strategy, within a narrow range and with shared areas between sexes. To investigate further this unusual strategy, the present study determined the fine-scale at-sea behaviours (global positioning system and accelerometer data loggers) and trophic niches (stable isotopes in whole blood) of chick-rearing individuals (16 males and 13 females). All individuals foraged on the shelf-slope of the west coast of New Zealand's South Island with short, unimodal trips. Both sexes foraged at similar intensity without temporal, spatial or isotopic niche segregation. These findings suggest the presence of a winter prey resource close to the colony, sufficient to satisfy the nutritional needs of breeding without increasing the foraging effort or intra-specific competition avoidance during winter. Additional data are needed to assess the consistency of foraging niche between the sexes and its reproductive outcomes in view of anticipated environmental changes.

Surface soil samples from two sites in a breeding colony of Westland Petrels were compared with those from a control with no seabird breeding. Soil solution (-0.025 �m) analyses established significant differences in Al, P and natural organic matter (NOM) chemistry. At the breeding colony sites, low concentrations of total Al in soil solution, combined with high extractable phosphate, indicated formation of insoluble humic-Al-(Fe)-P complexes. NOM in soil solution was estimated from absorbances at 250 nn. NOM was at lower concentrations at the breeding colony and had a lower percentage of Al bound in non-labile complexes (38-86% compared with >97%). Gel filtration experiments showed that soil solution from the breeding area had an NOM size distribution weighted toward smaller size fractions. This is consistent with NOM having different properties at the two sites and could contribute to different processes in pedogenesis. The results reported in this paper support a hypothesis that localized extinction of breeding seabirds following Polynesian settlement has affected soil chemistry in the well leached soils on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island.

Guano from breeding seabirds provides a large external source of nutrients to the soils of breeding colonies. However, little is known of guano P retention relative to N or the relative importance of guano and soil parent material as P sources. Soil profile N and P inventories (0–0.60 m, n = 4; 0–0.36 m, n = 1) and guano N and P concentrations were measured at a Westland petrel colony, and the parent material contributions of P were calculated using Ca, Al, Fe, Ti, and Zr as reference elements. Median inventories (0–0.60 m) were 1.49 kg N/m2 and 332 × 10–3 kg P/m2, the N result being similar to that from a seabird colony on peat soil where N retention was very low. Calculated parent material contributions were smallest (32–66% of soil P) when based on Ca and largest (47–102% of soil P) when based on Zr. Contributions were similar for Al, Fe, and Ti; Al (41–87% soil P) was selected for subsequent calculations. Regardless of the reference element, parent material therefore contributed a large part of soil P. Phosphorus in excess of parent material supply (Pexcess) was significantly correlated with soil C, implying that guano P is held primarily in organic form. The median soil N : P molar ratios were 9.6 : 1 based on total P and 11.2 : 1 based on Pexcess, compared with ratios for Westland petrel guano of 4.1 : 1 (when birds were consuming fisheries waste) and 16.4 : 1 (when fisheries waste was replaced by fish). The similarity between soil and guano N : P ratios implies that both N and P are lost from soil at similar rates, although volatilisation of N would enrich soil drainage water in P. Calculations using guano deposition rates from the literature yielded P residence times of 4–15 years (Pexcess) and 11–41 years (total P), consistent with a highly dynamic soil system.

Seabirds vector selenium (Se) into terrestrial ecosystems in Antarctica and on tropical coral islands, but factors controlling distribution within affected soils are unknown, especially in temperate regions. At a Westland petrel (Procellaria westlandica) breeding colony on mainland New Zealand, the concentration of Se in petrel guano (3.6 mg kg–1) exceeded soil parent material (0.8 mg kg–1) and in all but two soil samples (range 1.2–4.2 mg kg–1; n = 52). External Se (Se not derived from parent material) accounted for 64 ± 9% (mean ± s.d.) of soil Se. Measurements were also made at a former seabird breeding site, and at a site with no Holocene seabird breeding. Median surface-soil Se concentrations (mg kg–1) were in the order burrow soil (2.6) > adjacent forest floor (2.2) > former breeding site (1.0) > control site (0.2), with significant differences between burrow soil and (1) the former breeding site and (2) the control site. In a linear regression model, soil pH, and δ15N were the only significant predictors of external Se in colony soil. The correlations are consistent with seabird input driving both the Se supply and increased sorptive uptake in an environment acidified by seabird guano. Despite the enhanced Se in colony soil, median foliage concentrations (tree fern 0.05 mg kg–1, nikau 0.08 mg kg–1) were close to the accepted minimum for herbivore nutrition. Seabirds therefore contribute significant Se to breeding colony soils in temperate areas, but this is not necessarily transferred to plant foliage.

