1 NZ Penguin Initiative, Q1 2021 Report, Thomas Mattern & Richard Seed
Quarter One (Q1) Report 2021
THOMAS MATTERN (SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR) RICHARD SEED (RESEARCH & CONSERVATION COORDINATOR)
13TH APRIL 2021
Abstract The transponder gate in Harrison Cove is operational again following nearly a year of technical issues. Comprehensive analysis of three years’ worth of tawaki winter tracking data is underway with plans to publish two scientific papers this winter. Two film production companies plan to work alongside the Tawaki Project this field season; (1) Netflix’s ‘Our Planet’ series and (2) a South American documentary about NZPI advisor Popi Garcia-Borboroglu and the Global Penguin Society. Our comprehensive paper summarizing the survey of Erect-crested penguins on the Bounty Islands has been published in the latest issue of Notornis, while further analysis of drone imagery from the surveys has provided a detailed topographic reconstruction of the area. With the research permits attained, logistics are now be arranged for a 2021 research expedition to the Bounty Islands and Antipodes. Both the NZ Penguin Database and kororā monitoring protocols have been updated following their first year in operation. Establishment and monitoring of a marked kororā population on the West Coast revealed a bird in the colony that was marked as a chick nearly 1000 km round the coast in Otago. Halfmoon bay school have completed the first season of their pilot kororā monitoring project on Rakiura with help from NZPI. The Fiordland community were engaged with our research and penguin conservation through public and school talks.
2 NZ Penguin Initiative, Q1 2021 Report, Thomas Mattern & Richard Seed
Contents
Winter season of the Tawaki Project ...... 3 Milestone FP2 - Automatic monitoring solutions ...... 3 Milestone FP6 – Marine Ecology baseline information ...... 5 General business – Media engagement ...... 6 Research on subantarctic penguins – Antipodes/Bounty islands ...... 7 Milestone AP1 - General Biology...... 7 Revised little penguin/ kororā monitoring protocols ...... 10 Milestone LP2 - Develop universal LP survey protocols ...... 10 Development of the New Zealand Penguin Database (NZPDB) ...... 11 Milestone LP2 - Develop universal LP survey protocols ...... 11 Update on national little penguin/kororā monitoring programme ...... 13 Milestone LP3 - Establish national monitoring plan ...... 13 Fiordland community engagement ...... 16 General business - Education & advocacy ...... 16
3 NZ Penguin Initiative, Q1 2021 Report, Thomas Mattern & Richard Seed
Winter season of the Tawaki Project
Milestone FP2 - Automatic monitoring solutions
Harrison Cove transponder gate back in operation After nearly a year of technical issues the transponder gate in Harrison Cove is working again.
The data logging and control unit had suffered multiple hardware failures, presumably due to moisture penetrating the Otter case that houses the electronics. Usually very reliable in their waterproofness, the Otter case was compromised by dirt and leaf matter settling on the lid seal. While no large amounts of water had penetrated the box, it seems as if condensation was the main culprit. The moisture corroded parts of the power control unit. We replaced the PCU with a new unit supplied to us free of charge by Kean Electronics. However, a full test of the unit was not possible as the light barrier and PIT tag antenna were still on site in Milford Sound.
The inner works of the Harrison Cove transponder gate’s main control unit.
A trip to Te Anau for a Tawaki Project public talk and an NZPI school presentation in early February (see below) was combined with a visit to Milford Sound to recover the required components and maintain the trap line surrounding the Harrison Cove tawaki colony. Once back in Dunedin, the system was put together in a test configuration and, after several days of trouble shooting the device was operating as intended again, with the invaluable help from Kean Electronics.
The transponder gate was installed once more in Harrison Cove in the last week of February 2021. At this stage, an estimated 50% of the tawaki population had finished the annual moult already and left on their winter journeys. Nevertheless, there was ample sign on the main track into the breeding area to suggest ongoing penguin traffic.
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The fully operational transponder gate back in business on 22 February 2021.
