Conservation Genomics of the New Zealand Storm Petrel Andrew Veale

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Conservation Genomics of the New Zealand Storm Petrel Andrew Veale The rediscovery of the New Zealand storm petrel (Fregetta maoriana) is perhaps the most exciting story of conservation for any New Zealand seabird, and a good news story among the ongoing decline of many of our species. The New Zealand storm petrel was first described from specimens obtained in the 1820s, and it was thought to be extinct for over a century until rediscovered in 2003 in the Hauraki Gulf. After a massive ten year effort, researchers found a handful of individuals breeding on Hauturu-o-toi. This population remains the only known breeding colony of this iconic bird. There remain a multitude of questions regarding the biology, ecology and conservation of this species. Is Hauturu-o-toi the only place New Zealand storm petrels breed, or are there other undetected colonies elsewhere? How many birds remain, and what has happened in their population over the last century? We plan to answer these questions using modern genomic techniques. We will look at the genetic relatedness of individuals caught at sea and from the known breeders on Hauturu-o- toi. We will model the historical demography of New Zealand storm petrels, and compare these results to those obtained for the comparatively plentiful white bellied storm petrel and the black bellied storm petrel. Given the power of these genomic analyses to determine fine-scale historical demographic trends, population structure and mixing, we will be able to identify whether multiple populations exist, determine how many individuals remain, and see if there has been recent population recovery. This information will be vital to inform the conservation management of the species, and help us understand this rare sea bird. .

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