5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Armidale, NSW

Birds and People Symposium Plenary Talk The Value of Volunteers: the experience of the British Trust for Ornithology Jeremy J. D. Greenwood, Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modelling, The Observatory, Buchanan Gardens, University of St Andrews, Fife KY16 9LZ, Scotland, [email protected]

The BTO is an independent voluntary body that conducts research in field ornithology, using a partnership between amateurs and professionals, the former making up the overwhelming majority of its c13,500 members.

The Trust undertakes the majority of the census work in Britain and it runs the national banding and the nest records schemes. The resultant data are used in a program of monitoring Britain's and for demographic analyses. It runs special programs on the birds of wetlands and of gardens and has undertaken a series of distribution atlases and many projects on particular topics. While independent of conservation bodies, both voluntary and statutory, much of its work involves the provision of scientific evidence and advice on priority issues in bird conservation. Particular recent foci have been climate change, farmland birds (most of which have declined) and woodland birds (many declining); work on that winter in Africa (many also declining) is now under way.

In my talk I shall describe not only the science undertaken by the Trust but also how the fruitful collaboration of amateurs and professionals works, based on their complementary roles in a true partnership, with the members being the "owners" of the Trust and the staff being responsible for managing the work.

16 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Shorebirds 2020: Improving shorebird population monitoring in and growing indications of shorebird population declines. Rob Clemens, Jo Oldland, and Angie Haslem, Birds Australia, Suite 2-05, Green Building, 60 Leicester St, Carlton, , 3053, [email protected]

Shorebirds 2020 started in 2007 to reinvigorate the volunteer-led national Population Monitoring Program started by the Australasian Wader Studies Group in 1981. The program is designed to collect robust data on shorebird population trends and variables related to changes in shorebird abundance, to inform shorebird conservation and management. A power analysis conducted in 2008 to determine the sampling requirements to detect Australian shorebird population trends investigated the relative effect of shorebird abundance (at sites), inter- annual count variation within sites, and the number of shorebird areas surveyed. This analysis revealed that the number of shorebird areas surveyed determined the power to detect national population trends. A trend of either a 50% change over 5 years, or 30% change over 10 years could be identified if a species was present in at least 35 independent sites, monitored annually. 150 sites were initially selected in order to monitor the trends of 38 species. Recent analysis based on 2008/09 summer data suggests that monitoring at 113 areas may yield sufficient statistical power (80%) to detect “national” trends of 25-52% change in five years for 19 species and 50-80% change for seven species in ten years. Program success will require more trained volunteers, and increasingly standardised counts; a range of resources have been developed to assist. A recent review suggested that 21 species are decreasing, 4 increasing, and 10 showing both increases and decreases at different sites. In particular, inland wetlands throughout southern Australia have seen some alarming declines in recent years (up to 80%).

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 17 Addressing the recreational fishing impacts upon Aquatic Birds- a proactive host community response Wendy Gillespie, Waterbird Rescue Queensland, Sunshine Coast, Queensland, [email protected], [email protected] An estimated 20-30% of Australians enjoy recreational fishing, with 80% of the catch attributed to the coastal environment (FRDC, 2009) Skilleter 2002 expressed that “while the rates of interaction with in Australia are considered low the high participation rates in recreational fishing appear to warrant quantifying these interactions and their impacts upon populations.” Seabirds account for about 5% of the aquatic birds treated by Waterbird Rescue Queensland with the majority being waterbirds. Terrestrial species are also impacted through entanglement and lining nests (WRQ, unpubl. data) In 1998 the systematic collection of impact data was commenced for the peak tourist destination of Noosa Queensland. An injury prevention campaign was an integral aspect of the operation. Eighty percent of all injuries were attributed to fishing interaction, increasing to 95% for pelicans. Over 90% of pelicans were successfully treated in the wild, with a mortality rate of 2%. A mortality rate greater than 50% would have been anticipated without treatment. There was no significant age injury correlation though more juveniles required treatment during 1999 due to breeding. White- faced heron injuries and mortality was of greater concern with lower limb entanglement and leg impact injuries. There was a significant increase in the number of severe cases in 2002 with a >250% increase in the number of herons needing treatment and 72% categorised as severe cases. As the majority of birds treated are not listed as threatened there is negligible regulatory, financial or advocacy support. Greater advocacy is needed in Australia.

18 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Bird Hunting in Ujung Karawang Natural Preserve, Bekasi, West Java Surya Purnama, Biology Department, Science and Mathematics Faculty, State University of Yogyakarta, Jl. Colombo No. 1, Sleman, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, and Kutilang Indonesia Foundation for Bird Conservation, Jl. Tegal Melati No. 64 A, Jongkang, Sleman, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. [email protected]

Bird hunting is one potential cause of the decline of bird populations in Indonesia. However, besides providing a source of income for some people, it has also of cultural importance for a long time. The numbers of water birds being caught have been staggering. In 1979, an estimated one million birds were caught in the Indramayu area of Java alone, but this had declined to about 300.000 in 1984-5, 200,000 in 1987, and 150,000 in 1992. Bird hunting is also a major activity in Ujung Karawang Natural Preserve, Bekasi, West Java, though there has been no surveys of its impact and social and economic significance. Social analysis involves spending time with both the hunter and middle man/woman. We interviewed hunters in the Preserve from January 2007 to February 2009 to record their hunting methods. Our study showed approximately 612,000 birds were collected from 63 species. Many of the collected birds were migratory (28 species), with 22 resident species. Thirteen species are protected by law in Indonesian, and four species are included in the IUCN red list data book as Near Threatened. Bird hunting in this area is dominated by economical need, with both the hunter and middle man being poor people living in outlying areas. Birds are mostly captured and consumed by people in and around the Natural Preserve.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 19 People, Birds and Culture: developments in the recognition and incorporation of Aboriginal bird knowledge in conservation & land management Bob Gosford, Yuendumu, via Alice Springs, Northern Territory, [email protected]

Aboriginal knowledge of birds, their ecology, behaviour and habitats has historically been poorly recognised or accepted in Australia, particularly in relation to species conservation and land management. In recent years Aboriginal people and groups have become increasingly involved and engaged in conservation and land management, particularly on the vast tracts of land in arid Australia that they own and manage.

I report on three recent developments in the recognition and application of Aboriginal bird knowledge that indicate a tentative paradigm shift in the attitudes of both western and Aboriginal conservation and land managers, and tourism operators, particularly in relation to the recording, inter-generational and inter-cultural transmission and application of Aboriginal knowledge.

Firstly, I will examine the role of bird knowledge as a means of effecting inter-generational transmission of cultural knowledge in landscape-scale management projects. Next I will examine the process, methodology, expected outcomes and value of a book project on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander bird knowledge to be published in 2010 and finally I will briefly consider the potential for increased involvement of Aboriginal people in birding tourism.

For the substantial potential benefits that could flow from an enhanced recognition of the value of applied Aboriginal bird knowledge to be realised there is a need for greater and closely focussed efforts to be made about how we identify, collect and apply that knowledge. I will discuss some elements of the challenges before us.

20 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Engaging the School Community in Sustainability Concepts through Bird Monitoring: Findings from the Birds as Indicators Project Aimee Freimanis, Richard Major, and Holly Parsons, Birds Australia Discovery Centre, Olympic Park, NSW 2127, [email protected]

Birds provide an excellent medium for engaging the school community. The species composition, behaviour and movements of birds provide an experiential learning vehicle for exploring and understanding biodiversity, the school landscape and the student’s context within it.

Nine schools conducted 66 surveys and recorded 29 bird species in their school grounds between April and November 2008 as part of the Birds as Indicators project. Each school’s data was divided into two graphs of “urban lovers” and “urban haters” to articulate our key conservation message: to address small bird decline in urban areas. In addition each school was allocated an icon bird (indicator) to monitor more closely over time as part of the School Environmental Management Plan.

As a result of interpreting their observations the students: installed nest boxes and bird baths; implemented no mow zones to encourage native grasses; planted 3000 native plants; and reformed the schools’ waste management practices.

This project provides a model to bridge the gap between citizen science and education for sustainability concepts. Through partnerships and networking with key agencies (Australian Museum, NSW Dept. Education & Training, local government, Cumberland Bird Observers Club), we increased our groups skills to undertake actions to solve local natural resource management problems. We helped to facilitate participation in broader catchment and regional natural resource management processes; provided teachers with skills to integrate environmental education into the curriculum; and built capacity of the students to make changes to the school grounds to improve habitat for urban birds.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 21 The Birds in Backyards Program: using science to engage the public Holly Parsons, Birds in Backyards Program, Birds Australia Discovery Centre, Sydney Olympic Park, NSW 2127, [email protected] Since 2005 the Birds in Backyards Program has been collecting bird surveys from citizen scientists throughout Australia via its website. The surveys are not only a tool to encourage ‘place-based’ learning amongst our members, but also tell us a lot about the habitat requirements and behaviour of birds in urban landscapes. A total of 9250 backyard bird surveys have been completed and 354 species observed (as of August 2009). The , Rainbow Lorikeet and were the most common birds observed overall but unsurprisingly the most common birds observed differ state-by-state. Small native bird species, for example, were more frequently observed in Queensland surveys than in other states. Information about garden type and structure provided by participants has also allowed us to determine habitat preferences for some species. A supplement to the backyard bird survey entitled ‘backyard biffo’ was created in September 2008 and allows participants to record aggressive encounters observed during surveying. The Noisy Miner was shown to have the most frequent aggressive encounters (18% of observations) with other birds, followed by the Australian Magpie (13.4%). In the majority of instances (55.9% of observations), the aggressor won the encounter with a retreat the most common response shown by the victim (61.1% of observations). Aggressive encounters over food resources were the most common identifiable disputes observed (27% of observations).

22 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 EagleCam: Volunteer and Visitor Voyeurism at the Birds Australia Discovery Centre Judy Harrington, Jon Irvine, Aimee Freimanis, Birds Australia Discovery Centre, Sydney Olympic Park, NSW 2127, [email protected]

EagleCam is a live to air camera designed to record and monitor behaviour of nesting White-bellied Sea Eagles (Haliaeetus leucogaster) at Sydney Olympic Park. The camera is on display inside the Birds Australia Discovery Centre so visitors and volunteer staff can view the birds and record their observations of behaviour for later analysis. Live and recorded footage of behaviour observed includes nest building, bonding, breeding, feeding, incubation and fledging of chicks. New information about the behaviour of the current pair of Eagles involved observations of both birds returning to the nest with a live Grey-headed Flying Fox (Pteropus poliocephalus), which they killed and ate over a period of several hours. Apart from the opportunity to minimise disturbance of breeding birds through conducting observations with a static camera, having visual access inside a nest of such a large and charismatic bird has thrilled visitors and volunteers alike. The vast majority of visitors surveyed (98%) said “they found their visit very interesting and had learnt something new”.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 23 Volunteer contributions to quantifying bird population viability, ecosystem and community health through monitoring on Bush Heritage Reserves Sandy Gilmore, Bush Heritage Australia, 240 Mafeking Road, Federal, NSW 2480, [email protected]

Results derived from volunteers and staff conducting “bird-minutes” counts across varied reserves in southern Australia, exhibit a linear proportionality between local distribution and population density, as they fluctuate over space and time. Consequently proportional incidence of a species within a single vegetation type or year, is a reliable indicator of the relative importance of each vegetation type as habitat for each species population. Mean populations over 3 or 4 years are presented as estimates of potential carrying capacity over the longer term. Removing livestock from chenopod shrublands and herbaceous dominated vegetation lead to substantial increases (up to 300% over 3 years) in many carnivores granivores nectarivores and insectivores, despite below average rainfalls. In sclerophyllous shrublands during non-drought years, an inverse relationship between log density and log body weight with a mean slope of -1 was found in insectivore/nectarivore/omnivore communities. These relationships are consistent with equality of biomass per unit area across species despite a wide range in richness and composition and reflect a high degree of integration between species and the environment. With the exception of the aerial feeding guild, many of the smaller species decline in dry and increase in wet years presumably reflecting food availability, with consequent disruption to community integrity. During droughts there is some degree of compensation within guilds, as mobile species with ranges encompassing drier climates temporarily increase. In the sclerophyll shrublands granivores exhibit lagged temporal responses to rainfall deficit presumably reflecting the fact they are living off stored seed.

24 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 The role Aboriginal land plays in woodland bird conservation on the New England Tablelands. Andrew McIntyre, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water, Locked Bag 914 Coffs Harbour, NSW 2450, [email protected]

Surveys of Aboriginal land west of Glen Innes have determined the presence of a range of woodland birds including nine threatened species and five species of conservation concern. The diversity and integrity of the woodland habitats and their landscape context probably explains the richness and composition of the bird community. Seasonal and inter-annual variation was detected in species presence and abundance. Better conditions in late summer 2009 explain the presence of Hooded Robins, Painted Button-quail, and substantial increase in the numbers of Diamond Firetail and Turquoise Parrot from the previous winter. Based on this work and property management planning the Glen Innes Aboriginal Land Council has been successful in gaining Australian Government funding to manage the property as an Indigenous Protected Area. The study shows the value of large intact areas of woodland communities for the conservation of a range of woodland birds and the potential contribution that Indigenous-owned lands may play.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 25 Conservation and Management

Impacts of fire and Phytopthora cinnamomi dieback on the avifauna of a global biodiversity hotspot. Robert Davis 1,2, Wesley Bancroft 3, Leonie Valentine 4 and Barbara Wilson 4 1 School of Natural Sciences, Edith Cowan University, 270 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup, WA, 6027, 2 School of Biology, The University of Western Australia, WA, Australia 3 Environmental Consultant, Kalamunda, WA, Australia 4 Gnangara Sustainability Strategy, Department of Environment and Conservation, Wanneroo, WA, Australia, [email protected]

The vegetation of the south-western Australian global biodiversity hotspot is dominated by proteaceous woodlands and heathlands which in turn hosts an avifauna dominated by nectarivores and insectivores. Fire is a common influence on these ecosystems and impacts birds through changes to resources, particularly nectar, as well as changed structural characteristics. In addition to fire, these woodlands are susceptible to the soil-borne dieback disease Phytopthora cinnamomi that has a high incidence in some areas, causing dramatic and permanent changes to vegetation structure and composition. Our study investigated the impacts of both fire and dieback on the avifaunal communities of Banksia woodlands in the vicinity of Perth, Western Australia. For fire studies, bird surveys were undertaken twice per month from March 2008 - 2009, at a total of 20 two hectare plots of differing fuel ages (1-26 years). Surveys were 20 minutes in duration and the number of birds and their use of vegetation structure were recorded. Nectar availability was assessed during each survey. For dieback studies, we examined seven one hectare plots that had been impacted by dieback while a further seven one hectare plots served as controls. The impacts of fire on birds are discussed in relation to fire frequency and time since last burn, with a focus on the potential impacts of climate change. The impact of dieback on the avifaunal community is immense, and results are presented showing a drastic change in species composition and bird density arising from wholesale changes to vegetation structure and plant species composition.

26 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Do fire and rainfall drive changes in the abundance of Sydney’s urban parrot populations? Adrian Davis, Biological Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, [email protected]

The last 40 years has seen an increase in the abundance of several species of native Australian parrot throughout Australia’s major urban centres. While some of these species are endemic to the area, other species are far outside their traditional home range. Aviary escapees no doubt contribute towards a certain percentage of these urban populations, but to what extent do vagrant flocks and refugees from harsher environmental conditions outside the urban area contribute to these increasing parrot populations? Studies reporting large decreases in bird abundance following wildfires, coupled with anecdotal reports of increased numbers of bird sightings in suburban gardens, suggest that wildfire may contribute to increases in urban avian abundance. Rainfall- related migrations have also been reported in cockatoos and budgerigars. This study analysed changes in the abundance of 15 species of Australian parrot between 1999 and 2003 using data from the new Birds Australia Atlas, regressing each species against rainfall data from across and fire history data from wildfires that occurred around the Sydney region. The abundance of the Australian King Parrot, Crimson Rosella, Glossy Black-cockatoo, Rainbow Lorikeet and Scaly-breasted Lorikeet all significantly increased in the urban area following large wildfire events. A significant increase in the abundance of the Eastern Rosella was observed as levels of Sydney rainfall increased.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 27 Managing the Ground Parrot in its fiery habitat in south-eastern Australia Jack Baker, Robert J Whelan, Lyn Evans, Stephen Moore and Melinda Norton Institute for Conservation Biology and Law, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, [email protected]

The Ground Parrot (Pezoporus wallicus) is a rare endemic of near-coastal heathlands in southern Australia. It is threatened by frequent and/or widespread fire. It has been iconic in the development of understanding fire regimes in heathlands and an integral part of conservation management of these fire-prone ecosystems. This long-term study documents Ground Parrot densities in areas of long-unburnt habitat in southern New South Wales (NSW). Densities were estimated from area searches and aural surveys at Barren Grounds Nature Reserve – Budderoo National Park (1983- 2009) and aural surveys at Beecroft Weapons Range and (1995-2008). Densities of 1-2 birds per 10 ha were recorded in the oldest fire-age (<20 years) habitat at each location. We propose that for now, manipulating habitat with planned fires is not essential for the persistence of Ground Parrot populations. Instead, area-specific adaptive management plans are needed for heathland areas, which specify how they will achieve persistence of the important elements of the biodiversity to be conserved. Because of the rarity and threatened status of the Ground Parrot, a minimum level of monitoring of populations is needed for decades to come and the NSW population needs to be adequately documented. Seeding phenology in long-unburnt heathland is uncertain and warrants investigation in relation to its suitability as Ground Parrot habitat. To avoid extirpation of local populations of the Ground Parrot, management should plan not to allow heathland to burn for at least 7 years post-fire and plan for fire refuges intended to be protected against unplanned fires.