Westland petrels Procellaria westlandica breed only near Punakaiki on the West Coast of New Zealand. About 80 km offshore from their breeding colony, New Zealand's largest commercial fishery (for hoki Macruronus novaezelandiae) operates from mid June to early September, coinciding with the Westland petrel's breeding season. It has been assumed that Westland petrels feed extensively on fisheries waste and that this habit has been at least partly responsible for the increase in the Westland petrel population. Some seabird biologists have expressed concern that if a species comes to depend on scavenging at fishing vessels, such a species could experience a food crisis if fishing operations changed in a way that reduced the quantity of waste discharged. The aim of this research was to assess how dependent Westland petrels have become on fisheries waste for food. Diet studies showed that during the hoki fishing season, waste accounts for more than half by weight of the solid food Westland petrels bring back to the colony to feed their chicks. After the hoki season, waste contributes only about a quarter of their diet as birds switch to more natural prey and scavenge a wider variety of fish species presumably from smaller, inshore fishing vessels. Much of the fisheries waste eaten by Westland petrels was flesh which could not be identified using traditional techniques. The electrophoretic technique iso-electric focusing increased the number of fish samples that could be identified and consequently the diet was interpreted differently than it would have been had only traditional diet analysis been used. The survey of Westland petrel distribution off the west coast of the South Island, found that although hoki fishing vessels influence the distribution of Westland petrels, only a small proportion of the Westland petrel population appears to utilise this food resource at any one time. Westland petrels were tracked at sea by VHF radio telemetry and then by satellite tracking. Satellite tracking showed that there is considerable variation in the amount of time Westland petrels spend in the vicinity of fishing vessels. On average, satellite tracked birds spent one third of their time near vessels, but they foraged over much larger areas than that occupied by the West Coast South Island hoki fishing fleet. Although fisheries waste is an important component of the Westland petrel diet, it appears that the situation is one of opportunistic use of a readily available resource, rather than one of dependence. Several features of the Westland petrel's breeding biology and foraging ecology suggest that Westland petrels could compensate for a reduction in waste from the hoki fishery by switching to other sources of waste and increasing their consumption of natural prey. Nevertheless, much remains unanswered concerning the role of fisheries waste in the Westland petrel's diet. In particular, quantifying the waste available to seabirds, and the success of Westland petrels in acquiring that waste compared to other scavenging species, is needed in order to better predict the effect of a reduction in fisheries waste on Westland petrel population size.

Westland petrels Procellaria westlandica breed only near Punakaiki on the West Coast of New Zealand. About 80 km offshore from their breeding colony, New Zealand's largest commercial fishery (for hoki Macruronus novaezelandiae) operates from mid June to early September, coinciding with the Westland petrel's breeding season. It has been assumed that Westland petrels feed extensively on fisheries waste and that this habit has been at least partly responsible for the increase in the Westland petrel population. Some seabird biologists have expressed concern that if a species comes to depend on scavenging at fishing vessels, such a species could experience a food crisis if fishing operations changed in a way that reduced the quantity of waste discharged. The aim of this research was to assess how dependent Westland petrels have become on fisheries waste for food. Diet studies showed that during the hoki fishing season, waste accounts for more than half by weight of the solid food Westland petrels bring back to the colony to feed their chicks. After the hoki season, waste contributes only about a quarter of their diet as birds switch to more natural prey and scavenge a wider variety of fish species presumably from smaller, inshore fishing vessels. Much of the fisheries waste eaten by Westland petrels was flesh which could not be identified using traditional techniques. The electrophoretic technique iso-electric focusing increased the number of fish samples that could be identified and consequently the diet was interpreted differently than it would have been had only traditional diet analysis been used. The survey of Westland petrel distribution off the west coast of the South Island, found that although hoki fishing vessels influence the distribution of Westland petrels, only a small proportion of the Westland petrel population appears to utilise this food resource at any one time. Westland petrels were tracked at sea by VHF radio telemetry and then by satellite tracking. Satellite tracking showed that there is considerable variation in the amount of time Westland petrels spend in the vicinity of fishing vessels. On average, satellite tracked birds spent one third of their time near vessels, but they foraged over much larger areas than that occupied by the West Coast South Island hoki fishing fleet. Although fisheries waste is an important component of the Westland petrel diet, it appears that the situation is one of opportunistic use of a readily available resource, rather than one of dependence. Several features of the Westland petrel's breeding biology and foraging ecology suggest that Westland petrels could compensate for a reduction in waste from the hoki fishery by switching to other sources of waste and increasing their consumption of natural prey. Nevertheless, much remains unanswered concerning the role of fisheries waste in the Westland petrel's diet. In particular, quantifying the waste available to seabirds, and the success of Westland petrels in acquiring that waste compared to other scavenging species, is needed in order to better predict the effect of a reduction in fisheries waste on Westland petrel population size.