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Callaeas Cinerea Wilsoni) 28 Notornis, 2007, Vol. 54: 28-37 0029-4470 © The Ornithological Society of New Zealand, Inc. 7KHLQÀXHQFHRIJHRJUDSKLFYDULDWLRQLQVRQJGLDOHFWRQ post-translocation pair formation in North Island kokako (Callaeas cinerea wilsoni) STEPHANIE J. ROWE* School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, P.O. Box 600, Wellington Present address: Research, Development and Improvement Division, Department of Conservation, P.O. Box 10-420, Wellington [email protected] BEN D. BELL School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, P.O. Box 600, Wellington DZȱ Following the translocation of North Is kokako (Callaeas cinera wilsoni) to Kapiti I, southern ȱ ǰȱ ȱǰȱȱȱȱěȱȱȱȱȱ ȱȱ ȱ individuals that came from the same source origin. This study investigated whether geographic variation ȱȱĚȱȱȱǰȱ¢ǰȱȱȱȱ ȱ ǯȱ ȱȱŗşşşȱȱȱ 2001 songs of male kokako that had paired and were resident at a single site were recorded. In addition, recordings were obtained from the Department of Conservation of birds in the source areas. Analysis of the songs indicated that kokako songs were typical of their areas of origin at the time of translocation and ěȱȱȱȱȱȱěȱȱǯȱȱȱȱ¢ȱȱ males whose repertoire was typical of the acoustic environment they experienced before translocation. Song analysis and pair formation of kokako born on Kapiti I indicates that the observed assortative mating ȱȱ¢ȱȱȱȱ¢ȱĞȱǰȱ ȱȱȱȱ ȱȱ recruitment. ǰȱǯ ǯDzȱǰȱǯȱǯȱŘŖŖŝǯȱȱĚȱȱȱȱȱȱȱȱȬȱȱ formation in North Island kokako (Callaeas cinerea wilsoni). Notornis 54(1): 28-37. Keywords song dialects; song learning; pair formation; translocation; North Island kokako; Callaeas cinerea wilsoni INTRODUCTION (BirdLife International 2000; Hitchmough 2002; The translocation of species to islands with fewer Baillie et al. 2004). The taxon exists in c.15 isolated or no mammalian predators is an important populations in the North Is, with the total population conservation tool in New Zealand and has been estimated to be < 500 pairs (Innes & Flux 1999). It used successfully to save several species, including will be necessary to establish viable populations of kakapo (Strigops habroptilus), black robin (Petroica ȱ ȱȱǻĞȱǼȱȱȬȱ traversi), and South Is saddleback (Philesturnus ěȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ carunculatus carunculatus) from possible extinction in case the mainland populations decline further (Bell & Merton 2002). Ongoing monitoring of (Brown & Innes 2004). populations founded by translocation is necessary Between 1990 and 1997, the New Zealand ȱȱȱěȱȱȱȱȱ Department of Conservation (DOC) translocated translocations (Lovegrove 1996). The North Is kokako 32 kokako to Kapiti I to found a new population (Callaeas cinerea wilsoni) is a threatened endemic there. These kokako came from 4 mainland natural ȱȱ Ĵȱǻ¢ȱǼȱȱ populations (Waikato, 5; Manawahe, 4; Taranaki, 2; both nationally and internationally as endangered ǰȱ śǼǰȱ ȱ Ȭȱ ȱ ěȱ ȱȱǻĴȱȱ ǰȱśǼȱȱȱȬ rearing facility (National Wildlife Centre, Mount Received 30 May 2006; accepted 30 September 2006 Bruce, 8) (Fig. 1; Brown et al. 2004). Since the initial Kokako song dialects and pair formation 29 On Kapiti I, kokako from previously isolated ȱ ȱ ę¢ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ a new forest habitat of relatively limited extent. Several studies suggest that song dialects and ȱ ȱ Ěȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ can result in positive assortative mating (Baker & Mewaldt 1978; Tomback & Baker 1984; Baker et al. 1987; Chilton et al. 1990; Casey & Baker 1992), when females mate with males that sing the song type of their natal area, rather than with males singing alien song types (Baker & Mewaldt 1978; Tomback & Baker 1984). For some species, a distant ęȱȱȱȱȱȱȱȱ ȱȱȱěȱȱǻȱŗşŞřDzȱȱ ǭȱȱŗşŞśǼǯȱȱȱȱĚȱ of geographic variation in song dialect on pair formation in the North I kokako, and the resulting short- and long-term implications for the success of translocation management. METHODS Study site Kapiti I (1965 ha, 40q50c S, 174q56c E) is 5.6 km from the southwestern coast of the North Is, New Zealand I and is 10 km long by 2 km wide (Esler 1967; Maclean 1999). Its forested eastern slopes have many ridges and gullies, whereas the western side ȱȱěȱȱȱȱśŖŖȱȱǻȱŗşşşǼǯȱȱ highest point, Tuteremoana, is 520 m a.s.l. (Esler Fig. 1 Location of source populations from which North Is 1967; Maclean 1999). kokako (Callaeas cinerea wilsoni) were translocated to Kapiti ȱȱ ǯȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ Ĵȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ established from an earlier translocation from mainland We recorded kokako songs on Kapiti I over 2 North Is populations. (southern) summer breeding seasons: Nov - Mar 1999/2000 and 2000/2001. The optimum time of day translocations, monitoring each breeding season for recording song was between 0530 h and 0900 (Oct to Mar) revealed that the introduced kokako ȱǻȱȱǼǰȱȱ¢ȱ ȱęȱ ǯȱ paired mostly with birds from the same area of Recordings were made on a Sony DAT TCD-8 origin, which resulted in fewer pairs forming than digital recorder