28 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Volunteers are a key component in research and management of the critically endangered Western Ground Parrot Allan Burbidge, Abby Berryman, Sarah Comer, Anne Bondin, Brenda Newbey and John Blyth, WA Dept of Environment and Conservation, PO Box 51, Wanneroo WA 6946, [email protected]

The highest priority actions for conservation of the Critically Endangered Western Ground Parrot are predator management, fire management, and the establishment of a captive population. Primarily through the Friends of the Western Ground Parrot and Birds Australia, volunteers play a crucial role in the recovery team, in survey and monitoring, in raising awareness in the community, and in raising much-needed funds. We present two examples. One is the role of volunteers in developing and refining survey and monitoring procedures, and involvement in monitoring, which are critical components of the evaluation of current actions to manage predators in vast areas on Western Australia’s south coast. The second is the captive management program. Volunteers were instrumental in developing the proposal for captive management, and participated actively in creating awareness of the need for this action and in securing funding. In particular, the Friends group has attracted crucial funding from a source that may not have been available directly to the State agency. The key to this success has been in communication – in meaningful and trusting engagement between scientists, managers and volunteers in the recovery team forum, including on-going debate and review of priorities, the use of an adaptive management framework that allows everyone to see more easily where they can contribute, and a willingness on the part of all involved to embrace uncertainty at the same time as focussing on ‘the big picture’ of species recovery.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 29 The Carnaby’s Black-Cockatoo Recovery Project on the South Coast- three years in. Raana Scott, Carnaby’s Black-Cockatoo Recovery Project, Birds Australia, Esperance WA, 6450, [email protected]

Carnaby’s Black-Cockatoo is a species of white-tailed black-cockatoo endemic to the south west region of Western Australia. The last fifty years has seen a dramatic decline in numbers of the species across their entire range and they are currently listed as endangered (EPBC Act 1999). The decline of the species is inextricably linked with the degradation and fragmentation that the Southwest Australian Ecoregion has seen over the last century; these long-lived birds have not fared well this fast changing environment. Since late 2006 the Project has been operating throughout the South Coast region of WA with support from WWF-Australia and local Natural Resource Management groups. The project focused on an area of around 60,000 km2 where little was known regarding the species distribution prior to this project. To date over 20 nesting sites have been discovered in areas ranging from pristine woodlands to highly degraded farm paddocks. Significant overwintering flocks have been identified. Currently a trial is underway to examine use rates of artificial nesting hollows by Carnaby’s Black-Cockatoos across various sites. Community engagement has been a crucial link when identifying nesting sites. The highly visible and charismatic birds are a valuable tool to encourage landowners to value and protect remnant vegetation. Results from the last three years of distribution mapping and landholder works will be presented along with artificial hollow use results.

30 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Landfills, a ‘critical habitat’ for birds: an Australian and global perspective. Andrew C M Smith and Ursula Munro, University of Technology, Sydney, NSW 2007, [email protected]

Landfills are found in many parts of the world and can attract a wide variety and large number of birds. Some species are overabundant and require management, while others are rare. In Australia, little is known about birds that feed at landfills and their effect on local bird communities and abundances. Thus, information of birds that scavenge food from landfills is urgently needed. Here we present data on bird abundances on five landfills for household waste in the wider Sydney region. The most abundant birds were the Australian White Ibis, Threskiornis molucca, (approximately 15-30% of the total population were juveniles) and Australian Pelican, Pelecanus conspicillatus. Other species at low abundances included the Silver Gull, Larus novaehollandiae, and Australian Raven, Corvus coronoides. All major ibis breeding colonies were located near these landfills. At one site north of Sydney (Brisbane Waters), approximately 77% of the total roosting population of ibis visited two local landfills during the day. Studies on the feeding rates of ibis at Sydney’s landfills indicate that they swallow on average 1.8 food items per minute. 50-60% of the total population of ibis at landfills were feeding directly on the tip-face (waste depository point).

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 31 Does urbanisation encourage Australian white ibis to behave as residents? John M. Martin, Richard E. Major and Kris French, Institute for Conservation Biology, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, [email protected]

The ibis population of the Sydney region has increased from 50 birds in 1980 to 8800 in 2008. This increase was accompanied by a marked decline in traditional wetland populations where habitat degradation, drought and insufficient environmental flows (dams) have negatively affected a suite of waterbirds. Within the urban environment colonial nesting by ibis within close proximity to residential areas has resulted with community complaints and calls for population reductions. Ibis have been managed as a nuisance species in urban areas for over twenty years but we still have a limited understanding of their ecology and the consequences of management. Population reduction commonly involves nest removal or habitat modification (nesting vegetation removal), though foraging resources have been given less attention. We investigated seasonal and inter-annual population dynamics, site residency and foraging movements of 600 birds marked with colour- bands, wing-tags or radio-transmitters over three years. We found that the regional population is highly interconnected with daily foraging movements of over 30km. We observed that landfills provide the bulk of the regions foraging resources with on average 44% of the regional population observed within a landfill. Over the three year period we observed seasonal immigration of adults to the region to breed and emigration of adults and juveniles following breeding. This demonstrates that the regional ‘urban’ population is interconnected with the broader national population, which indicates that urban breeding may be an important source for the national population where ‘natural’ breeding has declined.

32 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Road Ecology: baseline data in two types of south-western Australia Graham R. Fulton School of Natural Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup Western Australia, 6027, [email protected]

Australian roads are generally characterised as narrow strips of remnant native vegetation in agricultural areas. Yet extensive reserves of native remain and these habitats have roads that traverse them. Studies of roads passing through such ecosystems can provide baseline data on how these roads are used by and have implications for conservation and management. These studies (2 x 50 km transects) investigated bird and mammal species on the roads and their immediate verges of highways through Jarrah Eucalyptus marginata and Karri Eucalyptus diversicolor forests of south-western Australia.

In Jarrah forest Australian Raven Corvus coronoides and Grey Currawong Strepera versicolor were the most frequently detected species (37.6 and 25.5%, respectively). Common Bronzewings Phaps chalcoptera and Australian Ringnecks Barnardius zonarius were the most frequently detected granivorous species (12.7 and 12.1%, respectively). The abundances of birds were positively correlated to road casualties. Australian Raven and Grey Currawong were the most commonly detected road casualties, which were dominated by juveniles in the spring and summer. During this study 14% of the roadside was cleared and bird abundance and species richness decreased significantly at clearings. Australian Raven and Wedge-tailed Eagle Aquila audax were the only species detected at carrion. The Grey Currawong did not feed from carrion and it undertook a shift away from the road-habitat during its breeding season. Abundances of the granivorous species Common Bronzewing and Australian Ringneck were strongly and positively correlated with the dehiscence of native Jarrah seed. In contrast, the transportation of 116,510 tonnes of grain (over two years) did not correlate with the abundances of granivorous birds.

In Karri forest 70 species of birds were detected at the road in Karri Forest, of these 2780 birds were recorded in various actions such as crossing the road in different ways, feeding, displaying or warming. 347 Australian Ravens demonstrated 73 different actions while contrastingly 87 Red- winged Fairy-Wrens Malurus elegans showed 6 actions. 100 point counts conducted at the road and repeated 400 m perpendicular into the forest found no difference in either species richness or abundance. Counts were made over 3 and 10 minute intervals: 3 minute intervals detected 56% fewer species and 50% fewer birds. Species occurrence was considered a more reliable detector of habitat preference than abundances at point counts. Only the Australian Raven showed a habitat preference and this was at the road. Cameras setup at bird carrion photographed Australian Raven. Some mammalian species were not random road causalities. Road-killed: Mainland Quokka Setonix brachyurus, Black-gloved Wallaby Macropus irma and Western Quoll Dasyurus geoffroii were detected in distinct clusters at the start of two National Parks suggesting road management could be used to mitigate their losses.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 33 Ecology and Management

Satellite and radio transmitters can be successfully borne by black cockatoos Dejan Stojanovic1, Anna Le Souef, Allan Burbidge and Kristin Warren, 1.Birds Australia, 60 Leicester St. Carlton, Victoria 3053, [email protected]

Effective conservation of threatened black-cockatoo species relies on a sound knowledge of both their local movements (at the scale of a few kilometres) and their seasonal movements (at a scale of tens to hundreds of km). However, little is known about the detail of such movements or the fate of released rehabilitated birds and our limited current knowledge is based on a small number of sightings or recaptures of marked birds and direct observation of moving flocks. Black cockatoos pose particular challenges to researchers interested in movements because the strength of their bills implies that they can easily damage or remove any tracking or marking device. We trialled seven different transmitter types on Carnaby’s, Baudin’s and Red-tailed Black- Cockatoos to determine which transmitter design and attachment style is most appropriate for tracking of wild birds. Our results after eight months are promising. Four of six radio neck collars are still intact and out of ten tail-mounted radio-transmitters, the mean time till first transmitter failure was twenty nine days and one transmitter is still intact after eight months. Of sixteen ‘backpack’ style satellite transmitters, the mean time to first failure was thirty nine days after deployment and seven are still intact after eight months. Our results are a vital first step in addressing the gaps in knowledge surrounding the movements of wild black cockatoos and challenge the widely held belief that currently available tracking tools are not appropriate in field applications for this .

34 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Estimating the interchange of Mallards between New Zealand and using genetics. Patrick-Jean Guay1 and Tracey, J.P. 2 1 School of Engineering and Science, and Institute for Sustainability and Innovation, Victoria University, St-Albans campus, PO Box 14428, Melbourne MC, Vic 8001 2. Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre, Vertebrate Pest Research Unit, NSW Department of Primary Industry, Orange, NSW, [email protected]

Prior to Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) self colonisation of Lord Howe Island from New Zealand, a small breeding population of Pacific Black Ducks (Anas superciliosa) existed on the island. Shortly after their arrival, Mallards started breeding with indigenous Pacific Black Ducks. Surveys conducted in 2007 demonstrated that pure Pacific Black Ducks do not exist on the island anymore and that the whole population is composed of Mallards and their hybrids. Eradication of Mallards to allow self recolonisation of the island by Pacific Black Ducks was trialled and shown to be possible. We conducted a genetic analysis of Mallards and their hybrids collected on the island during the eradication trial to confirm their New Zealand origin. We also quantified the level of geneflow between Lord Howe Island and New Zealand to determine the likelihood of Mallard recolonisation of Lord Howe Island following their successful eradication. We found that Mallards from both Lord Howe Island and New Zealand had very low haplotype diversity and that there was no significant genetic differentiation between the two populations. This confirms that New Zealand was the Mallard source population for the colonisation of Lord Howe Island. Furthermore, the lack of genetic differentiation between Lord Howe Island and New Zealand suggests that Mallards frequently move between the two populations and that any successful Mallard eradication program on Lord Howe Island may be jeopardised by recolonisation from New Zealand. We also highlight the risk of Lord Howe Island serving as a stepping stone for the Mallard colonisation of Australia.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 35 Investigating Mesopredator Release in New Zealand ecological reserves with differing types of predation control Shane M Baylis, School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, New Zealand, [email protected]

A combination of the mesopredator release and competitor release hypotheses was tested with regards to the cat, rat, mouse, nest system, using artificial cup nests and genuine Turdus nests. Study sites with differing combinations of the aforementioned predators had their relative nest predation levels tested by distributing imitation nests containing both real and plaster-of- Paris imitations through them, and allowing predation of the imitation nests to take place over an eight-day period. Nesting success of Turdus individuals was also followed in similar conditions over the same breeding season. In addition to this general investigation, imitation nests of two different sizes were used in order to determine, if mesopredator/competitor release occurred, whether the occurrence was dependent upon the prey being of a size suited to the mesopredator. Evidence of mesopredator release was not found, though significant differences were seen between sites: Sites with rats and cats had a significantly higher rate of predation than sites without these two predators. In addition, small nests were found to be predated at a higher rate than large nests, and this effect was found not to have a significant interaction with individual sites. Finally, avian nest predators, specifically the Indian Mynah and the Pukeko, were found to be important nest predators in a variety of ecological settings.

36 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Adaptive divergence and reproductive isolation among parapatric populations of Darwin’s small ground finch Toby H. Galligan, Stephen Donnellan, & Sonia Kleindorfer, School of Biological Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA 5001, [email protected]

Evidence for adaptive divergence in parapatry has been shown in Darwin’s Small Ground Finch, Geospiza fuliginosa, inhabiting the altitudinal extremes on the island of Santa Cruz in the Galápagos Archipelago. We used molecular genetic data to test predictions of adaptive divergence and reproductive isolation in relation to ecological and geographical variation. To do this, we genotyped, at 11 microsatellite loci, 500+ individuals sampled across 21 sites. Our sampling design spanned the entire island and encompassed all its habitat zones. We describe the genetic population structure and connectivity in G. fuliginosa within and among contrasting ecological zones, and across varying geographic distances. We validate the hypothesis of adaptive divergence between lowland and highland populations; and reveal a dynamic and complex system influenced markedly by differing selection intensities under fluctuating climatic conditions.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 37 Evolution, and Phylogeography

The evolutionary relationships within John Trueman1, Janet Gardner1, Leo Joseph2, Daniel Ebert1, Robert McGrath1,1 Research School of Biology, Australian National University, 2 Australian National Wildlife Collection, CSIRO, [email protected]

We present a robust evolutionary tree of Meliphagoidea based on the analysis of nine gene regions for up to 102 species. Our results confirm previous proposals about evolutionary relationships in Maluridae (grass wrens, fairy wrens, emu wrens), correct a serious error in a 2004 phylogenetic proposal regarding the Meliphagidae (), fix the positions of Pardalotus () and Dasyornis () in relation to other genera and families of Meliphagoidea, and provide the first comprehensive molecular phylogenetic tree for the family (fernwren, warblers, scrubtit, thornbills, weebill, pilotbird, redthroat, scrubwrens, etc.). Among our findings are some very surprising relationships for the Tasmanian endemic Acanthornis magnus (scrubtit) and arid zone Aphelocephala (whitefaces), yet multiple tests and independent evidence strongly support our results. The Meliphagoidea represent a significant Australian songbird radiation and our phylogeny provides a basis on which to assess or re-assess morphological, behavioural and phylogeographic traits across this superfamily.

38 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 The recent evolutionary history of Melithreptus and the phylogenetic placement of the blue- faced , Entomyzon cyanotis. Alicia Toon and Leo Joseph, Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, Qld 4111, [email protected]

The evolutionary history of Australian birds has gained even more attention recently through powerful insights from new molecular and analytical tools. These methods have refined understanding of the evolutionary significance of historical barriers in the north (Carpentarian) and south (Nullarbor, Eyrean) of the continent and their roles in shaping past divergence and current population structure. Here we use multiple molecular markers to reconstruct relationships in a group of closely related honeyeaters, Melithreptus and Entomyzon, to compare with the current classification and then investigate the influence of past events on current distributions. All species of Melithreptus, E. cyanotis and outgroups were sequenced for the mitochondrial DNA gene, ND2, which is widely used for its capacity to resolve relationships at this taxonomic level. In addition, we sequenced a subset of the data for six non-coding nuclear loci. We used a Bayesian phylogenetic approach to reconstruct gene trees (MrBayes) and a species tree (BEST). We then estimated ancestral population sizes and divergence times by fitting an isolation-with-migration model (IMa) to the data. Relationships between Melithreptus and E. cyanotis were concordant among gene trees, supporting the current understanding of these genera as closest relatives. Relationships within Melithreptus were also examined using ND2, however they were not concordant with nuclear markers. These discordances are discussed. Phylogeographic analysis suggests that there were several historical events in the north and south of Australia that shaped the current distributions of both genera.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 39 Phylogeography of the Chestnut-shouldered Fairy-wrens (Malurus spp): a multilocus perspective. Alison McLean1, & Leo Joseph2, 1 Griffith School of Environment, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD 4111, Australia, 2 Australian National Wildlife Collection, CSIRO, Sustainable Ecosystems, GPO Box 284, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia, [email protected]

Australian birds show morphological and genetic variation that is often argued to have been structured by Pleistocene cycles of climatic change. The chestnut-shouldered fairy-wrens (Malurus spp) are an ideal group for using multiple loci to test this hypothesis and to understand demographic history. They are widespread across the continent and phenotypic variation in one species is strongly structured geographically. They have had a complex nomenclatural history. Current taxonomy hinges on plumage variation and allozyme analysis. Here we present phylogeographic analysis of the group based on mitochondrial and nuclear loci from M. l. lamberti, M. l. assimilis, M. l. rogersi and M. l. dulcis, M. amabilis, M. pulcherrimus and M. elegans. Phylogenetic analysis nests M. amabilis within the M. lamberti group rendering the latter as currently construed paraphyletic. Haplotype networks for ND2 reveal strict geographic structuring of five genetic lineages coinciding broadly but not universally with distributions of the species and nominal subspecies sampled. Only one of these lineages was supported by the nuclear DNA data set. These data challenge current taxonomy and the taxonomic implications of the data are discussed.

40 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Comparative evolution in woodland and mallee birds of southern Australia. Gaynor Dolman and Leo Joseph, (Australian National Wildlife Collection, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Canberra, ACT 2601, [email protected]

Comparative phylogeography is a powerful way of diagnosing the history of biotic stability of a geographic region of interest and its avifauna. We compared phylogeographical patterns and parameters of genetic diversity within and among eleven southern Australian bird species that are broadly co-distributed either in arid and semi-arid regions or in its more mesic habitats. MtDNA (ND2) divergences from four previously described phylogeographic breaks ranged from substantial to none. Likewise, there were no clear patterns with regard to patterns of genetic diversity and population expansion. Species of more arid zones show variable historical responses depending on habitat preference and, perhaps, increased adaptability to different habitats, compared with studies of species from more mesic environments. In some species, however, phylogeographic breaks are concordantly located, which suggests community composition is not completely ephemeral. With results from the Splendid Fairy-wrens and Chestnut Quail-thrush, we show the further insights into questions of demographic history that can be gained from multi-locus coalescent analyses.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 41 The Australian butcherbirds: phylogenetic analysis and an examination of the white-throated butcherbird complex. Anna Kearns1, Lyn Cook and Leo Joseph. 1. School of Integrative Biology, University of Queensland, [email protected]

Extreme cyclic aridity during the past 2 million years is hypothesised to have played a critical role in shaping geographic variation in widely distributed Australian birds. Phenotypically distinct geographic forms are most often thought to have diverged in isolation after range contractions. We examined sequences from mtDNA and nuclear introns, and assessed morphological variation within two closely related groups of Australo-Papuan butcherbirds (Passeriformes: Artamidae: Cracticus) with near continent-wide distributions to discriminate among biogeographical hypotheses regarding the origins of diversity in each group. We highlight a need to reassess the taxonomy and hypothesised evolutionary history of the white-throated butcherbird complex due to widespread sharing of plumage characters, nDNA haplotypes and mtDNA paraphyly among three contemporarily allopatric species (C. torquatus, C. argenteus and C. mentalis). Our results add to the emerging awareness of species-idiosyncratic responses to large-scale environmental processes.

