Recoveries, Recaptures and Resightings Of
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Corella,2004, 28(1): 24-30 RECOVERIES,RECAPTURES AND RESIGHTINGSOF AUSTRALASIAN GANNETSMorus serrator BANDEDAT LAWRENCEROCKS' VICTORIA F. I. NORMAN' andC. COOPER'z rArthur Rylah Institutefor EnvironmentalResearch, Department ofs{stainability and Environmeot,123 Brown Street,Heidelberg. 2DeDartment of PrimaryIlldustrv, 8-12 Julia Street,Portland, Victoria 3306 Received:13 January2003 Bandingof Australasiangannets Morus seralor (mainlyot pre{ledging young) at Lawrence Rocks' off western Victoria,w;s initiatedin 1960 and continuedin most years until the 1971-1972 breeding period; a second series ol banding began in 1986-1987 and occurred annuaily until 1996-1997. A total of I640 young and 374 adults was bandid during these visits. Recoveries,recaptures and resightingsof these banded birds are summarised here. To June 2002, some 203 12.11")ol birds banded aS young have been recovered both locally and at considerable distances. Dispersai tended to be westwards and included numerous records around Western Australia;younger (<48 months) birds were often recoveredat greate. distances.For younger birds, recoveries were more numerous in months immediatelyfollowing fledging whereas older birds (>48 months) were usually tound within the breedingperiod. Between 1960 and 1997,86 birds markedas chicks were recapturedat Lawrence Rocks, usually lour or more years post banding and breedingwas increasinglyleported in birds over.threeyears old. Two bird; from Lawrenie Rocks were lound dead during developmentof the Wedge Light colony in Port phillip Bay, and 12 others have subsequentlyentered breeding populationsthere although only three lrom Port phillib sit;s have been recorded at Lawrence Rocks. Several birds banded as chicks have been recovered (or resighted;at the newly-establishedmainland colony at nearby Point Danger and il is suggested that this colony was founded by young breedersfrom Lawrence Rocks. Bandingbegan at LawrenceRocks as the colonywas expandingand continueduntil the site was fully occupied. The record;d itrusion of birds from other sites has been low and it is considered that the colony developed essentiallyfrom the return of birds to the natal colony (apart from the inclusionof a small number of Cape gannets M. capeisis now breedingthere). Since Australasiangannets may move extensively,particularly when young and not bie€ding,conservation measures must lake account of its temporaldistribution and requisiteresources INTRODUCTION generally.Locations of Victorianbreeding sites were given in Norman(2001). Colonies ofAustralasian gannetsMorus serrator (garnets below) have increasedrecently, both in size and number, METHODS in New Zealandand in Australia(Waghom 1983;Hawkins 1988; Norman et al. 1998l-Bunce et al. 2002). For Stud! sie and Tkrtt devebpnv example,colonies in Port Phillip Bay haveexpanded from Lawrence Rocks consist of two small, low lying volcanic islands 01 one site first occupied in 1966 (Wedge Light, 38'16'5, approximately 6.8 and 1.5 hectares about 2 kilometres off Poini Dangcr, 144"42'E),to eight in 2002. This growth has occurred near Porliand in westcm Victoria (for the location of Lawrence Rocks. 2001). The islands, separaledby mainly as a result of internalrecruitment, although some and other Victorian sites, sec Norman of open waler, are about 90 met-resand l0 metres above (38"25'5, until abou{ 50 metres birds from Lawrence Rocks 14l'40'E), mean sea level respectively (Pescotl 1980 provided some further details) recentlythe only other breedinglocation in Victoria,have Early records(Grant 1803iBonwick 1858)implied that rclativelysmall intrudedinto the populationbreeding within the Bay (e.g numbers of gannets bred on the larger island in the nincteenlh century. In 1900 there were some 200 nesls present (w' Maccillivray in Norlh Norman 2001). The increases,at least at Victorian sites, 'attendrng (bu( nests)were have taken place in a period when local sea surface 1914) and in 190? about 400 birds <200 their younS on (he summit (Ma(ingley 1908, 193'1).An acrial survev temperatureshave risen and trawl fisheries have expanded, in March 1943 suggestcd thal there were 190 nests: while there werc potentially generatingfood as a bycatch (Bunce e/.r1. other obscrvalions towards the end of, or oulside, breeding periods' no 2002). For much of the period of growth the commercial estimates were made but Fowler and Serventy (n.d.) considercd thal the pllcha'd (Sardinops sngax) fishery also increased, colony at that time was being limited by factors olher than human l. watson (unpublish€d dala, Departmcnl of Natural particularlyin Port Phillip Bay, althoughboth total catch interfcrcnce. Resources and Environment (DNRE) file 86907) obscrved 603 nesls in and catch per unit effort declinedsubstantially following Novcmber 1958,McKcan (1966) reportcd406 breedingpairs in 1952, massivemortalities of pilchardsin 1995 and 1998 (e.g. 605 pairs in 1960 and 639 ir 1961, and Harris and Norman (1981) Neira et c/. 