The system was installed at its previous location. Less than 30 minutes after the reboot of the unit, the first penguins crossed the transponder gate providing a successful test of the unit’s operational status. The first of two penguins to cross was male 982 000210215793, a bird that was last seen two years earlier when it was fitted with a satellite transmitter. The other bird 982 000365941856, also a male, was last seen in the colony at the beginning of the 2020 breeding season.
Two male tawaki crossing the transponder gate shortly after installation; both birds were transponder tagged.
Over the course of 18 days, a total of 13 different individual birds were identified by the transponder gate which represents 20% of the number of penguins (n=68) marked with transponders at the site since 2015. The transponder gate was removed for the winter on 11 March 2021 and will be redeployed in June in time for the penguins’ return from their winter migration.
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Milestone FP6 – Marine Ecology baseline information
Analysis and publication of winter migration data We have started the comprehensive analysis of three years’ worth of tawaki winter tracking data recorded since 2018 using both satellite transmitters and geolocators. We are currently examining which factors govern the distribution of tawaki at sea, to which extent the birds are exposed to anthropogenic activities, and how the dispersal behaviour of birds moulting at traditional breeding sites (i.e. Fiordland) differs from that of penguins moulting along the Otago coast as well as in rehabilitation centres. Our data set consists of 6,197 at-sea locations recorded over three consecutive winters that provide us with one of the most comprehensive dispersal data sets of any crested penguin species. Over the course of this winter, we plan to produce two scientific papers based on these data. Preliminary results will be presented at the Oamaru Penguin Symposium in May 2021.
Collated winter dispersal data from 2018 (yellow, satellite tracking), 2019 (green, geolocators) and 2020 (red, satellite tracking).
A dedicated paper focussing on geolocator data has been submitted for publication by Cara-Paige Green from the University of Tasmania. The paper compares the non-breeding dispersal of tawaki and the closely related Snares penguin.
The 2020 data set is also currently being used in a global meta-analysis conducted by the Movebank working group that analyses potential effects of world-wide lock downs due to the Covid-19 pandemic on animal migrations.
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General business – Media engagement
Production of sequel to Netflix’s ‘Our Planet’ with the Tawaki Project In the past year, we have been approached by various film production companies that were researching opportunities to produce natural history documentaries in New Zealand. Probably the most prestigious company to reach out was Silverbacks Films, a production company led by the producers responsible for the extraordinarily successful BBC documentaries Planet Earth, Frozen Planet and Blue Planet. More recently, Silverbacks Films produced Our Planet, an 8-part nature documentary for the streaming platform Netflix. The company is currently working on a sequel to this series which is tentatively called Our Planet On The Move and will focus on the migratory behaviour of different animal species. Tawaki have been chosen to be one of the focal species for this series and the company currently plans join our team in Doubtful Sound for three weeks in late October and early November. We have been working with the producers on the required filming permit applications and had several online meetings to discuss several aspects of the production.
South American documentary about Popi Garcia-Borboroglu and the Global Penguin Society NZPI advisory group member Popi Garcia-Borboroglu is currently subject of a film production in Argentina that documents his efforts and successes with the Global Penguin Society. There are plans for the production to also document Popi’s engagement with the Tawaki Project here in New Zealand. At this stage, there are plans to bring the production to New Zealand in late October to film Popi working with us, potentially combining efforts with Silverbacks Films.
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Research on subantarctic penguins – Antipodes/Bounty islands
Milestone AP1 - General Biology
Bounty Island Erect-crested penguin survey publication and advanced data analysis Our comprehensive paper summarizing the survey of Erect-crested penguins on the Bounty Islands has been published in the latest issue of Notornis. Since adding the paper to Thomas’s profile on science network researchgate.net in early March, it was accessed by more than 300 different people and has been the most read publication for that month.