42 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Cryptic diversity in south-eastern Australian woodland birds: examples from Crimson Rosellas of northern New South Wales (and just about everywhere else) and Eastern Yellow Robins. Leo Joseph 1, Gaynor Dolman, Stephen Donnellan, Katherine Saint, Matthew Berg, Kate Loynes, Alexandra Pavlova, Scott Keogh, and A.T.D Bennett, 1. Australian National Wildlife Collection, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Canberra, ACT 2601, [email protected]

The Crimson Rosella Platycercus elegans complex is an enduring taxonomic and evolutionary enigma. Conversely, Eastern Yellow Robins Eopsaltria australis show a simple pattern of north- south geographical replacement along the eastern seaboard recognized with bright-rumped (northern) and dull-rumped (southern) subspecies. We compare and contrast our findings of studies of genetic diversity in the robins and rosellas. We assessed relationships among members of each group across their respective ranges using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and nuclear DNA (W- chromosome, anonymous markers, microsatellites). Next, we asked whether genetic structure mirrors phenotypic diversity within and between populations of south-eastern Australia: it does and it doesn’t! Finally, finer scale examinations in the rosellas and robins revealed cryptic genetic diversity, especially in central eastern Australian woodlands. Crimson Rosellas north of the Hunter River, a recognized but minor biogeographical gap, were genetically distinct and not most closely related to populations south of the Hunter. Similar discordances between genotype and phenotype were found elsewhere in the range of the rosellas. A strong phylogeographic break in mtDNA and sex-linked W-chromosome data of Eastern Yellow Robins is not concordant with plumage variation and microsatellites. Implications are that sex-related differences in gene flow as well as inland-vs- coastal differences have been important. Both studies emphasized the value of interpreting data at different time-scales and the likely interplay between selection and history in generating patterns of genetic diversity.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 43 Systematics and population history of Ground Parrots suggest we are dealing with a critically endangered species. Steve Murphy1, Jeremy Austin, Allan Burbidge, Leo Joseph and Abby Berryman, 1. Australian Wildlife Conservancy, PMB 925 Derby WA 6728, [email protected]

The Ground Parrot (Pezoporus wallicus) is endemic to fragmented heathlands and button-grass moors of south-western and south-eastern Australia, including . Three allopatric subspecies are conventionally recognised on the basis of plumage: (1) P. w. wallicus (south-eastern mainland Australia formerly west to Adelaide); (2) P. w. leachii (Tasmania), and (3) P. w. flaviventris (south-western WA). We evaluated this taxonomy in light of genetic variation at the cytochrome b gene for 27 samples from throughout the species’ range. The sequences (520 to 849 base pairs) show high mean net genetic divergence (4.6%) between eastern and western populations, and very low, geographically unstructured divergence (0.03%) among all eastern Australian populations. A 79 -bp sequence from an Adelaide specimen collected in 1850 affirms this now extinct population’s eastern affinities. There is no evidence that P. w. leachii has had long- standing historical disjunctions from mainland populations. Accordingly, we recommend recognizing no subspecies in eastern populations. In contrast, divergence between eastern and western Ground Parrots is similar to that observed in other well-recognised species pairs, and likely reflects a major biogeographical disjunction. This is despite similar cryptic plumage that is likely to be under strong stabilising selection. As such, patterns of genetic diversity and divergence are better indicators of relationships and history among populations. Accordingly, we recognize Western Ground Parrots as a species, P. flaviventris. This has profound implications for their conservation given that only about 110 individuals remain, the majority of which are confined to one population in Cape Arid National Park.

44 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Phylogenetic reassessment of Gallinula disneyi from Riversleigh and description of a new species Trevor H. Worthy1 and Walter E. Boles, 1. School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia, [email protected]

Gallinula disneyi Boles, 2005 (Aves: Rallidae) was described from a series of fossil bones from Faunal Zone A and B sites in Oligo-Miocene Carl Creek Limestone in the Riversleigh World Heritage Property, Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) National Park, in northwestern Queensland, Australia. A reassessment of the phylogenetic relationships of this taxon based on the original and new material reaffirms the rallid affinities of G. disneyi, but indicate that it is not a member of the crown-group taxon Gallinula. We describe additional material from Faunal Zone C sites, of Middle Miocene age, that is referrable to a second species in the same new genus. Both taxa were flightless, and are the only gruiforms in the Riversleigh faunas.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 45 Woodland Birds Plenary Of microbes and mechanisms: towards understanding the basis of declining woodland birds David M Watson, Institute for Land, Water and Society, PO Box 789, Charles Sturt University, Albury NSW 2640, [email protected]

Studies of birds in habitat fragments vary in their objectives, scales and methods, but all begin with the birds themselves. While top-down approaches are useful in quantifying occurrence patterns, they have proven less successful in identifying underlying processes, and the mechanisms driving declining abundances, diminishing ranges and decreasing richnesses remain elusive. All organisms ultimately depend on water and nutrients, yet the importance of these bottom-up factors in explaining occurrence patterns in fragmented landscapes has only recently emerged. In addition to dramatic changes in habitat quality and extent, consider how nutrient inputs to woodlands have changed over the last century. The nitrogen-fixing plants that once provided most of the soil-borne Nitrogen have undergone widespread changes in abundance—some were cleared, others actively favoured and most preferentially consumed by domestic stock. The soils that have some of the lowest available Phosphorous on earth require large and frequent inputs to grow food and fibre, with surface run-off leading to dramatically elevated levels in adjacent woodlands. The mistletoes and parasitic shrubs that concentrate many nutrients have undergone dramatic changes in abundance, becoming super-abundant in some regions, locally extinct in others. The frequency and intensity of fires have fundamentally changed, increasing or decreasing availability of some elements by orders of magnitude. These changes to nutrient inputs have likely driven major changes in below-ground microbial communities, altering their composition and thereby fundamentally modifying the foundation of woodland food-webs. Might this have led to broad- based changes in the litter-dwelling arthropods that depend on this below ground decomposer community? I develop the hypothesis that changes in the availability of ground-dwelling arthropods underlie widely reported changes in bird occurrence in remnant woodlands, especially ground-foraging insectivores. I evaluate this idea with existing data and demonstrate a high congruence with many findings, both from south-eastern Australia and elsewhere. Finally, I articulate a series of testable predictions based on this hypothesis and encourage researchers to incorporate this bottom-up perspective in their work.

46 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Functional connectivity in fragmented woodlands: conclusions from focal species research on dispersal behaviour. Veronica A.J. Doerr, Erik D. Doerr and Micah J. Davies, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, GPO Box 284, Canberra, ACT 2601 ([email protected])

Australia’s woodland species are increasingly forced to survive in fragmented landscapes where their long-term persistence is dependent on dispersal between small patches of habitat. Yet such dispersal is often severely limited. While corridors have been widely heralded as solutions to this problem, their effectiveness will depend on the movement behaviour of native species – something that has rarely been studied directly. Using intensive radio-telemetry, we have previously analysed the dispersal search behaviour of brown treecreepers (Climacteris picumnus), concluding that scattered trees may sometimes provide greater functional connectivity than corridors, and that the length of a corridor and the distances of any gaps within it may be more important determinants of its effectiveness than corridor width. However, conclusions drawn from data on a single woodland species may not be broadly representative. Here, we analyse radio-telemetry movement data from four additional woodland bird species and show that their movement patterns are similar to those observed in brown treecreepers, strengthening our conclusions about the effectiveness of different types of connectivity. We also analyse data on gap-crossing distances obtained during a comprehensive literature review, and show that despite differences in general ecology, many of Australia’s native woodland species exhibit similar gap-crossing behaviour. We suggest that decision rules used for movement have been shaped over evolutionary time by natural patterns of variability in the landscape, and thus that movement behaviour in fragmented landscapes may be less species-specific than previously thought.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 47 Noisy miners: a symptom or the cause? Martine Maron, School of Geography, Planning and Environmental Management, University of Queensland, Brisbane Qld 4072, [email protected]

Numerous studies throughout eastern Australia have implicated competition from noisy miners in population declines of woodland birds. However, the relationship between noisy miners and habitat degradation often complicates identification of the relative importance of noisy miners as mediators of the effects of habitat degradation and the direct effects of degradation itself. I investigated the relative importance of noisy miners and habitat factors as direct influences on small birds. Through a qualitative and quantitative literature review, I explored a) the magnitude of the impact of noisy miners on small passerine birds in comparison to that attributable to factors such as patch area and vegetation structural complexity; b) spatial variation in the factors which contribute to high noisy miner densities; and c) the usefulness of noisy miners as an indicator of woodland bird community composition. The effect of noisy miners tended to be similar to or greater than that of patch area and habitat quality. The degree to which noisy miners were influenced by distance to patch edges varied considerably among vegetation types and regions. The change in the bird community with increasing noisy miner densities was substantial and consistent across reviewed studies. I suggest that competition with noisy miners is one of the most important processes threatening our woodland birds, and region- and habitat-specific actions directed at reducing habitat suitability for noisy miners should be a high conservation priority.

48 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Integrating ecology, genetics, immunology and haematology to understand processes underlying population declines of woodland birds in fragmented landscapes. Jim Radford,1 Linda Grootendorst, Alexandra Pavlova, Nevil Amos, Naoko Takeuchi, Jane Melville, Shandiya Balasubramaniam, Matt White, Graeme Newell, Alan Lill and Paul Sunnucks. 1. Deakin University, 225 Burwood Hwy, Burwood, Vic 3125, [email protected]

Woodland birds often decline in modified landscapes at a rate greater than can be attributed to the loss of native vegetation alone. However, few studies have examined the functional processes underlying population declines, and rarely at landscape scales. Here, we outline the conceptual framework and project design of a collaborative multi-disciplinary, multi-scale project that moves beyond models of species’ occurrence to examine the proximate demographic, genetic and physiological processes that cause populations to decline in fragmented agricultural landscapes (e.g., movement, effective population size, chronic stress, immunological response). We apply genetic and haematological approaches to ask two key questions: (i) are processes disrupted before changes in population distribution and abundance become apparent; and (ii) how are processes influenced by landscape attributes (e.g., extent of vegetation cover, vegetation pattern)? We target 13 woodland bird species that have different responses to habitat loss: ‘decliners’ exhibit disproportionately large population decreases with increasing habitat loss whereas ‘tolerant’ species decrease in proportion to habitat loss. Birds were sampled from 12 study landscapes, each 100 km2, in north-central Victoria: five low cover (~10-20% woody vegetation), four high cover (~25-45%) and three ‘continuous’ (>75%) landscapes. Initial data on indicators of chronic stress (body condition, whole blood haemoglobin, hematocrit and leukocyte counts) in a declining species (Brown Treecreeper) suggest landscape structure may influence physiological variables. After controlling for age, sex, moult and season, Bayesian analysis supports a positive correlation between woody vegetation cover and haemoglobin and body condition, indicating higher oxygen- carrying capacity and fat reserves in more intact landscapes.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 49 Paying the extinction debt: Declining woodland birds in the Mount Lofty Ranges, South Australia Judit K. Szabo, Peter W. J. Baxter, Peter A. Vesk and Hugh P. Possingham, The Spatial Ecology Lab, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld 4067, Australia, [email protected]

Around 90% of the original woodland vegetation of the Mount Lofty Ranges has been cleared, modified and fragmented through the last 150 years. This destruction has considerably affected the avifauna of the region – some species have disappeared, while others increased in abundance and distribution. Species with strict dependence on native woodlands were the ones affected most negatively. The aim of this study was to see which woodland-dependent species suffered the greatest declines in two different habitats, gum woodland and stingybark woodland. We analysed the NCSSA/UQ Mount Lofty Ranges Woodland Bird Long-term Monitoring dataset for 1999–2007. Abundance was recorded at over 150 sites by 2-ha 20-min surveys. Surveys were conducted in spring and summer and were repeated three times each year. We tested for statistically significant declines in 68 species by applying three methods: 1) linear regression on the number of individuals per species seen per survey summarised by year, 2) linear regressions on abundance data simplified into yearly reporting rates, and 3) List Length Analysis on presense/absence data in combination with the total number of species recorded on the same list. For most species, there was agreement among the three methods. The most disturbing decliners were the superb fairy-wren in both habitats, brown thornbill and sacred kingfisher in stringybark, musk lorikeet, Horsefield’s bronze-cuckoo and white-naped honeyeater in gum woodland. Increasers were white-throated treecreeper and common bronzewing in both habitats, rainbow lorikeet and yellow-faced honeyeater in stringybark. We emphasize the importance of habitat restoration to keep the living dead alive.

50 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Functional vs structural connectivity in fragmented landscapes: putting together ‘landscape’ and ‘genetics’ in ‘landscape genetics’ using connectivity modelling Nevil Amos, Matt White, Graeme Newell, Jim Thomson, Jim Radford, Alexandra Pavlova, Ralph Mac Nally and Paul Sunnucks. School of Biological Sciences and Australian Centre for Biodiversity, Monash University, Clayton, Vic 3800, [email protected]

Maintaining viable populations of organisms in fragmented landscapes is advanced by: (1) retaining habitat that best contributes to favourable population processes, and (2) restoring and augmenting habitat to the same objective. One impediment to doing this effectively is that ‘functional connectivity’ (movement of organisms and genes through landscapes) has been difficult to estimate. Assumptions, often untested, are made about the ability of organisms to move through, live in, and reproduce in landscapes. ‘Structural connectivity’ (habitat extent and configuration) is often used as a proxy for functional connectivity, but the relationship between structural and functional connectivity is typically unknown. A key recent advance in estimating connectivity uses circuit theory and the software Circuitscape. For modelled species, different mobility ‘resistances’ are assigned to different mapped landscape elements, and the program then evaluates the current flow offered by each path between locations. Any relevant information on mobility may be used, including expert opinion, field-based approaches and population genetic estimates of mobility and gene flow. In this multidisciplinary project, we are assessing the relationship between structural connectivity (landscape structure) and functional connectivity for a suite of woodland birds exposed to severe habitat loss in north-central Victoria. We present Circuitscape ‘prior model’ projections of functional connectivity for bird species of contrasting dispersal propensity, based on expert opinion. We show how understanding of mobility can be refined by the application of population genetic data, which present a cost-effective approach to estimating functional connectivity over a range of spatial and temporal scales.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 51 Why are the demographic responses to habitat fragmentation of two south-Australian pardalotes so different? Katherine Harrisson, Alexandra Pavlova, Nevil Amos, Jim Radford, Leo Joseph, Naoko Takeuchi, and Paul Sunnucks, School of Biological Sciences and Australian Centre for Biodiversity, Monash University, Clayton, Vic 3800, [email protected]

In south-eastern Australia, the probability of occurrence of ‘decliner’ species in wooded parts of 100 km2 ‘landscapes’ declines with decreasing woodland cover, whereas ‘tolerant’ species are as likely to occur in the wooded parts of low cover landscapes as in high cover ones. Two species of co-distributed south-eastern Australian pardalotes, the “decliner” Spotted and the “tolerant” , appear to differ drastically in their response to fragmentation. It is unclear which traits explain the difference. By analysing genotypes of >200 Striated Pardalotes and 90 Spotted Pardalotes from box-ironbark forests of north-central Victoria, we investigate whether differences in population processes, notably genetic and field-based estimates of mobility and population trajectories, underlie the different responses of the two species. This study area is of special interest for estimating dispersal because it represents a zone of seasonal sympatry of three Striated Pardalote and two subspecies. We fit genetic data on movement to Circuitscape mobility models based on expert opinion to explore landscape features affecting dispersal patterns. Using genotypic and mitochondrial DNA data from wide-range samples of the two pardalote species we estimate historical and contemporary dispersal patterns across their range. Goals of this research include readily understood assessments of habitat features that promote or reduce functional connectivity in bird populations in anthropogenically altered habitats, and test- cases of the efficiency of genetic estimators of critical population processes.

52 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Changes in bird community structure over 30 years in a eucalypt woodland remnant on the of NSW Gillian Dunkerley1 and Hugh Ford, 1. Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water, NSW, PO Box A290, Sydney South NSW 1232, [email protected]

Birds have been studied at Imbota Nature Reserve, on the Northern Tablelands of NSW, for over 30 years, from 1978 to 2008. The bird community has been systematically censused on 11 occasions during this period. The suite of bird species has changed little over the 30 year period, with between 36 and 63 species present during any survey, of which 29 species have been seen almost every survey. Total densities ranged from a low of around 6.5 birds/ha to a high of over 23 birds/ha. There have been changes, however, in relative abundance of some species. Fuscous honeyeaters were the most abundant bird in most of the surveys in the late 70s until the 90s. Surveys in 2007 and 2008, however, show that other small honeyeaters, such as White-naped and Yellow-faced, are now more numerous. In addition, various species of thornbills are now much more abundant than the small honeyeaters, whereas prior to the early 90s, honeyeaters predominated. Other bird species have also increased in abundance, such as Crimson Rosellas, whereas others have disappeared e.g. Brown Treecreeper, or declined e.g. Eastern Yellow Robin. Different observers, different survey methods and different areas of the forest were used for these surveys, and may well have contributed to perceived changes in the bird community. However, isolation of the remnant, habitat changes (such as thickening of the understorey) and climatic conditions have also played a part.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 53 Swift Parrots - dynamic migrants in a drought-prone environment Chris Tzaros, Swift Parrot Recovery Coordinator and Woodland Birds for Biodiversity Project, Birds Australia National Office, 60 Leicester Street, Carlton, Vic 3053, [email protected]

The Swift Parrot is an endangered, migratory species which breeds in Tasmania and winters on the south-east Australian mainland. Across both their wintering and breeding range, the species has been demonstrated to use habitats in a dynamic way that corresponds to the inter-annual variability in food resources – primarily eucalypt nectar and lerp. Within the wintering range, the species needs a combination of coastal and inland habitats in different regions to ensure sufficient resources are available each year regardless of the climatic conditions. In years when eucalypt woodlands on the inland slopes of the Great Divide provide sufficient foraging resources the Swift Parrot population occurs widely throughout this habitat, favouring particular regions that provide optimal resources. But in years when inland woodlands receive insufficient rainfall to stimulate adequate eucalypt flowering and lerp production, the population seeks refuge in relatively moister coastal regions. Similarly, within the breeding range a combination of wet and dry forests in different regions, with suitable tree hollows and feed tree species nearby, are required for successful breeding each year. Spatial and temporal patchiness in flowering of key feed trees creates dramatic changes in the availability of optimal breeding habitat each year. Consequently, the usage of areas by breeding Swift Parrots is intermittent and concentrated around areas of abundant flowering and the presence of senescent eucalypt forest during the breeding season. Over time, all combinations of resources are critically important for the long-term sustainability of the population. Such specific habitat requirements of the Swift Parrot render it highly susceptible to the ongoing impacts of climate change.