1997;Coutin 2000; Gaughan2002). recorded 1 456 occupied nests in l9?8. Somewhatlater, Fisher and Cooper (n.d.) considered that there were I 474 breeding birds in 1980- The colony at LawrenceRocks has also expandedand a 1981, 2 463 pairs in 1987 (E. J. Wingham in Marchanl and Higgins new breeding site was esrablishedat nearby Point Danger 1990) and 5 490 i 150 adult birds'in Decernber1993. The colony the nesting area in 1995 (e.g. Norman e1al. 1998; Bunce et al. 2OO2).ln expanded onto the smallcr island in 1994-1995, and probably occupied in aroutrd 1996 (Norman It dl. from banding was completely this note we examine some results obtained 1998). Some 6 200 birds were counted in December 1996, al a time activities conducted at Lawrence Rocks and consider them whcn the colony at nearby Point Danger was developing (Norman It in relation to colony developmentthere and in Victoria d/ loo8). During rhr expansionof the LawrenceRocls gannelcolony. 25 March,2004 E l. Normanand C. Cooper.Australian Gannets at LawrenceRocks Cape gannets M. capen[is were hrst recorded in February 1992 (lhrcc RESULTS birds), lwo were present in January 1993, four were seen in 1993-1994 (when one pair was [es!ing), sevenin 1994 (Fisher and Cooper nd; Banding totals chick bandcd January 1995), and four nests were found h 1995 1996 (two young banded). Bandingtotals tbr breedingperiods between 196u_.1972 and 1986-1997are summarizedin Table I In this time' Bt\,li\\. r, p|tt('. r,\rJ/rft,rs.,r,Jr,,,,crr,' banding took place in 20 of the possible 23 breeding Brnding of ganncts at Lawrence Rocks wls initialed by G Bowker periodsand 9 6,10young and 37,1adults were marked.A and J. McKean in 1960,and contrnucdby a small gtoup until lhe l97l further 28 birds had bands replaced between I986 and break. E Waghornbcgan 1972 breedingperlod. Afler a considerable adults were bandedbetween the more recen!series of bandingsnr the 1986-1987breedinS pcriod. 1997. tt is clear that more rnd rhis was conlinucd until 1996-1997 by C Cl. Aluminium bitnds 1960 and 1972 than subsequentlyand that a higher rate irerc used in the first scriesof bandings,but slainlesssteel bards (all of bandingper breedingperiod (almostentirely of young issucdby thc AustralianBird and Bat Brnding Scheme.ADDDS) wcre birds) was achievedbetwccn 1986and 1997. uscdsubsrque tly. In both pcriods.one or two visits $'cre made to the pre fledging colony in most breeding pcriods and large numbcrs of Re c0 pture s artti r esi g irtir g s gannets bandcd: v)me .rdults wcrc also mafked ln hlcr vrsils prrricularly.some alrelnprswere madc to capture freviously banded lletween i960 and I997, 86 recaptures of birds adults.(o rcplaccworn bandi and 1o obrrin band numbcrs. previousiy bandcd as young wers rnade at Lawrence In this study. barding totals havc becn dcrivcd trom micfofiche Rocks.The recapturetotal includes22 birds (1.2% ol the resighlingrnd rccordsor electronicfiles held by thc ABBBSTrecaplure, I 86? banded as chicks) from the first banding period fcpraccDrenrdctails have in generalbeen obhined froD ATJBDSand DNITEfiics Rccordsof bandedbifds found away from Lasrcnce Rocks which were recaughtin the second(no birdsbanded in the wcrc usurllv submiltcddircctlf 1|)lhc AIllllls aod this irfornlalion has 1966 1967breeding perioci were recaptureti).While small .rlsol)een compiled logcther wrth associateddelails available on DNRE numbers (n = 6. 7'/r) wcre present when two or three processed rilcs. Hcre sc rncludedaia rcceivedand by rhe AufltsS up yearsold, reDresentationtended to increasesubstantially to 30 June 1002 for.irvears atier bandrng (12, 13.9c/.)and subsequentiy For thc purposeof analysesbelow, rccovericsrelale lexcepi whcfe (Table2). More precisetiming oi retun Io the naralcolony odlerwis€indicated) ro the reporringof birds fou d dead.eirher al the ',vasprecluded by the almost annuai nature of visits tcr bandingsrte or clsewherc.Rrcaptures hcrc refer 1o the handlingof bifds oicliousiv bandcdal La\rreocekocks- a tinre NhcD lhc olsinal band tirc Rocks. rlirv rlso hlvc bccn repixccd.Occxsron.ri band numhersof some birds r,erc obtitined. particulrrl! rt jitcs aw.rv froIn Lawrence i\ocks. as Firds bandedas adultswere also recapturedor resighted i.sightrngs b) use oi binocuiar! li should bc roprecialcd thrt lotrls ar i-arvrenceRocks. between I I and 312 monthslater. and givcn beiow may vr.v bolh rs a resullof diflenng levelsof informalio0 athersnave also beenrecaptured elservhere. Thus one was ovided (parrlcuiirly rclatinr to rccovrfirs). aod as a consequcnccol L:lught anri reieasedoff WesternAustraiia during tuna pfoblemsol