Mattern et al. 2021. Erect-crested penguins on the Bounty Islands: population size and trends determined from ground counts and drone surveys. Notornis 68:37–50. https://bit.ly/ecp-drone-survey
Interest in publication on one hand stems from the still novel application of drone imagery to assess animal numbers and density distribution. On the other hand, it underlines that New Zealand’s least-known penguin species draws a substantial amount of interest from the international science community. In the face of progress that has finally been made with regards to the research permit application for the Antipodes and Bounty Islands (see below), the drone data on which the paper is based was revisited to determine which additional data to record on the subantarctic expeditions.
The drone missions on the Bounties were achieved using an auto-pilot software (Pix4d, https://www.pix4d.com/) that allows computer-based mission planning, e.g. definition of size of a survey area, imagery overlap etc. This tool is part of a larger software suite for the comprehensive analysis of the recorded drone imagery, notably the creation of orthomosaics (geographically accurate image representations of the surveyed area) as well as more advanced photogrammetry which allows
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the generation of digital elevation maps to reconstruct the topography of the surveyed area (http://bit.ly/bounty-topo-tweet). This aspect of the data is highly relevant for Erect-crested penguins as nest densities and distribution on the Bounty Islands appear to be correlated to topography. The penguins preferably breed in trenches, along cliffs or in the wind shadow of rock formations that provide the birds with shelter from the prevailing weather conditions. In the paper we state that there “are no detailed data about the topography of islands in the Bounty archipelago” and that data by “Land Information New Zealand are of insufficient accuracy to allow meaningful spatial analysis.” However, after exploring the Pix4d software suite in greater detail, it became clear that the drone imagery we have on file can, in fact, be used to obtain this information in great detail using photogrammetry.
Elevation map of Proclamation Island, Bounty Islands derived from 799 drone images recorded at 40 m. See also https://youtu.be/BBvFwPRKCSY
This opens new possibilities for the analysis of Erect-crested penguin distribution not only on the Bounty Islands but especially on the Antipodes Islands as well. The planned full survey of the Bounties in November 2021 will help us to analyse further how exposure to the elements determines penguin distribution on the barren islands. On the Antipodes Islands, land slips are suspected to be a major cause of a decline in penguin numbers. Using topographical data derived from the planned drone surveys will help us to examine this theory in greater detail and hopefully provide us with the means to predict which penguin colonies are particularly at risk from slips in the future. This adds another highly conservation-relevant aspect to the proposed Erect-crested penguin and Eastern Rockhopper penguin project we have been working towards since late 2018. And after nearly three years of persistence, we finally have secured the required research permits.
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Antipodes/Bounty research plans Since the beginning of the year, we have had various email exchanges with the Department of Conservation to address questions and clarify details of our proposed research. It was encouraging to finally receive actual feedback on a proposal that was first drafted in early 2019. What particularly instilled cautious optimism was the news that the permit draft had been submitted for review (and hopefully sign-off) just before Easter.
On 12 April 2021, 910 days (2.7 years) after we submitted the first proposal to initiate the pre- application consultation with the Department of Conservation, we received digital copies of the signed permit documents.
We have started to make enquiries to organize logistics and assemble a field team. We have pencilled in tentative dates for the expedition from 10 November to 19 December 2021, starting with a 12-day journey to Antipodes Islands. This outward journey will travel via the Bounty Islands to conduct a full drone survey of the 10 islands inhabited by Erect-crested penguins over the course of five days before continuing to the Antipodes Islands. Once on the Antipodes, we plan to start first deployments of GPS dive loggers and camera loggers while simultaneously conducting a full population survey using drones and ground counts as well as establishing a network of time lapse cameras for long-term monitoring of penguin colonies.
We have also started conversations with potential collaborating scientists and parties. To maximize the outcome of the expedition it is desirable to tackle as many different scientific projects as possible. Such collaborations will hopefully reduce logistical costs for NZPI through funding contributions to vessel charters etc. Regarding funding of this project both the Global Penguin Society and Antarctic Research Trust have expressed their support for this project.