54 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 The success of a large captive-release of Regent Honeyeater, from captive-breeding to breeding? Dean Ingwersen, Birds Australia, 60 Leicester St, Carlton, Vic 3053, [email protected]

Formerly ranging across south-eastern Australia from southern Queensland to South Australia, the range and population of the Regent Honeyeater has diminished substantially. As a result there are now fewer than 1,500 birds remaining in the wild, with the best estimate for Victoria being around 100 individuals. In 2008, the Regent Honeyeater Recovery Team set about addressing this and embarked upon the most ambitious captive-release ever undertaken for the species. Twenty-seven individuals were released as a large-scale trial in north-east Victoria, primarily to investigate the survivorship of captive-bred birds in the wild, whilst gathering additional information on factors such as interaction with the wild population and use of resources. All birds were released wearing either harness or tail-mounted radio-transmitters, and monitoring was conducted over 25 weeks. A number of research questions were incorporated into the release as a way of monitoring the effectiveness of the techniques used. It was found that there was no difference in survivorship between first-year birds and older birds; there was no significant difference in the effectiveness of the transmitters used (though harnesses were retained slightly longer); captive-released birds were interacting with wild birds within one day of release; and all available resources known to be used by wild Regent Honeyeaters were utilised by the released birds. Ten nests were constructed by pairs composed of released birds late in the monitoring period, though none were successful at fledging young despite several nests containing hatchlings. Only one confirmed mortality of a released bird was recorded during the monitoring.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 55 Bottom-up hierarchical habitat selection; could patterns of landscape-scale occupancy be constrained by microhabitat-scale selection? Jarrad A Cousin, Environmental Futures Centre, School of Environment, Griffith University, Nathan, Qld 4111, [email protected]

To understand responses of species to habitat loss and fragmentation requires an understanding of the processes governing habitat selection at multiple spatial and temporal scales. Unfortunately, habitat selection studies are often limited in spatial scope, focusing on management units operating at the landscape scale. In birds, habitat selection is generally assumed to be hierarchical in nature, with selection at a given spatial scale constrained by selection at other spatial scales. This is typically assumed to operate according to a ‘top-down’ model, represented by selection at coarse spatial scales (e.g., landscape and remnant scale) constraining selection at finer spatial scales (e.g., foraging microhabitat). Given that this ‘top-down’ model is best represented by wide-ranging or migratory species, it is important to determine whether resident, sedentary species respond in a similar fashion. Using the results from a study of the hierarchical habitat selection of the Eastern Yellow Robin (Eopsaltria australis) in the New England Tablelands of NSW, I demonstrate how fine spatial scale selection at the microhabitat scale constrains ‘selection’ or patterns of occupancy at territory and landscape scales; suggesting a ‘bottom-up’ model of hierarchical habitat selection in this species. Given that a large number of threatened woodland birds in Australia are resident and sedentary, the implication of potential ‘bottom-up’ models of habitat selection in these species stresses the need to incorporate microhabitat requirements into species management and recovery plans, especially given that patterns of landscape-scale occupancy may be constrained by such microhabitat-scale selection.

56 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Profile of the avifauna of an Ungrazed and Unfragmented Temperate Eucalypt Woodland Harry F. Recher1 and William E. Davis, Jr. 1. School of Natural Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia, PO Box 154, Brooklyn, NSW 2003, [email protected]

The Great Western Woodlands (GWW) is a 16 million ha expanse of semi-arid eucalypt woodlands and forest in association with floristically diverse shrublands and salt lakes in Western Australia. A core of 7.5 million ha centred on the town of Norseman has never been grazed and is unaffected by agriculture or clearing, although large areas were logged during the first half of the 20th Century. There is no evidence that any species of bird has been lost from the GWW since European settlement, nor have any significant declines in the abundance of woodland and forest birds been documented. Consequently, the GWW provides a special opportunity to study an intact avifauna against which changes in the more disturbed and fragmented woodlands elsewhere in southern Australia can be compared. This paper describes the species composition and abundance of birds in the ungrazed woodlands and forests of the GWW. Community foraging profiles are presented and used to interpret which parts of the avifauna are most likely to be adversely affected by increased levels of disturbance and changes in rainfall with global warming. The idea of micro-refuges is introduced. It is also suggested that some highly dispersive birds, such as nectar-feeding honeyeaters (Meliphagidae), have declined in abundance, despite the large expanse of unbroken habitat, as a result of land clearing in the Western Australian wheatbelt to the west of the GWW.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 57 The impact of habitat fragmentation on neutral and functional genes in brown treecreepers (Climacteris picumnus) Shandiya Balasubramaniam, Alexandra Pavlova, Raoul Mulder, Jim Radford, Paul Sunnucks, Jane Melville, Department of Zoology, University of Melbourne, Vic 3010, Australia, [email protected]

Habitat fragmentation, as a result of anthropogenic degradation of the environment, is recognised as having had one of the largest impacts on biodiversity abundance and distribution by reducing population sizes and causing population bottlenecks and inbreeding. Selectively neutral population genetic markers, such as microsatellites, are commonly applied to estimate population processes and effective population sizes. While providing valuable information on dispersal patterns and relatedness, these genes do not play any functional role in the survival of individuals. In contrast, functional genes, such as those of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), have a direct role in survival of individuals and the viability of species. Because of the functional significance of the MHC genes in disease resistance, adaptive evolutionary potential and the persistence of species, it is useful to investigate and understand the diversity at these loci in real landscapes. Low allele numbers and, more specifically, low diversity among alleles, have been linked to increased susceptibility of individuals to pathogens and infectious disease. This study compares patterns of genetic diversity at neutral (microsatellite) and functional (MHC II _) loci within and among populations of Brown Treecreepers (Climacteris picumnus) sampled from 12 landscapes (each 100 km2) that have different configuration and extent of woody vegetation. This comparison allows for the determination of whether functional MHC genetic diversity patterns show responses to fragmentation and habitat quality that are likely to contribute to differences in individual health and population viability.

58 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Contrasting the extent of movement of Brown Treecreepers and Fuscous Honeyeaters in fragmented agricultural landscapes Alexandra Pavlova, Shandiya Balasubramaniam, Nevil Amos, Jim Radford, Naoko Takeuchi, Alan Lill and Paul Sunnucks, School of Biological Sciences and Australian Centre for Biodiversity, Monash University, Clayton, Vic 3800, [email protected]

Our current understanding of how woodland birds move through the landscape is mainly derived from capture-recapture data and radio-tracking information. Here, we are applying population genetic tools to provide data on species’ movement, overcoming the need for costly and difficult recapture. Incorporating genetic data may greatly improve dispersal models and allow identification of species-specific landscape features promoting or preventing movement across the landscape. In addition, genetic data can yield estimates of effective population size and provide insights on its variation through time. Both the Brown Treecreeper and the Fuscous Honeyeater are ‘decliners’ in that their occurrence in wooded habitat decreases in lower cover landscapes yet the species differ in habitat use and mobility. Movement within and among 12 landscapes with different amount of vegetation cover was assessed by analysing data on microsatellite genotypes of over 460 individuals of each species. Low mobility of the Brown Treecreeper was reflected in higher pairwise genetic distance values among sampling locations. We test the extent to which genetic data improves our knowledge of bird movement by comparing the matrices of genetic distances with matrices of “landscape resistance” derived from Circuitscape mobility models based on expert opinion about movement of species through different land-uses. We then relate levels of genetic diversity to landscape features for the respective species. This analysis demonstrates that while both species are sensitive to habitat loss and fragmentation, the proximate processes responsible for population declines differs between the species. Consequently, restoration strategies must account for divergent responses of declining species.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 59 Effects of river red gum decline on woodland birds in the Macquarie Marshes, New South Wales Alice Blackwood, Australian Wetlands Rivers Centre, School of Biological Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of NSW, NSW 2052, [email protected]

River regulation has had a significant ecological impact on floodplain ecosystems around the world. Much of the research effort has focused upon invertebrates, fish and waterbirds, but relatively little is known about the effects of river regulation upon riparian bird communities. River red gums provide habitat for a diverse community (over 110 species) of woodland birds in the Macquarie Marshes, a Ramsar listed floodplain wetland in central western NSW. Dramatic changes to the flooding regime have led to the decline and death of large areas of river red gums. I surveyed woodland birds in areas of river red gums in poor, intermediate and good health. There were significant differences in community composition but not in species richness or overall abundance. Species driving these differences included Jacky Winter, Superb Fairy Wrens, Australian Ringneck (more abundant in poor sites) and White Plumed Honeyeaters, Brown Treecreepers and Willie Wagtails (more abundant in good sites). Fairy-wrens were most abundant in sites of intermediate health, which had a dense, shrubby understorey. Observations of microhabitat selection allowed bird species to be grouped into ‘spatial guilds’. Birds such as White Plumed Honeyeaters, Crested Shrike Tits and Striated Pardalotes were observed almost exclusively in foliage, while others showed preferences for live branches (e. g. Rufous Whistler), dead trees (e. g. Rufous Songlark) or shrubby understorey (e. g. Fairy-wrens). Differences in bird community composition were strongly correlated with habitat structure and understorey composition and were consistent with the ‘terrestrialisation’ of this wetland habitat as a result of river regulation.

60 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Advances in our knowledge of the cause of decline of woodland birds over the last 10 years Hugh A Ford, Zoology, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, [email protected]

There is further evidence of ongoing declines in abundance and range of some woodland birds, though other species may be maintaining numbers or increasing. The ongoing drought in south- eastern Australia appears to have caused declines of many species, even in extensive areas of woodland. Conversely, preliminary data suggest that many species of concern can occur in replanted and rehabilitated vegetation. There have been many additional studies on patterns – how patch size and isolation appear to influence species presence or absence. In addition, there have been a number of studies on the relationship between species presence and habitat variables. Encouragingly, there has been an increase in the number of studies looking at the ecological processes that may lead to decline in fragmented and degraded woodland. The importance of Noisy Miners in aggressively excluding other species has been strengthened. In contrast, there is little further support for the hypothesis that nest predation contributes to declines. The value of connection among remnants has been supported by work on Brown Treecreepers, among other species. Also, attention is now being paid to resources, which includes the abundance and accessibility of food. We now need to integrate the different causes of decline into closely monitored experiments that use adaptive management to reverse the fortunes of woodland birds.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 61 Nocturnal Birds

Birds with Attitude: Home Range and Territoriality of the Australian Owlet-Nightjar Lisa I Doucette, Zoology, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia, [email protected]

Sedentary Australian owlet-nightjars Aegotheles cristatus roost in cavities year-round, and are thought to mate for life and maintain stable home ranges throughout the year. These factors lead to the prediction that they should be highly territorial, yet nothing is known about their home range requirements or level of site fidelity. I used radio-telemetry coupled with GPS recordings to determine home range size in the semi-arid zone of central Australian (13 birds over two winters) and in a eucalypt woodland on the Northern Tablelands of NSW (14 birds over one calendar year). The mean home range in the eucalypt woodland was 17.7 ha based on the minimum convex polygon (MCP) method and 17.4 ha based on the fixed kernel contour (95%), whereas it was 23.8 ha and 24.1 ha based on the MCP and kernel methods in the desert respectively. With the exception of mated pairs (range overlap 41.9%), there was little overlap among individuals in home range areas (<13.0%), even in the densely populated woodland. Home range size did not differ significantly between sexes or study sites, nor was it correlated with arthropod abundance or season. Owlet-nightjars exhibited high site fidelity, using the same home range throughout the year with a 68% overlap between seasons. These data, plus anecdotal records of aggression and vocalizations, suggest that this species is highly territorial, yet individuals live in close proximity to conspecifics.

62 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Barking population limited by prey distribution, quality and abundance, in the Pilliga Forests of Northern NSW Matthew Stanton and Rod Kavanagh, Forest Science Centre, PO Box 100, Beecroft, NSW 2119, [email protected]

The Barking Owl Ninox connivens population in the Pilliga forests of northern New South Wales is the largest known in Southern Australia. Breeding pairs in this population occupy large home-ranges (~2000 ha) across ~200,000 ha of the >500,000 ha forest area. It seems unlikely that the require 2000 ha to find nest hollows or sufficient roosts nor that these resources are completely restricted through the areas of the Pilliga unoccupied by Barking Owls. It is more likely that this spatial limitation relates to prey availability. To test this hypothesis, prey Barking Owls are consuming was compared with the available prey as determined by bird counts, spotlight surveys, small mammal trapping, bat surveys and two methods of insect collection. Pilliga Barking Owls preyed predominantly on over 40 species of birds, Sugar Gliders, insectivorous bats and insects with few prey items being taken on the ground. Prey items from all prey groups were available from all areas of the Pilliga sampled. Available bird prey biomass was strongly correlated with Barking Owl distribution. Mammal prey biomass was less strongly correlated. Invertebrate prey biomass showed some correlation but requires further study. Spatial availability of prey biomass offers a good explanation for Barking Owl distribution in the Pilliga forests. Critical food resources, particularly available bird biomass, may limit the population density and distribution in what appears to be marginal rather than prime habitat. More productive land in the region that has been cleared for agriculture possibly supported higher densities of Barking Owls.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 63 Nesting densities of Tawny Frogmouth in open and closed canopy woodlands Stuart Rae, The School of Botany and Zoology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, [email protected]

Tawny Frogmouths are widespread and commonly seen in gardens, parks and woodland. However, anecdotal records possibly give a distorted impression of these birds’ habitat association and population density. Despite their familiarity frogmouths are generally regarded as difficult to survey and the main methods employed have been listening for calling birds, their response to playback calls or spotlight. This study concentrated on locating nests and their breeding density was assessed in three habitats; closed canopy dry sclerophyll forest, open canopy grassy woodland and partially- cleared grassy woodland. Nesting birds were counted in defined areas in 2006-2008 and the distances between contiguous nests were measured. There were more breeding pairs per hectare in the open grassy woodland (0.02) than in closed dry sclerophyll forest (0.006), and the highest density in an area in any year was 0.05 nests per ha in the partially cleared woodland. Although the nests were at different densities in each habitat they were uniformly spaced within the different habitat types, with the mean nearest-neighbour distance shorter in the open grassy woodland (594 m) than in the closed sclerophyll forest (1322 m). It seems that a greater heterogeneity of woodland habitat supports a larger population of Tawny Frogmouths, and old open woodland might be their preferred original habitat. Woodlands and forests with close-growing trees seem to be less used and partial clearing of woodland might be beneficial.

64 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Abundance of the Tasmanian Masked Owl in call playback surveys Michael Todd1, Sarah Munks2, Mark Hindell1, Alastair Richardson1, Phil Bell3, Rod Kavanagh4, Iain Taylor5, David Bowman1. 1. School of Zoology, University of Tasmania, , Tas 7001, 2. Forest Practices Authority, 3. DPIW, 4. State Forests NSW, 5. Charles Sturt University [email protected]

Despite many forest owl surveys over the last couple of decades the low rate of detection of the Tyto novaehollandiae has been problematic in assessing its status and ecology. The Tasmanian Masked Owl T. n. castanops, is sometimes regarded as being at a higher density than the mainland subspecies yet few detailed surveys for it have been carried out. To assess the abundance of T. n. castanops across Tasmania and to examine its habitat preferences a series of stratified, randomly selected sites were surveyed using the call playback procedure between 2008 and 2009. T.n.castanops was detected on 67 occasions in 908 surveys at the randomly selected sites. They were more likely to be detected in dry eucalypt forest (especially Eucalyptus obliqua dominated) at low altitude (< 450 metres). 14.9% of surveys in dry lowland forest were successful, compared to 3.6% of surveys successful in dry highland forest. Wet lowland forest (7.4% success) also yielded more Masked Owls than wet highland forest (2.9%). Of the 56 T. n. castanops that were observed the majority were dark morph (32), the minority were white morph (10) and the rest intermediate in colour (14). White morph owls were always small and were probably all male. The importance of lowland dry eucalypt forest to T. n. castanops is clear. This has conservation implications as most of these forests are not reserved and are currently subject to forestry management, which has the potential to impact upon the Tasmanian Masked Owl.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 65 Collaborative Projects

An update from the Australian National Wildlife Collection Sound Archive Alex Drew, Australian National Wildlife Collection, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Canberra, ACT, 2601, [email protected]

The Australian National Wildlife Collection (ANWC) is the nation’s official collection of land vertebrates - mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians. The ANWC holds in trust for future generations one of Australia’s best-documented scientific records of our fauna. It is also a leading research centre dedicated to understanding and preserving Australia’s unique wildlife. The Sound Archive of the Australian National Wildlife Collections is the largest of its kind in Australia and amongst the largest in the world. Besides providing valuable insights into taxonomy, the Archive provides useful information about animal behaviour and evolution. The Sound Archive has grown significantly since its inception, and now houses over 60, 000 recordings of birds, mammals, amphibians and invertebrates. Whilst the bulk of the sound recordings within the Archive are from Australian birds, there is an excellent collection of material from New Guinea, Europe, North and South America. The donation of private collections of recorded material has greatly contributed to the excellent quality and high standard of the Sound Archive. The Sound Archive is currently undergoing a major overhaul, with our principle goal being the digitisation of all of our archived analogue recordings. These efforts will prove to be highly valuable as they facilitate access to material within the Archive both for external users and ourselves as we place digitised material on our website.

66 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 The Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds: Too Many Years Before the Mast Peter J. Higgins, PO Box 99, Sawtell, NSW 2452, Australia, [email protected]

The coming year – 2010 –marks 20 years since the publication of the first volume of one of the most ambitious, most expensive and most far-reaching ornithological projects ever undertaken in the Australasian region – the seven-volume Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds (HANZAB). Birds Australia completed this project in mid-2006, 25 years after formally deciding to begin work on the project. With the completion of the series, Birds Australia had prepared detailed summaries of the biology, behaviour and appearance of the 957 species that had been recorded for the region to that time. The Council of Birds Australia approved the undertaking of a Handbook of Australian Birds in February 1981, with the goals of: summarising all that we know of the birds of Australia and making clear, either implicitly or explicitly, what we do not know; and to prepare detailed summaries of the external morphology of all species, analysing and describing all sources of variation. While those goals did not alter over the life of the project, there were significant changes to methods, and the costs, of preparing the texts and artwork. From its inception, this project depended on the effort of a great many people volunteering their expertise, including the original editorial team, those who wrote partial or full species accounts, and the large number of reviewers utilised for each volume. However, the roles and responsibilities of those producing this work, and the mix of volunteer and paid staff changed significantly over the life of the project. It is important that neither the scope and ambition of the project, nor its cost and impact on Australasian ornithology be underestimated or ignored. For Birds Australia, it is also important to reflect on the major impact that the project has had on the organisation itself during the 25 years of this project. Nevertheless, it is difficult, if not impossible, to quantify adequately the impact and effects of HANZAB, especially as so many of the values are in a sense intangible social assets, such as the eventual donation of the complete set of colour plates to the State Library of Victoria, preserving them as a public asset and available to all. Other such intangibles include the transfer of knowledge to all those who use the work from those who volunteered their time to the project. HANZAB may well be the last traditional ‘handbook’ to be produced as a ‘book’. It was started at a time when online publication was not even envisaged, let alone practicable; it was finished when online publication, or at least digital publication, would be, without doubt, the best option for making available the type of data covered in HANZAB. The online publication of HANZAB is something that should be pursued and would provide a practical avenue for the ongoing update and maintenance of the database that is HANZAB.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 67 "Brindabella Banding"- a long term bird banding site revisited: Monitoring changes to the avifauna of the Brindabella Ranges; longevity, survival, composition and migration in a changing climate. Alex Drew, and Micah Davies, Australian National Wildlife Collection, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Canberra, ACT, 2601, [email protected]

Long term field studies examining processes such as longevity, changes in species composition and changes to migration dates in birds are relatively few in Australia. Consequently relatively little is known about how long many Australian bird species live in the wild, or what changes are occurring to migration dates due to changes in climate. However, using existing data sets and revisiting a study area some years after a project is completed may prove to be a useful means of obtaining such difficult to obtain data. From 1961 to 1982 a bird-banding project was undertaken in the Brindabella Ranges, ACT. This project involved an intensive banding effort, with banding carried out every 3 weeks for the duration of the project. Over 10,000 birds were banded, from over 50 species. In November 2007 we located the original banding net sites, and recommenced mist- netting, visiting the site every two months until the present. We report here on changes to the vegetation and related changes to avian species composition and frequency of capture. None of the original study birds have been mist-netted during the second phase of the project. The avian species diversity of the site is similar to that of the original study, with some marked changes to the frequency of capture that is likely to be attributable to changes in the vegetation of the study site post 2003 wildfires.