using Sony PDP-65C DAT tapes and would have been expected from the number of birds a Sennheiser K6 directional microphone. On each present (unpubl. report, DOC). The assortative occasion, the selected territory was entered at 0515 h pairing suggested that a behavioural factor may (before sunrise) and the kokako pair was located by have been inhibiting the formation of pairs between listening for song. When a bird was heard to sing, it ȱȱěȱȱǯ ȱȱȱȱ ȱęȱ¢ȱȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ Ğȱ ȱ ȱ colour band combinations. Recordings were made each mainland kokako population, , but because only of males singing spontaneously; playback was these groups are relatively close, individuals not used to induce singing. Individual kokako were can breed with birds from a neighbouring ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ęȱ ȱ ȱ ǻȱ ŗşşŞǼǯǰȱ ȱ ȱ ěȱ purposes. Abbreviations for source areas are: KAP, ę¢ǰȱ ǰȱ ȱ ¢ȱ ȱ Dzȱ ǰȱĴȱȱ DzȱǰȱDzȱǰȱ isolated populations (Hughes 1981; McLeod 1998) National Wildlife Centre; TAR, Taranaki. and isolation-by-distance prevents interbreeding ȱ between populations. The translocation of kokako Tape recordings of kokako on Kapiti I made by to Kapiti I provided an opportunity to study the ȱ Ĝȱ ȱ ȱ ŗşşŝȱ ȱ ȱ ŗşşşȱ role that behaviour might play in the success were made available for this study. We also used ȱ ȱ Ĵȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ recordings made by DOC employees at Mapara conservation strategies. The unique dialects at each ȱ Ĵȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ŗşşŜǰȱ ȱ ¢ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱȱȱǰȱ¢ǰȱěȱȱȱ transferred from these sites to Kapiti I. These ȱȱȱěȱǯȱ recordings represent, therefore, syllables present 30 Rowe & Bell Fig. 3 Mean time (months) that individual North Is kokako (Callaeas cinerea wilsoni) translocated from natural populations (and 1 introduced population) were present on Kapiti I before they formed pairs. All recordings were grouped into 2 recording periods (except for recordings from areas of origin), as not all birds were recorded in every season (between Nov 1997 and Mar 2001). The 1st recording period was Nov 1997 to Mar 1999, which included all DOC recordings taken over the 1997/98 and 1998/99 breeding seasons. The 2nd period was Nov 1999 to Mar 2001, which included all recordings made in this study during the 1999/00 and 2000/01 breeding seasons. Fig. 2 Location of territories of male North Is kokako (Callaeas cinerea wilsoni) whose songs were recorded on A similarity index (SI) was used to compare Kapiti I between Nov 1999 and Mar 2001. The territories songs for similarity of syllable types and of TAR-1 and MAP-3 were separated temporally and did proportions, following Hay (1975). This index not overlap as indicated because TAR-1’s partner (TAR- allowed comparison of 2 sets of data that were 2) was removed from the island in May 2000 and TAR-1 divided into similar groups (syllable types), and remained alone in his territory until it was taken over by took into account the size of the respective groups MAP-3 in Sep 2000. (number of syllables) (Hay 1975). The SI was calculated using: at the source sites when the birds were removed. SI = 1 – 0.5 (6~ai – bi ~), DOC records were searched to determine how where a = proportion of ith syllable in songs of bird long (months) each kokako was present on Kapiti i a, and bi = proportion of ith syllable in songs of bird I before it formed a pair, and how many birds from ǯȱȱ ȱĜȱȱŗȱȱ¢ȱȱ each origin were present in each season. consisting of all the same syllables, but also sung in Song analysis the same proportions, whereas 0 indicated that the The same duration (45 min) of continuous song 2-syllable repertoires shared no syllables. was analysed for each kokako so that results were ¢ȱ ¡ȱ Ĝȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ comparable. Real-time sonograms of songs were compare each kokako’s syllable repertoire with ȱ ȱ ĞTM SASLab Pro (Version syllable samples from areas of origin (where řǯŗǼȱĞ ǯȱěȱ¢ȱȱȱȱ applicable), and the syllable repertoires of all other sonograms were assigned individual number kokako on Kapiti I, over the 2 recording periods. codes, which allowed songs to be translated into The percentage of syllables shared between representative sequences. Each kokakos song was individual male kokako and samples from the areas then catalogued, listing the syllables sung and the of origin was also determined, using Spearman’s proportion of each syllable type sung during the 45 ȱȱĜȱȱȱȱȱęȱȱ min of continuous song. relationships. Kokako song dialects and pair formation 31 Translocated kokako Pair formation Of the 12 kokako translocated from natural populations ǻǰȱ ǰȱ ǰȱ Ǽȱ ȱ Ĵȱ Barrier I that formed long-term pairs on Kapiti I, 10 (83%) paired with a bird from the same origin (Brown et al. 2004), and these paired much sooner than the 2 that each paired with a bird from elsewhere (Fig. 3). Since the transfer of kokako to Kapiti I began in Dec 1991, many birds remained unpaired over successive breeding seasons (Table 1).
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