A pair of Erect-crested penguins on the Bounty Islands
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Revised little penguin/ kororā monitoring protocols
Milestone LP2 - Develop universal LP survey protocols The national kororā monitoring protocols have been updated following their first year in operation. The most significant revisions are the adjustment of data recording protocols to align with the NZ Penguin Database (see below). The revised draft was first shared with NZPI’s Advisory Group before kororā conservation groups and iwi were invited to provide feedback on the document. The protocols will continue to be revised annually, following each breeding season.
The Kororā monitoring protocols are available for download at www.penguin-conservation.nz/korora- monitoring-protocols/
The one-page summary for each tier of the monitoring protocols, the ‘cheat sheets’ have also been updated to reflect the revisions.
The one-page cheat sheets are also available for download at www.penguin-conservation.nz/korora- monitoring-protocols/
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Development of the New Zealand Penguin Database (NZPDB)
Milestone LP2 - Develop universal LP survey protocols In mid-January the monitoring period for the Little penguin breeding season 2020/21 ended at Charleston on the West Coast, where the pilot study for the survey protocols was conducted. We were supplied with a spreadsheet of the complete monitoring data transcribed from field notebooks which highlighted some discrepancies to data recorded with the NZPI supplied mobile device and database app.
One of the key ideas behind using digital data recording as primary method for Tier 1 monitoring is that it facilitates standardised data entries, allows error control (e.g. with regards to recording 15 digit bird IDs), and eliminates errors when hand written notes are transcribed manually into a digital format. Moreover, digital entry also provides accurate information about time and location of the records. That these advantages were not utilized is, on one hand, unsatisfactory – especially in the context of Charleston serving as a pilot study for the national programme.
On the other hand, it was also understandable as the database app version had substantial shortcomings. These were revealed when we compared the information contained in the supplied spreadsheet and the database. For example, the app did not cater for proper records of fledged chicks which was a significant oversight. With the help of the WCPT spreadsheet, we have now not only reworked the data entry app but have also updated the underlying database structure.
New monitoring data summary of reworked database structure based on 2020/21 monitoring spreadsheet supplied by the West Coast Penguin Trust (see https://www.penguindb.nz/WCPT/monitoring).
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While it is hoped that the new and improved data entry app will lower the barrier of entry for observers favouring traditional paper-based record keeping when going out into the field, it also showed that we cannot rely on unconditional acceptance of the digital data entry solutions from the get-go. We therefore will be working on the design and printing of paper-based monitoring notebooks that will feature pre-printed data entry sheets that follow the structure of the NZ Penguin database (NZPDb).
Establish interface to national banding office One of the undisputable advantages of digital data entry and the interface to the NZPDb, is the greatly facilitated consolidation of PIT tagging data with the National Bird Banding Scheme (NZBBS). At this stage, we have developed queries to extract all relevant information from the penguin database in the format required to submit data to the FALCON database operated by the National Banding Office.
In early February, we submitted close to 300 PIT tagging data records that had accumulated over the course of the Tawaki Project as well as transponder data from the kororā marking projects in Charleston and New Plymouth (n=61).
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Update on national little penguin/kororā monitoring programme
Milestone LP3 - Establish national monitoring plan
Mystery birds As was reported last quarter (see 2020 Q4 Report), during field work on the West Coast and in New Plymouth we re-sighted kororā that had been marked with PIT tags at another time, by different organisations. The ‘mystery bird’ on the West Coast has since been identified as an individual that was marked as a chick at Pilots Beach/Takiharuru, Otago Peninsula by Blue Penguins Pukekura in December 2017, some 1000 km around the coast.
Marking and re-sighting locations of a kororā, three years and some 1000km apart.
Kororā generally return to breed at their natal colony but there are few estimates of the percentage that breed in colonies other than those in which they were born, or for those birds the distance between natal and breeding colonies1. As more long-term monitoring of marked populations occurs around the country, we will attain data about this movement between natal and breeding colonies.
1 Mattern, Thomas & Wilson, Kerry-Jayne. (2018). New Zealand penguins - current knowledge and research priorities. 10.13140/RG.2.2.16180.50564/3.