68 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Climate Change

Climate and breeding in Australian birds Heather Gibbs, Lynda Chambers and Andrew F. Bennett , Life and Environmental Science, Deakin University, Burwood, Vic, [email protected]

Climate change is already influencing Australian ecosystems, but our knowledge of its effects is still very limited. More information is urgently required to understand the effects of natural climate variation (both spatial and temporal) and hence to distinguish and predict effects of anthropogenic climate change. This presentation highlights some important long-term avian data sets, and shows how linking existing data to spatial and temporal indices of climate pattern can generate new insights into important ecological processes.

In this study, across 16 common and widespread Australian land birds, there were dramatic between-year differences in the ‘relative amount’ of breeding, related to a large-scale climate index, the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI). The SOI strongly influences climate across most of Australia, so while it is unsurprising that this translates into changes in birds’ breeding patterns, the magnitude of the effect may be larger than previously anticipated. There were also strong and relatively consistent effects of geographic climate gradients, such as altitude and latitude.

An important next step is to interpret birds’ responses in terms of local temperature and rainfall, but this is a more challenging process. Possible ways forward are discussed.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 69 Community monitoring of biological responses to climate change Dr Lynda E. Chambers, Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research, Bureau of Meteorology, GPO Box 1289, Melbourne, Vic 3001, Australia, [email protected]

Climate change has the potential to significantly alter species distributions, abundance, life-cycle timing, productivity and survival. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report (2007) provided evidence that increasing temperatures are affecting biological systems. This report listed ~29,000 studies, mostly from Europe with only 6 from the Australasian region, and was based on data collected by both professional scientists and community members. To further understand the links between natural systems and climate in Australia, improve data availability and inform adaptation options, the following approach is suggested. • Search: There are considerable organisational and non-mainstream data sources (e.g. general public) yet to be accessed. This step involves searching and documenting potentially suitable long- term biological data sets, e.g. through existing databases such as the National Ecological Meta Database (http://www.bom.gov.au/nemd). • Compile new datasets through systematic searches of literature and other sources, such as photographic records, art work or collections, for instance PhenoArc (http://www.climatewatch.org.au/News/PhenoARC-Extending-Australia-s-Phenological-Record). • Generate datasets through monitoring programs such as ClimateWatch (http://www.climatewatch.org.au), which engages the public in science on a national scale. ClimateWatch uses a dispersed observer network to monitor trends and patterns essential for obtaining a national perspective on natural resources and climate change. Information collected so far consists of both professional and amateur data; both equally useful in identifying relationships between climate and biological systems. Additional information on past biological changes is likely to come from the records of amateur naturalists, such as daily species lists, breeding and flowering records, field records and dated photographs; highlighting the important role the community can play in monitoring biological responses to climate change.

70 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Latitudinal shifts in altitude of abundance maxima of rainforest birds in eastern Queensland and their relevance to predicting the impacts of climate change. Anderson, A, Shoo, L, and Williams, S.E., Centre for Tropical Biodiversity and Climate Change, School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, [email protected]

An understanding of the role of climate in determining the current abundance and distribution of species is critical to predicting the impact that climate change may have on flora and fauna. Direct information on physiological tolerances can fill this knowledge gap but such data is only available for a very few species. One way to indirectly tackle this problem is to test climate associations of species distributions using a “space-for-time” approach. Abundance maxima provide useful markers of environmental optima that are readily measurable in the field. Here we quantify elevational abundance profiles for a diverse assemblage of rainforest birds and test the hypothesis that abundance maxima should shift upward in response to warmer temperatures at lower latitudes. Specifically, we use simple logistic regression to identify optimal elevations for species shared between disjunct rainforests that span a latitudinal gradient from the Central Queensland coast to Cape York Peninsula. We show that temperature is an important driver of elevational patterns of abundance and highlight the importance of this extensive baseline data set for monitoring range shifts of rainforest birds under future altered climates.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 71 The effects of variable tropical climate on foraging niches and body condition of migrant birds in Central America using constant effort mist netting and census. Jared Wolfe, Humboldt State University, and Redwood Sciences Laboratory, Arcata, California USA, and C. John Ralph, Redwood Sciences Laboratory, US Forest Service, Arcata, California, USA 95521, [email protected]

Evidence is accumulating that climatic changes induced by the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is producing pervasive influences on biological systems. This climatic variability and the resulting multi-trophic interactions of bird species within tropical latitudes are of profound importance and require documentation. Here, we used a novel approach of examining constant effort capture data in order to investigate relationships between the body condition of migrant birds and the Southern Oscillation Index, a climatic metric, during spring migration in Costa Rica. Our study is based on capture data of six Nearctic-Neotropic migrant bird species during stopover, over a 14-year period. For the first time, we demonstrated that capture data could show profound annual changes in foraging strategies of birds and their body condition. Our detected patterns are most likely related to changes in rainfall between years, with marked influences on food availability. For example an insectivore had improved condition, whereas two frugivores experienced reduced condition during drier El Niño years, with the reverse in wet La Niña years. Our detected correlations suggest that banding data can be effectively used to examine climatic influences on bird populations in novel ways. Future management decisions, pertaining to Neotropical stopover habitat, are going to be increasingly important, in light of our findings and recent climatic models that predict future increases in ENSO frequency and severity.

72 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Temporal declines in avian body size: adaptation to global warming or a plastic response to a degrading environment? Janet Gardner, Robert Heinsohn and Leo Joseph, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200 Australia, [email protected]

Intraspecific latitudinal clines in the body size of terrestrial vertebrates, where members of the same species are larger at higher latitudes, are widely interpreted as evidence for natural selection and adaptation to local climate. These clines are predicted to shift in response to climate change. We used museum specimens to measure changes in the body size of eight passerine bird species from south-eastern Australia over the last ca. 100 years. Four species showed significant decreases in body size (1.8-3.6 % of wing length) and a shift in latitudinal cline over that period, and a meta- analysis demonstrated a consistent trend across all eight species. Southern high-latitude populations now display the body sizes typical of more northern populations pre 1950, equivalent to a 7 degree shift in latitude. Using ptilochronology, we found no evidence that these morphological changes were a plastic response to changes in nutrition, a likely non-genetic mechanism for the pattern observed. Our results demonstrate a generalised response by eight avian species to some major environmental change over the last ca. 100 years, probably global warming.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 73 Birds of the Northern Savannas Plenary

Conservation issues for birds in the northern Savannas Stephen Garnett, School for Environmental Research, Charles Darwin University, Ellengowan Drive Casuarina, NT 0909, [email protected]

The savannas of northern Australia are vast, nearly two million km2, with an avifauna that is remarkably intact. Extremely infertile soils and a wet season that, though reliable, stutters at the start in a way that can kill most crops has more or less protected its integrity from rampaging agriculture. As a result the extinction debt that stalks birds in fragmented landscapes is absent – savanna birds can range uninterrupted to follow itinerant resources, wetlands are largely undrained and coastlines largely unmodified. But, while the landscapes can look healthy, there have also been many changes since pastoral settlement in the 1880s – changes to fire management, heavy grazing pressure and removal of traditional management. Similarly the many modern drivers of change will also draw heavily on environmental resources while the first heavy drops are falling from the fast- gathering storm of climate change. This paper considers the history of the existing avifauna of Australia’s tropical savannas, how that avifauna may respond to existing and impending challenges and the policies we need that may help them do so.

74 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Conservation biology of the purple-crowned fairy-wren: challenges of a riparian habitat specialist in the northern savannas Anja Skroblin, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, [email protected]

Many creeks and rivers in northern Australia are fringed by dense vegetation that greatly contrasts with the dominant open savannas of the region. Species specialized to this riparian habitat are faced with multiple challenges. Riparian vegetation is naturally distributed as patches of varying size and isolation within the savanna matrix, and is being degraded over large parts of the tropics by intense fires, cattle and weed invasion. The purple-crowned fairy-wren (PCFW) is a small co-operatively breeding bird restricted such vegetation in Kimberley, Victoria River and Gulf Regions of northern Australia. The natural history of the species renders it particularly susceptible to habitat degradation, resulting in the western subspecies’ decline and listing as Vulnerable (EPBC Act 1999). To inform conservation management of the species, a detailed knowledge of its current distribution, habitat requirements and threatening processes is required. Surveys confirm species presence on 5 of 14 river catchments within the Kimberley Region and highlight the association of the species with riparian habitat which contains a dense understorey, often dominated by and/or freshwater mangroves, with a high overstorey of emergent eucalypts or melaleucas. Degradation of the understorey, in particular, through cattle grazing, fire and weed invasion may be associated with declines of the PCFW. The extreme patchy distribution of PCFW habitat was further emphasized by aerial mapping of more than 2500km of remote Kimberley waterway. Documented long distance dispersal events may be vital to maintain population connectivity and ensure persistence across patchily distributed and degraded habitat.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 75 Insight into the decline of the Gouldian Finch: The effects of grazing and fire on finch health and grass productivity Kimberly L. Maute, Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522 [email protected], Sarah Legge, Australian Wildlife Conservancy, Perth, WA and Lee Astheimer, Deakin University, Geelong Victoria

The Gouldian Finch is a small grass seed-eating bird that once ranged across tropical savannas that cover nearly a fourth of the Australian continent. This species has declined dramatically in the last 40 years, despite these savannas being largely undeveloped. Over two years, we surveyed the health of 520 finches and their habitat in areas of differing land management. Based on data from 350 vegetation plots, we found that areas prone to grazing pressure or frequent intense fires had lower measures of grass productivity and cover compared to areas managed for biodiversity conservation. On grazed land in particular, annual grasses that make up the bulk of finch diets were significantly less abundant, and perennial grasses had lower measures of seasonal growth. Finches living in these ‘disturbed’ areas often displayed symptoms of poorer health. In late 2007, finches surveyed on grazed land had significantly lower measures of mass, fat, and muscle, as well as 10% higher haematocrit levels, and 60% higher stress hormone levels than birds sampled on conservation land (p<0.001). The results indicate that these populations could be prone to further declines, because sick or chronically stressed individuals are less likely to survive or breed. We will present evidence that grazing and frequent intense fire impacts the health of Gouldian Finch populations and discuss possible links between their variation in health and differences in grass layer productivity. This information will guide recommendations for land management that will benefit the endangered Gouldian Finch, as well as better manage Australia’s tropical savannas.

76 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Breeding biology and life history traits of an Australasian tropical granivore, the ( phaeton). Olga Milenkaya1, Jeffrey R. Walters1 and Sarah Legge2, 1. Biology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 4107 Derring Hall, Blacksburg, VA 24061 USA, 2. Australian Wildlife Conservancy, Mornington Wildlife Sanctuary, PMB 925, Derby, WA 6728, [email protected]

We present detailed breeding biology and life history data for an Australasian tropical granivore, the Crimson Finch (Neochmia phaeton), collected over three breeding seasons at Mornington Wildlife Sanctuary in northwestern Australia. Annual adult survival was 72.4% but with high annual variation. The finches bred as socially monogamous pairs and divorce was rare (2.9%, n=173 pair years). The breeding season averaged 3.7 months in duration and corresponded to the wet season. First and last clutch initiation dates were similar across years but nest building more variable, sometimes occurring for an extended period prior to clutch initiation. The Crimson Finches were riparian specialists with 98% of nests (n=870) found in Pandanus aquaticus and 99.6% of nests (n=841) within 20 meters of the center of a creek. Males built the nests and both sexes incubated the eggs and brooded and provisioned the offspring. Clutch size was 5.08 ± 1.03 (n=227, range 1-7) and pairs initiated 2.39 ± 0.96 clutches (n=77, range 1-5) per year. Reproductive success was low, in part due to high clutch predation (59.7%), with only 27.2% of clutches resulting in at least one fledgling (n=389). Tropical/southern hemisphere birds typically differ from their northern counterparts in having higher nest predation rate and higher annual survival, which is thought to select for their generally small clutch sizes. Crimson Finches, however, have large clutches. We suggest that exploring life histories that differ from the norm such as that of the Crimson Finch may be particularly helpful in understanding latitudinal differences in these strategies.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 77 Habitat-use, foraging and breeding ecology of the northern shrike-tit Falcunculus frontatus whitei. Simon Ward, Biodiversity Conservation Unit, Department of Natural Resources, Environment, The Arts and Sport, Darwin, NT 0831, [email protected]

Prior to this study the Northern Shrike-tit Falcunculus frontatus whitei had been recorded from less than 30 locations in savanna woodlands of the NT and the Kimberley. The subspecies is listed as ‘Vulnerable’ nationally and in the NT, and as ‘Rare’ in WA. This study addressed actions in the National Recovery Plan for the subspecies. Most of the study occurred in open eucalypt woodland habitat in the Maranboy area, 50km south-east of Katherine. Observations concentrated on three territories, but other pairs occurred in the area. Birds were mostly located by their calls, then followed for as long as possible to gain information on habitat use, foraging and the location of nests. Pairs of northern shrike-tits defended exclusive territories and were resident year-round. Mean (± SD) area of territories was 22.5 ± 3.7 ha. Surveys over a larger area indicated a density of about 2_ pairs.km-2, but only in limited areas of suitable habitat. Northern shrike-tits spent approximately equal times foraging for invertebrates on three types of substrate: dead branches, leaves, and terminal branches. They used most tree species in the area and visited a range of tree sizes but preferred the larger individuals of each species. They were seen eating insect larvae, beetles, katydids, tree crickets, spiders and cicadas, but many smaller invertebrates are, no doubt, also eaten. Breeding activity started in September/October each year and continued until January, but parental care of young continued until at least March. Never more than one fledgling was observed from a nest.

78 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Nest-site selection of the hooded parrot Psephotus dissimilis—a primary cavity nesting species. Stuart J. N. Cooney, Australian National University, ACT 0400, [email protected]

Many species of in natural cavities or those they excavate. Whilst cavity nesters as a whole experience increased nesting success, the greatest success is experienced by species that can excavate their own nests. Certain arboreal cavity nesters, such as woodpeckers, require extensive morphological adaptation for this behaviour, but this has not occurred in Australia, despite competition among birds and a suite of arboreal mammals for naturally occurring cavities. Some species, however, have adapted their behaviour to make use of substrates that are not as hard as wood. Hooded parrots (Psephotus dissimilis) excavate nests in terrestrial termitaria, releasing them from competition for limited arboreal cavities. However, only termitaria with a high level of termite activity, and which are more than two metres tall, are suitable and the parrots exhibit a strong preference for the cathedral mounds of Nasutitermes triodiae. Nests placed in highly active mounds had a significantly higher success rate than those in mounds where activity was somewhat lower, suggesting that the behaviour is adaptive.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 79 Ecology of an isolated Crimson Finch population in the Isaac River catchment, Central Queensland. Robert Black, Wayne Houston, Central Queensland University, Centre for Environmental Management, Rockhampton, Qld, [email protected]

Many finch species have suffered serious declines across northern Australia. Crimson Finches were once widespread in the Fitzroy River basin inland from Rockhampton. They are now only known to occur as an isolated remnant from the lower Isaac and Connors Rivers and their tributaries. Surveys were undertaken along about 150 km of this system to establish the area of occupancy. Crimson Finches were found at scattered sites along 75 km of river, all of which were typified by:

• Proximity to major streams, usually with permanent waterholes. • Healthy riparian vegetation with tall trees, shrubs and dense tall grasses, usually in association with flood channels. • The tall River Grass Chionachne cyathopoda as a large component of the grasses. Crimson Finch breeding was recorded at five sites and nesting habitat identified. Nests were at heights of 16-19 metres in the upper branches of streamside paperbarks (Melaleuca fluviatilis). This differs from known nesting sites in northern populations, which are mostly only a few metres high. Availability of Chionachne grass seeds and other known finch food species was quantified at 6 weekly intervals at breeding sites. Chionachne at these low to moderately grazed sites persisted through the dry season and thus provided both a dry season feeding resource and cover for Crimson Finches. In contrast, nearby sites with greater grazing pressure as a consequence of repeated grazing during the wet season did not support Chionachne seeding throughout the year. Crimson Finches were not found in these sites.

80 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Does rainfall inhibit breeding by small in the Australian monsoon tropics? Richard Noske, School of Environmental and Life Sciences, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT 0909. Email [email protected]

Rainfall patterns appear to exert little influence on the breeding seasons of avian insectivores in sub-tropical and temperate eastern Australia, where warm temperatures during spring and early summer increase insect availability, favouring breeding. In southwest Australia birds breed somewhat earlier in the year, presumably in response to increased insect availability, driven by predominantly winter rainfall. In arid Australia, where rain is both scarce and unpredictable, rain is the main trigger for breeding. However, in the monsoon-tropics, where 1-2 m of rain falls every year during the wet season (November-April), most small insectivorous species breed during the dry sand early wet seasons, avoiding the wettest months of January and February, when above- ground insects also appear to be scarcest.

Whilst good rains can increase reproductive success in relatively low rainfall regions of southeast Australia, some evidence suggests that heavy rains may reduce breeding success of some monsoon- tropical species, and convective storms may cause high rates of nest failure for others. Biannual breeding (at the end of both the wet and dry seasons) among four species may be one means by which they avoid high nest losses and/ or excessive energy expenditure during the wettest and coolest months, respectively, although at least two moult during the former period.

The breeding seasonality of monsoon-tropical Australian birds shows some similarity with that of Timor, in one of the most strongly seasonal parts of Indonesia, but contrasts with the “autumn” breeding typical of western Indonesia. The possible reasons for these disparities will be discussed.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 81 Arid Zone Birds

Capricorn Yellow Chats: life on the edge Wayne Houston, Central Queensland University, Centre for Environmental Management, Rockhampton, Qld, 4702, [email protected]

The Capricorn Yellow Chat is listed as ‘Critically Endangered’ under the EPBC Act. At the outset of the project, almost nothing was known about its current distribution, abundance and ecology. Repeated surveys of the only three historically recorded locations prior to its discovery in 1992 at Curtis Island on the coast near Rockhampton were required before chats were re-discovered on the mainland. Most of the population is found in treeless, predominantly grassy, coastal plains with seasonally inundated wetlands. Although coastal, these wetlands dry completely in most years and the extent of inundation varies substantially from year to year as a consequence of variable rainfall making them more similar to those of inland Australia. Chat populations were found to fluctuate greatly in abundance in the post-wet season period (March to July). Abundance of chats correlates with the previous wet season’s rainfall, and breeding events are generally associated with wetland inundation. This rapid breeding response to inundation is more typical of inland-adapted species. At sites with more persistent wetlands chats are present throughout the year, while occurrence at other sites is seasonal but with regular annual usage. One of these, Twelve-mile Creek near Rockhampton, was selected as a site to investigate patterns of resource availability (freshwater inundation, food availability). Chat occurrence at this site coincided with the wet season (or occasional out-of-season inundation events), while breeding coincided with peaks in invertebrate food availability. Dependence of chats on restricted parts of marine plain wetlands, and of breeding on wetland inundation, has highlighted the need to protect critical catchments of such habitats from water harvesting activities.

82 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Wanted: a bigger needle or a smaller haystack. Explaining and predicting the occurrence of Night Parrots in a vast landscape. Steve Murphy, Allan Burbidge, Leo Joseph, Ian McAllan, Bill Venables and Edward King, Australian Wildlife Conservancy, PMB 925, Derby, WA 6728, [email protected]

The Night Parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis) is arguably Australia’s most threatened, least understood and most cryptic bird. There has been a steady trickle of sightings since the last specimen was collected in 1912. The recent discovery of two specimens in western Queensland inspires some confidence in a population being found there. Currently, no-body can locate living Night Parrots in a systematic way and this is thwarting conservation attempts. Critical information regarding distribution, habitat preferences, and spatio-temporal movements are lacking. To address this, we asked whether there were any consistent ecological signals among almost 200 Night Parrot sightings collated from the literature and unpublished anecdotes. We independently ranked the likelihood of these sightings being Night Parrots using criteria that considered physical descriptions, behaviour and observer details. These ranks were incorporated into models, which specifically addressed whether rainfall (both interpolated rainfall data and satellite-derived NDVI) could be used to predict when Night Parrots might be encountered, and topography (based on a 9-second digital elevation model) to predict where they might be encountered. Preliminary results are as yet inconclusive, but they suggest that sightings may be more common in periods of above average rainfall, and in moderately elevated areas of medium topographical complexity, thus potentially narrowing down the spatio-temporal search window. This is in contrast to the commonly employed technique of surveying at isolated water during excessively dry periods. The data also suggest that there may have been some noticeable changes in the distribution of Night Parrots over the last century.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 83 Where does Hall's Babbler lie on the habitat specialist-generalist continuum? Dean Portelli, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, [email protected]

Habitat specialists generally have restricted distributions and/or specific habitat requirements and generally face a greater risk of extinction than habitat generalists. The Australian endemic Hall’s babbler (Pomatostomus halli) is believed to be a specialist of mulga (Acacia aneura) and other semi-arid and arid Acacia communities. However, since its relatively recent discovery in 1963 the species has been poorly studied. I studied a population of Hall’s babbler on Bowra Station in southwest Queensland to examine the habitat requirements of this species and assess whether it is a habitat specialist. Within a 4,400 ha study area I compared the structure and species composition of vegetation communities at sites occupied by Hall’s babblers and sites where the species was absent. Hall’s babblers occupied habitat with greater tree canopy cover and density, and with a higher species richness of grasses. Most notably, the presence of Hall’s babbler was strongly associated with the presence of mulga. Using regional ecosystem mapping the association between mulga and Hall’s babblers was also evident at the landscape scale across the entire station (14,700 ha). This habitat specificity of Hall’s babbler at a landscape scale has been further confirmed at additional sites (e.g. Diamantina National Park), using data collected by volunteers. Finally, the distribution of the species closely matches that of Acacia woodlands and shrublands in eastern Australia. This research confirms that Hall’s babbler is a habitat specialist, as such the species may be vulnerable to human-induced habitat modification throughout the rangelands of eastern Australia

84 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Mulga bird communities: effects of long-term and short-term variations in rainfall. Martin L. Cody, Dept. Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, CA 90095-1606, USA [email protected]

A total of 35 breeding bird censuses were conducted in mulga (Acacia aneura) bushland 1984-2007 spanning the habitat range (QLD: 9 sites; NT: 7; SA: 9; WA: 10). Of 94 bird species censused, a subset (n=24) occurs far more frequently than predicted by neutral binomial models, and is termed “CORE” species. The 45 species that occur much less often than predicted by chance are termed “CASUAL” species, while the remaining 25 species are “PERIPHERAL.” The 35 sites averaged 19.8±1.0SE species, with a mean density of 10.4±0.8SE I/ha. An average 40 km separates census sites from the nearest meteorological stations. The long-term average (LTA) precipitation at these weather stations is 284mm ± 96SD, with 102mm ± 35SD (36%) falling in winter-spring (May-Oct). Sites with higher LTA precipitation support mulga that is taller and denser, which in turn supports more species at higher densities. However, there is no direct effect of LTA precipitation on species numbers and densities, only indirectly via the vegetation. Precipitation over the 6-month period prior to the census had the highly significant effects on census data. Pre-census rainfall, compared and standardized between dry (50mm) and wet (250mm) years, produced: a) only minor effects on CORE species (±10% wet-to-dry), but much stronger effects of PERIPHERAL (±36%) and CASUAL (±74%) species; b) densities of CORE species were affected more than numbers (±29% wet-to-dry), but again effects were greater in PERIPHERAL (±44%) and CASUAL (±87%) mulga birds. Relative to others, the CORE species remained relatively impervious to local rainfall variations.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 85 Are flowering mistletoes a keystone resource in the arid zone woodlands of Western Australia? Suzanne H. Mather, 3 Hardy Road, Nedlands, WA 6009, [email protected]

The aim of this work was to test the veracity of the argument that mistletoe is a keystone resource. The questions to be answered were: does the presence of flowering mistletoe increase meliphagid abundance; is there variation in time spent foraging between different meliphagid species; does the sugar content affect meliphagid abundance and foraging time? Using a 20 minute repeat survey method at six arid zone woodland sites with different mistletoe and host species, a 2ha area of dense mistletoe abundance was compared for species presence and richness with an adjacent site without these plants. At each mistletoe site, the presence of meliphagids and total number of foraging visits was recorded over 40 hours. Species density of >50% higher was recorded for the mistletoe sites. Results suggest that flowering mistletoe density and species may influence foraging visits with an average of 7.3 visits in a 240 mistletoe plant plot as opposed to 2.3 visits in a 30 plant plot, and Amyema spp. receiving more foraging visits (6.1–7.3 over 40 h) than the Lysiana spp. (2.3–2.6). White-fronted (Purnella albifrons), Singing (Lichenostomus virescens), Brown (Lichmera indistincta) and Spiny-cheeked (Acanthagenys rufogularis) Honeyeaters were the most common visitors, averaging 204 to 290 seconds per foraging visit. The length of these nectar gathering foraging visits suggests the value of this resource. The numbers of birds foraging did not appear to be related to the varying nectar concentration values, measuring (9% to 25%), averaging 14.6%. However in areas where there is no other source of nectar, it is indicated that flowering mistletoe forms a significant part of the meliphagid species’ diet.

86 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Bird Behaviour The Acoustic Adaptation Hypothesis: low frequency and vegetation density differences in allopatric populations of the Western Whipbird Psophodes nigrogularis Angela McGuire, School of Biological Sciences, Flinders University, [email protected]

The Acoustic Adaptation Hypothesis postulates that bird songs that are lower in frequency, have narrower bandwidths, have more spacing between song elements, and consist of longer elements will be more prominent in habitats with dense vegetation due to their more robust transmission properties. Songs sung at higher frequencies with more modulating bandwidths are more likely to scatter in dense vegetation, hence not reaching intended receivers as effectively. Hence, it can be assumed that bird song structure has been shaped by the surrounding habitat in order to enhance transmission and minimise sound degradation. Many empirical studies have tested this hypothesis and produced varied results. In these studies, vegetation density has been given a general classification of ‘open’ or ‘closed’ but never a quantifiable measure. In our study, we quantified vegetation density in three allopatric populations of the Western Whipbird Psophodes nigrogularis in South Australia. The songs of this species differ in the variable, low frequency, across its distribution and hence this is an ideal species to test the Acoustic Adaptation Hypothesis.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 87 Making a song and dance about it: the complex display of the superb lyrebird. Anastasia Dalziell, Ecology, Evolution and Systematics group, Australian National University, Canberra, 0200. [email protected]

Many birds communicate using elaborate vocal and visual displays. Complex displays are puzzling because they are likely to be both more costly to produce and more difficult for a receiver to understand than simple signals. However, complex signalling may evolve in order to (a) communicate different messages or address different receivers or (b) solve problems in the transmission and perception of the signal. Furthermore, the ability to produce a complex display itself may convey information. This project investigated the structure and function of complex display in the superb lyrebird; a species world famous for their extravagant displays incorporating original song, mimicry of other species as well as static and dynamic visual components. This project found that a) males mimic a greater range of sounds than has previously been reported b) males use different song and mimicry components in different social and ecological contexts and c) song and dance components were highly coordinated. These results suggest that the complexity of the superb lyrebird display is in part driven by the need to communicate different messages and that the display of the superb lyrebird is more intricate than has been previously reported.

88 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Long term changes in the dialects of North Island Kokako Sandra V. Valderrama-Ortiz,, University of Waikato, Department of Biological Sciences, Hamilton 3240, New Zealand, [email protected]

Song divergence and dialect formation are intriguing issues in the science of birdsong, evolution and ecology. Special attention has been focused on geographic variation as it provides insights into the processes of speciation and song learning. However, existing studies have been limited by sampling song over narrow time scales. As a result, there is a lack of information on long term changes in dialects and how change might affect social interactions such as neighbour recognition and mate choice. The North Island kokako is an endangered songbird endemic to New Zealand. A few original populations survive in isolated areas, and also new populations have been established by transferring individuals from surviving populations. Newly-founded or supplemented populations include individuals from a single dialect and multiple dialects providing a unique opportunity to study the formation of new dialects as it occurs. I collected historical and contemporary recordings and classified songs into phrases, themes and repertoires - preliminary spectral analyses of the recorded material, (examining song structure, complexity and singing patterns) will be presented to delineate long term changes in kokako dialects. The findings will provide a foundation for studies examining the social relevance of songbird dialects and song learning as well as evidence of the role dialects may have on the success of future translocations and the efficacy of conservation efforts to preserve this species.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 89 Remote-touch foraging: morphological and behavioural evidence for a new sensory system in ibises. Susan Cunningham, Isabel Castro, Maurice Alley, Murray Potter, Tom Jensen, Malcolm Cunningham, and Mic Pyne, Ecology Group, Institute of Natural Resources, Massey University Private Bag 11-222 Palmerston North, New Zealand, [email protected]

Birds that forage by probing in sand, soil or mud substrates, or in water, must often use senses other than vision to find their prey. One such sense is remote-touch, a system based on the interception of vibrations in the substrate produced by burrowing prey, or the evaluation of pressure patterns produced by buried hard-shelled sessile prey. In probing birds, such as sandpipers (Scolopacidae) and kiwi (Apterygidae) this system is mediated by a complex bill-tip organ consisting of clusters of mechanoreceptors housed within pits in the bone of the bill-tips. We provide the first morphological and histological evidence for the existence of this bill-tip organ in a third family of probing birds, the ibises (Threskiornithidae). We also present the first behavioural evidence that the Madagascar Crested Ibis (Lophotibis cristata urschi), at least, relies on its bill-tip organ to detect buried prey items. We found bill-tip organs in ibis species using a wide range of habitat types from predominantly terrestrial to predominantly aquatic, suggesting ibises may use remote-touch when foraging both in water and in granular substrates. Our data also strongly suggest a link between bill- tip organ morphology and habitat use in probing birds – a pattern we believe warrants further investigation, as it may provide insight into the evolution of remote-touch in birds.

90 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Nectar concentration affects sugar preferences in four Australian bird species. K. R. Napier1, T. J. McWhorter2, S. W. Nicolson3, P. A. Fleming1 1School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia, 2School of Veterinary Science, University of Adelaide, Roseworthy Campus, SA 5371, Australia, 3Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa, [email protected]

Diet preferences may reveal a great deal about the digestive physiology of birds and their relationship with food sources. Most importantly, diet preferences are likely to reflect physiological constraints and therefore mechanisms of digestion. We have assessed the interaction between diet concentration and sugar-type preferences of three nectarivorous bird species (rainbow lorikeet Trichoglossus haematonotus, Anthochaera carunculata, and New Holland honeyeater Phylidonyris novaehollandiae) and one frugivorous bird species (silvereye Zosterops lateralis). Each individual bird was offered paired energetically-equivalent diets: a sucrose solution and hexose (1:1 mixture of glucose:fructose) solution over a range of diet concentrations from 0·075 to 2 mol/L Sucrose Equivalents (SE). Similar patterns were found for all nectarivorous species. Intake on the most dilute diets was insufficient to maintain energy balance for several species, suggesting that these birds faced physiological constraints. All species demonstrated a preference for hexose over sucrose when offered dilute diets, and sucrose (or no) preference on more concentrated diets. A switch from hexose preference on dilute diets to sucrose preference on concentrated diets has now been shown for American hummingbirds and flowerpiercers, African sunbirds and Australian honeyeaters, lorikeets and silvereyes. The preference for hexose solutions on dilute diets suggests that reduced digesta retention time and low sugar concentration influences sucrose hydrolysis efficiency, whilst the absorption rate of monosaccharides is less limiting. Varying preferences suggest that the co-evolutionary relationships between birds and nectar sugar composition are likely to be similarly dynamic and environment dependent.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 91 Waders

Diversity of waders at Pantai Trisik, Yogyakarta province, Indonesia Imam Taufiqurrahman, [email protected]

A field survey to study the diversity of waders at Pantai Trisik, Yogyakarta province, Indonesia, was carried out in April 2007-December 2008. Although known well as a location to watch migratory waterbirds, especially waders, in Yogyakarta, there has not been an intensive survey previously. The study was conducted monthly by using walk-based surveys covering three wetland types. Previous records from many other sources are included. The results showed that there are 39 wader species from 5 families, 1 of Rostratulidae, 9 of Charadriidae, 24 of Scolopacidae, 1 Recurvirostridae, 2 Phalaropodidae and 2 Glareolidae, recorded in the area. This total includes some of the more important and interesting records, such as Red (Grey) Phalarope Phalaropus fulicaria as new record for Indonesia, Nordmann’s Greenshank Tringa guttifer as new record for Java, three globally threatened species and several others for which there are few previous records for Java.

92 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Banding and flagging of Australian Pied Oystercatchers Haematopus longirostris on the New South Wales North Coast Greg. P. Clancy, 56 Armidale Road, Coutts Crossing, NSW 2460, [email protected]

One hundred and thirty-nine (139) Australian Pied Oystercatchers Haematopus longirostris were banded on the New South Wales North Coast during the period 1979 to 2009. Since 2006 66 birds have also been flagged with yellow alpha-numeric flags. Forty-four birds have been recovered at least once (31.5% of all banded birds), 36 of these being flagged birds (54.5% of all flagged birds). Single and multiple recoveries of banded and flagged birds have occurred at natal sites and up to 570 km south-west and 321 km north. Two way movements have been recorded with birds observed in Queensland returning to New South Wales. The oldest recovery is of an Oystercatcher banded as an adult at Red Rock NSW, part of its band number was read 22 years, 11 months and 23 days after banding. The second oldest was of a bird banded as a pullus (runner), also at Red Rock, which was recovered six times at two separate locations distinct from its banding site, the last time being 22 years 2 months 19 days after banding. The large increase in the recovery rate of birds over time can be attributed to the use of alpha-numeric flags. They have a number of advantages over the former practice elsewhere of placing a number of colour bands on the legs of Oystercatchers.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 93 Population and Habitat Character of White-headed Stilt (Himantopus leucocephalus Gould, 1837) in Java Surya Purnama Biology Department, Science and Mathematics Faculty, State University of Yogyakarta, Jl. Colombo No. 1, Sleman, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Kutilang Indonesia Foundation for Bird Conservation, Jl. Tegal Melati No. 64 A, Jongkang, Sleman, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. [email protected]

The White-headed Stilt (Himantopus leucocephalus) is poorly known in Indonesia. Information on the species is only on basic observations recording with little on population sizes or habitat choice. In Sumatra, the bird has only been surveyed in detail at one location, whereas, in other islands, such as Java, there are only casual records. Although stilts are protected according to Indonesian law, there is less interest to the species. Therefore, a more detailed study is needed, especially on its population, habitat characteristics and any threats. Better information from Java is important, because the hunting rate, habitat conversion and other bird threats are higher than elsewhere in Indonesia. Mapping and mist nets were used to survey the species in Muara Gembong and Indramayu (West Java), Demak and Trisik (Central Java/Yogyakarta) and Wonorejo (East Java) over 2 years, from November 2006 until February 2009. A total of 312 birds were recorded in 32 surveys; and 41 individuals were caught and measured. The species is more common on the north coast of Java than on the south coast, because the north is dominated by fishponds, estuary and mudflat, whereas south is dominated by sand dunes. It was also found nesting at Muara Gembong, Indramayu and Wonorejo in fishponds. Stilts were only recorded twice each at Demak and Trisik, because the former is near an industrial area and the latter is dominated by sand dunes.

94 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Brisbane Water estuarine bird assemblage in early Autumn Mark V. Robinson1, 3 & Dan E. Roberts2 1Bioregen Ecological Assessment & Restoration, Urunga NSW 2455, 2BIO-ANALYSIS Pty Ltd, 7, Narara, NSW 2250, 3Current address: Byron Shire Council, [email protected]

The Brisbane Water estuary, on the East Asian-Australasian Flyway is near a major city (Sydney) and adjacent to a regional urban centre (Gosford-Wyong). A literature and data review coupled with an early autumn survey were undertaken to be incorporated in an Estuary PoM. The field survey (20 minute area search; n=137) targeted tidal mudflats adjacent to mangroves, tidal mudflats adjacent to development, tidal flats exposed in waterbody, mangroves stands, saltmarshes in disturbed and less disturbed habitats. Birds were classed into taxonomic/functional groups for analysis.

Brisbane Water estuary is habitat for a variety of shorebirds, waterbirds and forest birds. There are at least 110 species (4 exotic) from 13 Orders, 34 families (1 exotic) and 79 genera (3 exotic) documented from Brisbane Water estuary. Fifty-one native and four species were recorded during surveys. Twenty-six JAMBA, twenty-four CAMBA and twenty-one RoKAMBA are recorded in the estuary. Eleven NSW Threatened Species legislation species are recorded including three during surveys (Bush Stone-Curlew; Pied Oystercatcher, Black Bittern).