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The origin of the individual re-sighted at Breakwater Bay, New Plymouth (#956000012246825) is still unknown despite contacting all known kororā researchers and rehabilitators in New Zealand and casting the net further afield to researchers in Australia. It was suspected to be a bird that was rehabilitated at Wildbase Recovery and released in the Port Taranaki area in 2016 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-Pnp6nceHo&ab_channel=NgaMotu). Wildbase have since ruled that out since they don’t hold any records for that bird.
The Banding Office’s new FALCON database allows users to search band/transponder numbers providing the banding data has been submitted and the data owner has allowed their records to be visible. As mentioned above, a benefit of the NZ Penguin Database (NZPDB) is that it automatically syncs penguin transponder records with the FALCON database which eliminates double handling of transponder data. The NZPDB also allows users to search transponder numbers and view ancillary ‘Bird ID’ data but will only contain records from within NZ Penguin Initiative affiliated projects.
Halfmoon Bay School trail camera monitoring project Halfmoon bay school and SIRCET have completed the first season of their pilot kororā monitoring project on Rakiura; the ‘tier 3’ programme uses trail cameras to record the numbers and movements of kororā around Ackers Point as they commute between land and sea. The year 6, 7 & 8 pupils have recorded observations of kororā and other species since August 2020 which has provided insights into the timing of breeding at the colony. They have also estimated the number of kororā that are using the monitored access paths and are working to extrapolate this estimate to the whole of Ackers Point.
Of the four trail cameras installed around Ackers Point at the start of the project, two were placed along the walking track; these provided consistent sightings of kororā and will remain in position for the 2021 season. The other two cameras were placed in coves around Ackers Point that had clear signs of penguin traffic, but observations of kororā were irregular or inconsistent, indicating that no breeding birds were using a consistent access path past the cameras. These two cameras will be moved onto the walking track for the 2021 season.
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Kororā observation data recorded by Halfmoon Bay School pupils from two trail cameras on Rakiura/ Stewart Island.
Data from cameras 1 and 3 show fluctuations in the number of kororā commuting between the colony and the sea as the season progresses from egg laying to chick hatching and through to the post-guard stage where both breeding adults commute out to sea to forage and provision growing chicks. Most notably is the drop off in February where birds remain on land as they go through their annual moult. Updated data from all cameras is available on the project dashboard: arcg.is/19Hymz.
The students have also made some exciting and novel observations on the trail cameras including possum-penguin interactions and even a kiwi chasing a kororā (fb.watch/4QJWGaXNcf/).
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Fiordland community engagement
General business - Education & advocacy
Te Anau School talk In early February Richard gave a lively talk to years 3-6 at Te Anau School. The session was organised by DOC Te Anau’s community ranger Crystal Brindle as part of their local education initiative. Richard gave the pupils an overview of the penguins of the world and highlighted how important Aotearoa is on the penguin atlas. The session also served as a conduit to teach the pupils about mathematics and more specifically, measurements. They worked through the various measurements used for monitoring tawaki including weighing birds and measuring foot and bill lengths before scaling up to measuring GPS tracks and the mammoth winter migration distances, recorded using satellite trackers. We shared some real monitoring data and other resources from which the pupils will continue to learn mathematics and writing skills.
Richard presenting to Te Anau School pupils and teaching about measurements through demonstration of penguin monitoring techniques.
We look forward to taking part in more school engagements while visiting communities around the country as part of the national kororā monitoring programme.
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Te Anau public talk On the same visit to Te Anau, which coincided with the re-instalment of the transponder gate in Harrison Cove (see above), Thomas gave a typically engaging talk at the DOC office’s impressive auditorium. The presentation was an opportunity to update the Fiordland community about the discoveries made by the Tawaki Project over the last six six years and more specifically about the ongoing research into the role that fjords play in the marine ecology of tawaki.
Thomas presenting tawaki foraging data to the Te Anau community at the DOC office's auditorium.