Autumn surveys- the most species rich taxonomic/functional group were the insectivores (9 spp.), waders (8 spp.), piscivores (7 spp.), omnivores and waterfowl (ea. 6 spp.), seedeaters (5 spp.), large wading bird (4 spp.), medium wading bird (2 spp.), aerial-insectivore, carnivore and carnivore [diurnal raptor](ea. 2 spp.), omnivores-scavenger and insectivore/nectarivore (ea. 1spp.) The two most frequently recorded species are large wading birds while the least frequent observed birds were a piscivore, omnivore, medium wading bird, wader, insectivore and aerial insectivore (ea. 1 spp) and 5 seedeater species.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 95 Responses of wading birds and scavenging raptors to a novel food source: the invasive cane toad. Christa Beckmann and Richard Shine, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, [email protected]

Invasive species can lead to dramatic loss of native species and ecosystem change, and have been ranked as the third greatest threat to bird populations globally. In some cases, however, the arrival of an may have positive, not negative, impacts on some components of the native ecosystem: for example, the invader may provide a new food resource for predators or scavengers. The cane toad (Bufo marinus) is one of the world's most infamous invasive species, and has adversely affected populations of many of Australia's native predators (snakes, lizards, quolls). Remarkably, studies on the ecological impact of cane toads largely have ignored birds and scavengers. We investigated behavioral responses of native Australian wading birds and scavenging raptors to this novel and toxic food source in two separate experiments. First, we presented free- ranging wading birds with cane toad tadpoles and metamorphs, and alternative native prey in choice trials. The birds avoided the toads, but did consume the native prey when presented alone. When toads were presented together with native prey, the number of native prey consumed decreased, suggesting that the presence of toads may interfere with birds foraging on native food items. In our second experiment, we presented free-ranging avian scavengers with road-killed cane toads and frogs, and monitored off-take rates and preferences. Overall, raptors exploit this novel food source to provide significant additional resources, but (presumably reflecting their powerful toxins) toads are less preferred than native frogs if a choice is available.

96 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Status and Conservation of Australasian Seabirds

Plenary

Forty-one years of birth, life and death in Little Penguins– do we know what’s going on yet? Peter Dann, Research Department, Phillip Island Nature Park, P. O. Box 97, Cowes, Phillip Island, Victoria, 3922, [email protected]

Little Penguins on Phillip Island have been intensively studied and managed for the past 41 years. This research, initiated by the Penguin Study Group in 1968, was prompted by the appetite for biological information of the 100,000s of visitors who came to watch the “Penguin Parade’ annually. Since 1980, this study has been augmented by a group of full-time scientists and students and the purposes for research/monitoring have diversified. Some parameters, such as breeding productivity and mass, have been estimated annually or monthly respectively (mass now monitored daily automatically), while others have been collected more frequently and over shorter time scales e.g. diet and foraging ranges. Time scales of current interest in this study range from intra- generational (monthly/seasonal) to life-time demography through to decadal variation in climate and beyond.

There is a common perception at large that four decades of study leaves little to be discovered but this view is dependent upon the purposes for the monitoring and research. Although the usefulness of long-term studies has been questioned periodically, they have enjoyed great favour with avian ecologists and have been influential in shaping avian ecology over the past 50 years. In this talk I will present a case study of the essential elements of this long-term study of penguins, give examples of appropriate time scales for measuring various parameters and the different reasons for monitoring and discuss the usefulness of this long-term study to an understanding of the biology of Little Penguins and their conservation.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 97 Status and conservation needs for Australian Nicholas Carlile, David Priddel and Barry Baker, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water, PO Box 1967, Hurstville BC, NSW 1481, Australia, [email protected]

The significant global decline in seabirds, particularly Procellariiformes, has been heavily promulgated during the last few decades. This has lead to a range of specific conservation actions being undertaken at state, national and international levels. This presentation reviews the progress made, along with the resultant changes in status and conservation needs of the 43 species of Procellariiformes that breed within Australia. Nationally 25 species are considered threatened, others are listed as threatened under various state legislations. In the last decade the downlisting of Gould’s Petrel from endangered to vulnerable under New South Wales legislation has been the only improvement in conservation status of any of these species. In 2002, a review highlighted two specific threats for Australian Procellariiformes: interaction with fisheries operations at sea and predation by exotic pests on land. Management of the at-sea threats is being addressed through a national threat abatement plan and various international treaties. In addition, several Australian islands have been cleared of exotic mammalian pests and other, more ambitious, eradications are planned for Macquarie and Lord Howe islands. Unfortunately, while conservation action has progressed, the knowledge base of most Australian Procellariiformes has changed little in recent times. Population trends are known for only a select handful of species. Lack of basic information on population demography limits our ability to assess the outcomes of conservation action.

98 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Australian Responses to Climate Change Lynda E. Chambers1, Bradley C. Congdon2, Nic Dunlop3, Peter Dann4, Carol Devney5 1Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research, Bureau of Meteorology, GPO Box 1289, Melbourne, Vic 3001, Australia. 2Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Cairns, Qld 4870, Australia, 3Conservation Council (WA), 2 Delhi Street, West Perth, WA 6005, Australia, 4Research Department, Phillip Island Nature Park, PO Box 97, Cowes, Vic 3922, Australia, 5 AIMS@JCU, Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Cairns, Qld 4870, Australia, [email protected],

Seabirds in the Australian region are influenced by climatic and oceanographic variation and change, which manifests through changes in distribution, success and timing of breeding, chick growth and survival of adults and immature birds. Changes already observed including: southward range movements, reduced breeding success and altered breeding timing. However, for many seabirds and regions limited information is available on prey distributions and biology, foraging and movement patterns, and the ability of species to alter prey species or life- cycle timing. All of these factors make generalisations about potential impacts of future climate change and adaptive capacity in seabirds difficult. However, southward expansion of breeding colonies will be limited by available habitat and the distribution of prey species. Sea level rise is likely to reduce existing breeding habitat, particularly for burrow and surface nesting species on low-lying islands – at least in the short term. In many cases, regional or more localised assessments of resilience or adaptive capacity may be required, with data obtained specifically for that purpose. Examples of adaptation options include: managing breeding habitats to increase resilience to climate change, reducing or eliminating non- climatic threats to improve the likelihood of autonomous adaptation and reducing anthropogenic competition for resources. Further research and monitoring of key species are clearly required including the determination of which species and systems are more vulnerable to climate change, where generalisations about impacts and adaptation can be made and which species may serve most effectively as indicators of climatic impacts on higher trophic predators.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 99 A Seabird Colony Database for New Zealand. Robyn Blyth_, Kerry-Jayne Wilson_ and Susan Waugh_, 1. 41 Jutland St, North Beach, Christchurch, New Zealand, 2. Ecology Department, Lincoln University, Canterbury, 3. Forest and Bird, Wellington, [email protected]

Approximately 86 species of seabirds breed in New Zealand at thousands of breeding sites. For most species the location of breeding sites is poorly documented and there are estimates of colony size for very few locations. What information we have is scattered through hundreds of published and unpublished sources. Accurate knowledge of colony distribution, population size and population trends is known only for Australasian gannet, some albatross species and those other species known to be endangered. For other species the lack of a central repository for colony data hinders conservation. This database has been funded by the Forest and Bird Protection Society in response to needs identified in the State of New Zealand's Seabirds report published by OSNZ. Once completed this database will allow us to identify species and sites in need of management and will help identify conservation priorities for New Zealand seabirds. The database will also be used to identify candidate sites for Important Bird Areas for Birdlife Internationals World Bird Database. Here we present an overview of progress made so far, and make an appeal for further unpublished information.

100 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Customary harvest and long term viability of muttonbirds in the Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand: implications for retaining traditional cultural heritage Amelia Geary, Nicola Nelson, Kristina Ramstad Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand [email protected]

Sooty (t_t_, muttonbird, griseus) are New Zealand’s most abundant seabird and were once an important seasonal source of food for local M_ori in the Marlborough Sounds. Harvest of this long-lived seabird typically occurred on offshore islands but ceased in the 1960s. As is the case with seabirds globally, pressures from pollution, climate change and fisheries threaten these now relatively small island populations of the Marlborough Sounds. Local iwi (M_ori tribes) would like to resume low level harvests of these birds to retain their traditional knowledge of the muttonbirding practice. With biological data from three island populations in the Marlborough Sounds and harvest information from local M_ori, we conducted population viability simulations using the programme VORTEX to determine the resilience of these populations to resumed harvest. Results indicate that all populations have low rates of intrinsic population growth (r = 0.004 to 0.019), but that some populations are more resilient than others to harvest. Harvest rates greater than two chicks every ten years could have serious repercussions to one population’s long term viability. Better monitoring of the populations is required before any harvest is resumed, and populations should be carefully selected for any future customary harvest.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 101 Recovery and post-breeding migration of Providence Petrel David Priddel and Nicholas Carlile Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water, PO Box 1967, Hurstville BC, NSW 1481, Australia, [email protected]

The Providence Petrel (Pterodroma solandri) is endemic to Australia; it breeds on only two oceanic islands off the east coast of mainland Australia. Due to its restricted breeding distribution it is listed as vulnerable under Australian legislation. The population on Lord Howe Island is expanding in both size and distribution following the removal of feral populations of pigs, cats and goats. Although threats on land have largely been addressed for the Providence Petrel, we know little about the threats at sea. The pelagic distribution of this species, particularly during the non-breeding season, is poorly known. With the advent of smaller geo-location loggers the at-sea movements of small seabirds can now be investigated. Although accuracy is low, the data provide, for the first time, annual migration routes and at-sea locations of foraging activity during the non-breeding period. Here we present some preliminary results of the post-breeding trans-equatorial migration and movements of Providence Petrel breeding on Lord Howe Island.

102 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Growth, emergence and provisioning of providence petrel chicks Pterodroma solandri – implications for translocation Daniela Binder1, Richard Kingsford, David Priddel, and Nicholas Carlile, 1 Honours Graduate, Biological Earth and Environmental Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW 2052, [email protected]

The providence petrel Pterodroma solandri was extirpated from its traditional breeding sites on , Australia by 1800. As a consequence, the influx of marine nutrients to the island substantially diminished, resulting in a reduction in tree growth and vigor. The species now breeds almost exclusively on Lord Howe Island. Re-establishing a population on Norfolk Island is essential to restore their keystone role in this ecosystem and would also significantly improve the conservation status of this vulnerable species. Translocation of chicks is only the known means of re-establishing colonies of seabirds. Providence petrel are highly philopatric, so only chicks that have not yet imprinted on their natal colony can be transferred, but techniques to identify suitably aged chicks are lacking. We investigated the timing of first emergence, growth and provisioning of chicks during the 2008 breeding season on Lord Howe Island, Australia to provide the information necessary to develop such techniques. The optimal time for translocation of providence petrel chicks, based on first emergence and chick development, was between 31 and 26 days. The best indicator of chick age was wing length. Chicks selected for translocation should have wings measuring 180–199 mm, have loss of down on their wing but none on their head, belly, rump or nape and weigh at least 620 g. Parental feeding probability decreased from 0.38 during the period 44-21 days before fledging to 0.07 in the last five days before fledging with mean meal size about 84 g. This should be supplemented artificially for translocated birds. The information gained through this study means that translocation of the providence petrel can now be undertaken with confidence.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 103 Getting the message out 1, Working with community groups Kerry-Jayne Wilson1 and Karen Mayhew2, 1West Coast Blue Penguin Trust and Ecology Department, Lincoln University, Canterbury, 7647, New Zealand, 2West Coast Blue Penguin Trust, 33 Fraser Street, Ross, West Coast 7812, New Zealand, [email protected]

Throughout Australasia ever more seabird populations are threatened at sea and on land. In New Zealand we have as many threatened seabirds as non-marine species, yet the Department of Conservation no longer employs dedicated seabird specialists. Conservation related research in Universities and research institutions is similarly terrestrially biased. People conserve what they value and value only what they know. To most people seabirds are mysterious beings out there beyond the horizon, not birds they have experienced in person. Seabirds need a better profile. Working with community groups is an effective way to heighten peoples’ awareness, knowledge and respect for seabirds. The West Coast Blue Penguin Trust (WCBPT) was formed by local residents concerned at the decline in blue penguins nesting locally. The WCBPT undertakes research that quantifies threats and devises strategies to combat them, plus a community arm which provides opportunity for laypeople to learn about penguins and participate in their conservation. The WCBPT holds community events where experts describe penguin biology and conservation, predator trapping workshops and supports local groups to trap predators and monitor penguins. Working with children is important, at local schools and beach festivals children can participate in interactive games and art activities that have conservation learning outcomes. The annual ‘census’ encourages a sense of environmental guardianship. The West Coast has other seabirds of greater conservation concern so why the emphasis on blue penguins? This was the charismatic species residents knew. A challenge ahead is to increase awareness of those less visible species.

104 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Getting the message out 2: Working through the arts Nicholas Carlile, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water, PO Box 1967, Hurstville BC, NSW 1481, Australia, [email protected]

Acknowledgement of the plight of seabirds and the conservation actions taken to protect them is often limited to occasional newsprint articles or as end pieces to the evening news. Generally, the public’s appreciation of these issues is highly coloured by feel-good movies like Happy Feet or wildlife documentaries that tend to gloss over the threats that beset this declining group of birds. Tapping into the creative arts is one way to enlighten, inspire and educate people about the real issues of seabird conservation. This approach not only provides those who are already ecologically aware with potential solutions, it reaches those in our communities that would not normally be exposed to such issues. In this presentation I describe two very different forms of the creative arts used to promote a conservation message about seabirds. One is a very personal view—a music clip, viewable on the internet. The other is a themed pottery class that began in a local primary school but soon grew to involve schools from within the broader region. Whatever the approach, it is an imperative that any message presented gives the recipient tangible actions that they can undertake. Whether the message is general (e.g. only eat fish caught by sustainable fisheries) or specific (e.g. don’t land on a particular island), people must be empowered to act in a positive way to protect seabirds.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 105 Ecology of Seabirds The effects of data-logger attachment on breeding Short-tailed Shearwaters Mark J. Carey, Department of Environmental Management and Ecology, La Trobe University, Wodonga, Victoria, 3690, Australia, [email protected]

Concern has been raised about the potential negative effects of attaching tracking devices to a number of seabird species. Of particular concern are their possible effects on a bird’s reproductive and foraging performances. The extra weight carried by the individual, design of the device and location of attachment, all potentially have serious effects on an individuals’ flight, diving and foraging abilities. These devices may also lead to a bias in results or an inaccurate interpretation of these results as birds with them may not be behaving ‘normally’. Here, the possible effects of a 5.4g Global Light Sensing (GLS) data-logger attached to a modified aluminium band were investigated on Short-tailed Shearwaters (Puffinus tenuirostris) breeding on Great Dog Island, Furneaux Group, Tasmania. Return rates, breeding success and body condition were compared between equipped and non-equipped birds over two breeding seasons from 2007 - 2009. No evidence of negative effects of data-loggers on return rates, egg size, chick quality or adult body condition were found. These results suggest that appropriate data-loggers are a relatively benign method of obtaining at-sea foraging and behavioural information from seabirds. Monitoring tracked individuals and their reproductive output should be considered an integral part of all future GLS studies.

106 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Diet of Gould’s Petrel and environmental impacts on species conservation Lana McGee, 69 Probert St, Newtown, NSW 2042, [email protected]

Conservation programs on Gould’s Petrel (Pterodroma leucoptera leucoptera), to date, have focused on protecting nesting sites and improving breeding success. Threats to long-term conservation of seabirds can also be evaluated by identifying the environmental impacts on forage species populations. Physical analysis of stomach contents is an effective method for determining the diet of seabirds. Gould’s Petrel spends its life at sea, with mature adults only coming to land to court and breed. Over a two day period in March 2009 the stomach contents of 82 chicks and 6 adults of Gould’s Petrel were collected on Cabbage Tree Island, off Port Stephens NSW. Fish otoliths and cephalopod lower beaks were examined physically, and identified using plates, descriptions and keys. Initial examination identified neritic and coastal cephalopods as a major dietary category (species to be confirmed). The content data suggest that this is an opportunistic feeder which, at this time, is foraging in coastal areas of the south-western Tasman Sea possibly near Tasmania. Forage species availability is affected by Tasman Sea currents, the Subtropical front and the Tasman front. Threats to forage availability include coastal development, pollution and increased temperature due to climate change.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 107 Estimation of survival and age-at-first-return of grey-faced petrels (Pterodroma macroptera gouldi) breeding in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand Chris Jones, Landcare Research, P.O. Box 40, Lincoln 7640, New Zealand, Hugh Clifford, David Fletcher, Paul Cuming, and Phil Lyver, [email protected],

We used banding records of 5844 adult birds and 928 chicks in a mark-recapture framework to estimate apparent annual survival of adult and young grey-faced petrels (Pterodroma macroptera gouldi) from two colonies in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand between 1991 and 2008. We also estimated the age of first return (AFR) of young birds. After accounting for transience effects, which were greater at the mainland site (Mauao, Mt. Maunganui) than on a nearby island (Motuotau), the apparent annual adult survival rate was 0.89. Apparent annual survival of young birds between fledging and two years of age was 0.844 for Mauao and 0.865 for Motuotau. Around 50% of fledglings that return to their natal colony do so by four years of age, and by age six, the probability of a fledgling returning is approximately 1.0. These are the first robust estimates of demographic parameters for this species and they will be useful in the development of models to guide the sustainable traditional harvest of petrel chicks by Maori from offshore islands.

108 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 The effect of proximity to habitat features on breeding success of Blue penguins (Eudyptula minor), West Coast, South Island, New Zealand. Jasmine Braidwood 1, Janine Kunz 3, and Kerry-Jayne Wilson 1,2, 1 Ecology Department, Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand 7647, 2 West Coast Blue Penguin Trust, West Coast, South Island, New Zealand, 3 Centre for Nature Conservation, Georg-August University, Göttingen, Germany, [email protected]

The distribution of Blue Penguin nests was mapped in three South Westland colonies and five Buller colonies, and breeding success and nest occupancy were examined in relation to vegetation type, nest type, distance to sea, and proximity to predator traps and bait stations. In both regions, the breeding success in coastal forest was lower (72.3%) than breeding success in dense tangled scrubland (91.65%), perhaps related to the added protection scrubland provides against predators. Nest type also influenced breeding success. Nests located in substrate (soil, sand) under vegetation, in caves or under rock crevices had a higher breeding success than nests dug into open ground. This could be due to protection from predators or a more robust substrate. In both regions, nests closer to predator traps and bait stations had higher breeding success than those further away, suggesting that predators may prey less on nests located closer to traps and bait stations. Nests close to the sea were more successful that those further inland. In both regions, the density of Blue penguin nests was negatively correlated with distance to landing sites, suggesting that penguins preferred shorter travel paths between the sea and burrows, to avoid high energy costs. Nests closer to tracks or roads were more successful than nests further away. There was no significance difference in breeding success between colonial and isolated breeders in either region. Proximity to hightide line, scrubline, waterbodies, roads, traps and bait stations did not influence the occupancy of nests in this study.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 109 The trouble with ‘Wideawakes’ (Sterna fuscata) on Lord Howe Island. Lisa O’Neill, PO Box 3303, North Nowra NSW 2541, Australia, [email protected]

The Sooty Tern is the most common breeding seabird on Lord Howe Island, an oceanic island off NSW. The species was traditionally harvested for its eggs during the 19th and much of the 20th century. The population size and breeding success of this NSW endangered species now fluctuates significantly from year to year. This is thought to be the result of changes in the regional sea surface temperatures brought about by eddies penetrating from the tropics, strongly influenced by the El Nino cycle.

The fluctuations of sooty tern numbers on the island do not go unnoticed. In ‘good’ years, the terns require extra nesting space and tend to congregate on the foredune of the largest ocean beach, which itself is an obstacle that tourist-laden aircraft negotiate daily. Add several thousand wheeling terns to the dune top and you have a grave problem. This paper outlines the biology of the species on the island, its changing fortunes and considers the threat of bird strike for aircraft and potential solutions to the problem.

110 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Seabird bycatch in New Zealand fisheries Edward Abraham and Finlay Thompson, Dragonfly, PO Box 27535, Wellington 6141, New Zealand, www.dragonfly.co.nz

Seabirds are caught in New Zealand commercial fisheries. These captures are reported by Ministry of Fisheries observers when they are on board vessels. In this talk, we describe work being done to estimate the total catch of seabirds in selected fisheries from the observer data. Statistical models are built for captures in trawl, surface longline and bottom longline fisheries, for five species groups (white-capped albatross, white-chinned petrel, sooty , other albatross and other birds). The models allow extrapolation from the kills during observed fishing, to the kills on unobserved fishing. Data from the five period covering the 2002-03 to 2006-07 fishing years are presented. The estimation allows the efficacy of recently introduced mitigation measures to be evaluated.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 111 Migration

Regional breeding and migration strategies based on intensive volunteer census and demographic monitoring. C. John Ralph, Redwood Sciences Laboratory, Judit K. Szabo, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia , Leo Salas PRBO Conservation Science, Petaluma, California USA, Jared Wolfe and Josée Rousseau US Forest Service, Arcata, California, USA 95521, [email protected]

Effective conservation requires in-depth knowledge of the life history strategies of migratory and resident birds which we have blended into a unique combination of census and demographic data. Recently new analytical tools have appeared on the scene, that can provide critical information on the interactions between demographics, habitat and climatic dynamics, interactions with other species, and the timing of bird movements and physiological events. In our region we likely have the densest concentration of monitoring stations in the world: about 120 mist-netting stations and over 20,000 census stations in an area of about 500 kilometres on a side. Operating these stations regularly from early spring through late autumn, and applying new statistical visualization and analytical tools, gives us reliable information for many species and their conservation. We demonstrate though power analyses how these answers would be impossible without the availability of this large complex of data sets generated by a multitude of observers. Coupled with the demonstration of web-based data, it provides several powerful tools to the investigator and to the analyst. We have discovered that within a species, regional differences can be as profound as those between species, and as critical to their survival. For example we have found plasticity in migration and dispersal strategies can show that species have a surprising amount of ability to adapt to different climatic conditions between years, an ability hitherto thought to be the provenance of birds in much more stochastic environments.

112 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Re-examination of the epic transoceanic migration of the long-tailed cuckoo Eudynamys taitensis (Aves: Cuculidae) Brian J Gill, Auckland Museum, Auckland, New Zealand, [email protected]

Long-tailed cuckoos (Eudynamys taitensis; 125 g) breed only in New Zealand, parasitising three species of Mohoua (Pachycephalidae). After performing perhaps the most remarkable overwater migration of any land bird, they winter in a vast arc of Pacific islands extending 10,000 km from Palau (134.5°E) to Henderson Island (Pitcairn group; 128.3°W). Such an epic migration by so small a bird was originally doubted. After systematic collecting of birds on south Pacific islands by the Whitney South Sea Expedition (1920-32), a 1937 paper by Bogert established the bare details of the migration. This study aims to reassemble data on the long-tailed cuckoo’s migration, using specimens and literature records. The sexes are alike, but juveniles (spotted back, rufous underparts) are readily distinguishable from adults (barred back, white underparts), allowing new analysis of migration patterns in relation to age. Preliminary results show that many birds in the wintering grounds have intermediate plumage (are presumably moulting from juveniles to adults). At the start of the breeding season (October-December) practically all birds in New Zealand are adults, and juveniles in museum collections are overwhelmingly restricted to late summer and autumn. This establishes that all juveniles in New Zealand are young-of-the-year. One of the three hosts (yellowhead M. ochrocephala) is now critically endangered. This must mean that the populations of cuckoos adapted to parasitising yellowheads are endangered or extinct now, in proportion to the decline of their host. Certain Pacific islands to which the yellowhead-cuckoos migrated may now lack cuckoos.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 113 Observer differences in detection of avian migration events A.O. Nicholls 1,2 and C.C. Davey 1,1. Canberra Ornithologists Group, PO Box 301, Civic Square, ACT 2608, 2. Institute of Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, Thurgoona, NSW 2640, [email protected]

Recently there has been a world wide upsurge in community supported monitoring programs. This has provided scientists with new opportunities to elucidate habitat preferences and changes in abundance but it is difficult to establish the reliability of the data collected. We explore the first twenty five years of data from a community monitoring program run by Canberra Ornithologists Group to investigate how data from two groups of observers can be used to document cuckoo migration events. The two groups of observers differ with respect to the number of years they have recorded the abundance of avian species in their garden; the first have recorded data for a minimum of twenty years and the second group a maximum of three years. We explore the similarities and differences of the data recorded by the two groups of observers in terms of the frequency that the first arrival date could be calculated for each year and ask if there are significant differences between the two groups in terms of the observed first arrival date. For three of the common species, Horsfield’s Bronze-Cuckoo, Pallid Cuckoo and Fan-tailed Cuckoo the two groups of observers appear to see the arrivals at the same time. In contrast, for Shining Bronze-Cuckoo the short term observers record the arrival some four week latter than the long term observer group. First arrival dates determined for the two groups of observers appear to show no change over the twenty fives years of the survey for all four common species.

114 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Spatio-temporal patterns of body condition and age ratios deduced from capture data in migrating Passerines in north-western USA Judit K. Szabo, C. John Ralph, Daniel Fink, Peter L. Ralph, Leo Salas, The Spatial Ecology Lab, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia, [email protected]

In the last dozen years an invaluable dataset has been compiled through the cooperative, volunteer- based Landbird Monitoring Network of the Americas (LAMNA). In this study, we analysed capture data to explore regional migration strategies for eleven Passerine species. Data originates from more than one hundred constant-effort banding stations located over a range of habitats in Northern California and Southern Oregon, from coastal rainforest to high altitude shrub steppe desert 500 km inland. We used Bagged Decision Trees to investigate change in weight (used as surrogate for body condition) through time and space using fat score, wing, age, capture location, year and date as predictors. We found marked differences in condition, inland being energetically harder on some migratory species. This suggests that coastal habitats may play a more important adaptive role than inland habitats. Age ratio patterns showed a strong coastal effect (higher percentage of probably misoriented young on the coast) in four species (all strong migrants), weaker effect in two (migrant and weak migrant), no pattern for three (migrant, weak migrant and resident); and reverse coastal effect in two (both residents). Overall, some species had clear regional patterns in both body condition and age ratios: birds in coastal habitats behaving quite differently from those in inland regions. The strength of these patterns depended on the degree of migratory behaviour in the species or the population, even over a relatively small area of 250,000 square km. Identifying the critical times and locations is crucial to focus conservation efforts for migratory species.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 115 Plumage reflectance and feather wear in migratory shorebirds Phil F. Battley, Craig P. Steed, Jesse R. Conklin, Zhijun Ma, Theunis Piersma and Jim Wilson, Ecology Group, Massey University, Private Bag 11-222, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand, [email protected]

Breeding plumages of birds can serve several important roles in social interactions including mate choice and territory defence, as well as providing crypsis benefits to ground-nesting species. In theory, pre-breeding moults should occur as close in time as possible to the breeding season, if a ‘fresh’ plumage is a better signalling medium than a worn one. This does not happen for many long-distance migrants, in which moult may occur substantially or even completely on the non- breeding grounds, and start as much as four months before breeding. Here, using spectrometry, we investigate whether the visual properties of the breeding plumages of migratory shorebirds varies (a) between populations that differ in the length of their migration (and hence how long is spent actively migrating) and (b) over time as birds migrate towards the breeding grounds. We collected breeding plumage feathers of Bar-tailed Godwit, Red Knot and Great Knot from different non- breeding or staging sites across their ranges, and from godwits on the breeding grounds in Alaska. We will discuss how the reflectance of the melanin-derived reddish breast or mantle feathering varies in these groups, and how feather wear (breakdown of hooks and barbules, measured microscopically) affects this. The next stage of the research is to measure melanin levels in the feathers to determine whether longer-migrating populations invest less in their feathers and consequently incur greater feather damage during migration.

116 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Ecology

Determining optimal sampling effort for a landscape monitoring program for forest birds Rod Kavanagh 1, Trent Penman 1, Matthew Stanton 1, Patrick Tap 2 and Duncan Vennell 3 1 Forest Science Centre, NSW Department of Primary Industries, West Pennant Hills, NSW, Australia; 2 Forests NSW, Dubbo, NSW, Australia; 3 Department of Environment and Climate Change, Narrabri, NSW, Australia, [email protected]

Biodiversity monitoring at multiple scales is needed for reporting status and trends in ecological sustainability, and to assess progress towards the achievement of State Plan Biodiversity Targets. Decisions about the allocation of sampling effort at each monitoring point, regardless of its location, involve trade-offs between the time-cost of surveys and the power of the monitoring design to detect changes in species presence or abundance. There is a need to determine the optimal sampling effort for landscape monitoring programs for forest birds and other taxonomic groups. We recorded 100 forest bird species at 81 points during a pilot monitoring program in the Pilliga forests of north-western NSW. Simulations using a sub-sampling method were made to determine the variation in bird species richness according to sampling plot size, number of sampling plots at each location, and number of visits to each plot. The time required for each sampling option was recorded. We found that it was feasible to reliably record (i.e. with 90% confidence) about 30% of the forest avifauna in standardised species monitoring programs. These species were representative of a number of ecological guilds and included some listed as “threatened”. Plot size, number of plots and number of visits all had important influences on species richness and species detectability. Optimal sampling effort was determined by the capacity to sample more than one location per day. This required visits to fewer plots at each location and, accordingly, resulted in fewer species detected with high levels of confidence. Our maximum sampling effort was insufficient to record all species known to be present, such that, additional visits or targeted research on selected priority species may be required. A statewide (national) grid offers potential as a framework for unbiased sampling of “resource condition” for species and habitat surrogates, and also a solid platform from which to assess changes over time.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 117 Secrets of an ecologically successful African parrot Rutledge S. Boyes and Mike R. Perrin, School of Biological and Conservation Sciences, University of Kwazulu-Natal, Private Bag XO1, Scottsville 3209, South Africa, [email protected]

Meyer’s Parrot Poicephalus meyeri ha s the widest distributional range of any African parrot, exceeding that of the African Rose-ringed Psittacula krameri and Red-faced Lovebird Agapornis pullarius. Meyer’s Parrots are distributed throughout subtropical Africa with strongest associations with riverine forest and associated dry Acacia-Combretum or Miombo woodlands (e.g. Brachystegia woodlands), and secondary growth around cultivation in areas associated with these forest habitat types. EO Wilson put forward that persistence of a phyletic line through geological time is the key measure of ecological success. Ecological success is, therefore, a function of the number of species in the monophyletic group, occupation of unusual adaptive zones, extent of distributional range, and fluctuations in population size and status. As the most abundant (are they more abundant than Senegal Parrots?) and widespread Poicephalus parrot, understanding the adaptive zone of Meyer’s Parrot is central to better understanding their ecological success. So, why are Meyer's Parrots so successful in comparison with other Poicephalus parrots? Their secret lies in their wide trophic niche breadth in comparison with other Poicephalus parrots, their affinity for riverine forest communities and associated dry woodlands, and their ability to breed successfully during winter in the African subtropics. Winter breeding is made possible by feeding on parasitic insect larvae incubating inside (e.g. Bruchid larvae) or feeding on (e.g. Red Marula caterpillar) pods and fruits in their diet – these insect larvae may vary in different catchments and latitudes. As a result of this cryptic food resource they are able to breed when no other competing cavity-nesting bird species are nesting and predation levels are significantly lower. In addition, other Poicephalus parrots do not utilise dry Acacia/Brachystegia/Combertum marginal woodlands, but inhabit specialised regional forest habitat. River catchments, basins and valleys likely function as corridors for gene flow and contact between Meyer’s Parrot subspecies across subtropical Africa, thus facilitating colonization and sub-speciation.

118 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Population size and ecology of Milky Stork Mycteria cinerea in Sumatra, Indonesia

Muhammad Iqbal, [email protected]

The Milky Stork Mycteria cinerea is currently listed as Vulnerable because it has undergone a rapid population decline due to ongoing loss of coastal habitat, human disturbance, hunting and trade. Its status in Indonesia is less well known, but although good numbers can still be found at sites in southern Sumatra there are reports that numbers have declined considerably. During 2008-2009, the population of Milky Storks in Sumatra was surveyed. The main goal was to obtain basic data on the current population of Milky stork on the east coast of Sumatra, which will help in the conservation of the species. Interviews with local people and forestry officials were principal source of information on Milky Stork. Interviews with local people may identify further populations and potential breeding areas. Terrestrial surveys were conducted both on foot and by using boats. Trip routes were planned on roads and tracks that cross as many river and tributaries as possible. Densities of Milky Stork were assessed in eastern Sumatra from the coastline at Lampung in the south to Aceh in the north. The standard site description and waterbird count forms (Asian Waterbird Census form) were designed and tested by Wetlands International. A total number of 497 Milky Storks was counted during the 2008-2009 survey in Sumatra. The highest count during survey period was 322 individuals in South Sumatra and the lowest count for Milky stork was 11 individuals in Aceh. The low number in Aceh could be due to the impact of losing breeding habitat. Compared with the previous data from 1984-1986 and 2001-2007, it is clear that Milky Stork populations have declined. Although this survey could not cover all of the east coast of Sumatra, it is suspected that the maximum number of Milky Stork is not more than 2000 individuals. This estimate is based on this survey, recent information from local people, local birders, local university student/teachers and historical records of Milky stork in Sumatra. On 17 June 2008 after a gap of 20 years (2 September 1988), a Milky Stork breeding colony was found in Sumatra on Kumpai Lake (02º26’01.7”S 105º34’52.8”E). In the accessible parts, we found 31 Milky Stork nests and 65–75 adult birds. It is estimated that there were 100–115 nests at the site. The colony was located in open mangrove back-swamps, some 6–7 km from the coast, with nests 2–20 m up in mostly dead trees within a flooded area about 15 ha in extent. No predation of young Milky Stork was seen during the survey. However, the tracks of a monitor lizard Varanus salvator were seen near a tree where Milky Storks were nesting. We also found at least 81 young birds feeding with adults on the coast of the Banyuasin peninsula in October 2008, indicating successful breeding by this species in 2008. Contrary to the observations of Swennen and Marteijn (1987) that mudskippers are a major part of the dietary of the Milky Stork, we found that they mostly fed on catfishes Arius spp. The main threats to the survival of the species are human disturbance, hunting and habitat loss. The exploitation of eggs and chicks was identified as the principal threat to the continued survival of the breeding colonies.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 119 Niche Separation in African Parrots. Mike R Perrin, School of Biological and Conservation Sciences, University of Kwazulu-Natal, Private Bag XO1, Scottsville 3209, South Africa, [email protected]

Several taxa of African parrots are segregated by body mass, and the three size classes differ markedly in Hutchinsonian ratios. Greatest distributional overlap occurs between the large parrots (Psittacus and Poicephalus species) where niche separation equates with forest type and altitude, body mass, and feeding specialization. Several African parrot species of different body mass inhabit the same specialized habitat type e.g. afromontane yellowwood forest (Cape Parrot Poicephalus robustus and Yellow-faced Parrot P. flavifrons) or semi-arid scrub (Rüppell’s Parrot P. ruepelli and the Rosy-faced Lovebird Agapornis rosicollis). All of the small Poicephalus parrots are allopatric although four species show partial distributional overlap with the similar-sized African Rose-ringed Parakeet Psittacula krameri. Coexistence between this parakeet and the four small Poicephalus species in their semi-arid environment may be mediated through low densities, different foraging behaviours (with respect to flight and bill morphology) and / or ecophysiology. Most lovebird (Agapornis) species are allopatric whereas the sympatric equatorial Red-faced Lovebird A. pullarius and Swindern’s Lovebirds A. swinderianus are separated by habitat and dietary preferences. Dietary specializations include feeding primarily on figs, grass seeds or the kernels of yellowwood fruits.

120 5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 Ecology of the Yellow-plumed Honeyeater: Studies and Hypotheses from the Great Western Woodlands Harry F. Recher1 and William E. Davis Jr.2 1. School of Natural Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA 6027, PO Box 154, Brooklyn, NSW 2003, 2. Boston University, 23 Knollwood Drive, East Falmouth, MA 02536, USA, [email protected]

The Yellow-plumed Honeyeater (Lichenostomus ornatus) is a small to medium sized (14 – 24 gm) honeyeater (Meliphagidae) that has declined in abundance over most of its range in south-western Australia. Yellow-plumed Honeyeaters form extensive colonies within the most productive eucalypt woodlands from which they exclude other honeyeaters and smaller insectivores. They are canopy foragers and are most abundant in woodlands with mature trees and a relatively closed canopy. Although they take nectar and visit flowering eucalypts outside the colonial areas, Yellow-plumed Honeyeaters rely on lerp and honeydew for energy and take canopy arthropods primarily by gleaning and hawking. Foliage is the most frequently used foraging substrate, but Yellow-plumed Honeyeaters also probe under decorticating bark for honeydew. Shifts in foraging substrates appear related to changes in resource availability. Yellow-plumed Honeyeaters are sensitive to the effects of drought, failing to nest during dry seasons, and abandoning less productive habitats. The decline of Yellow-plumed Honeyeaters in the South West can be attributed partially to habitat fragmentation associated with clearing for agriculture and urban expansion. However, declines in non-fragmented forests in the higher rainfall zones is predicted to be a consequence of declining habitat productivity and changed forest structure associated with a legacy of poor forest management.

5th Australasian Ornithological Conference 2009 121