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Status and Conservation of the Vini Lorikeets of French Polynesia

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Status and Conservation of the Vini Lorikeets of French Polynesia STATUS AND CONSERVATION OF THE VINI LORIKEETS OF FRENCH POLYNESIA Report to the LORO PARQUE FOUNDATION & CONSERVATION DES ESPÈCES ET DES POPULATIONS ANIMALES (CEPA) JUNE 2006 MARC ZIEMBICKI PHILIPPE RAUST Vini lorikeets of French Polynesia 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................................... 4 RÉSUMÉ EXÉCUTIF................................................................................................................. 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS......................................................................................................... 6 ACRONYMS............................................................................................................................... 6 CITATION & CONTACT DETAILS......................................................................................... 6 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 7 OBJECTIVES.............................................................................................................................. 8 PROJECT SITES......................................................................................................................... 9 Tuamotu archipelago ........................................................................................................... 9 Marquesas Islands................................................................................................................ 9 METHODS ................................................................................................................................ 13 Historical and contemporary records of Vini peruviana in the South Pacific ................... 13 Distribution and population estimates for V. peruviana in the Tuamotu........................... 13 Survey protocol and population estimates ................................................................. 13 Age structure and flock size....................................................................................... 14 Status and distribution of rats ............................................................................................ 14 Tuamotu ..................................................................................................................... 14 Marquesas .................................................................................................................. 14 Habitat associations, behaviour and food sources of the blue lorikeet .............................. 16 Habitat characteristics................................................................................................ 16 Data analysis .............................................................................................................. 16 Behaviour and food resources.................................................................................... 16 Identification of sites for lorikeet translocation and rat control programs......................... 17 RESULTS & PROJECT ACHIEVEMENTS ............................................................................ 18 Historic and contemporary records of Vini peruviana....................................................... 18 Current status and distribution of blue lorikeet populations.............................................. 18 Tuamotu archipelago ................................................................................................. 18 Society Islands ........................................................................................................... 18 Total population estimates ......................................................................................... 18 Rat status and distribution.................................................................................................. 18 Tuamotu ..................................................................................................................... 18 Marquesas Islands...................................................................................................... 19 Habitat use of the Blue lorikeet in the Tuamotu................................................................ 19 DISCUSSION............................................................................................................................ 33 The blue lorikeet: past and present status and aspects of ecology..................................... 33 Assessment of preliminary efforts to safeguard ultramarine lorikeet populations ............ 34 Prevention of rat establishment on Ua Huka ............................................................. 34 Rat control on Fatu Iva .............................................................................................. 34 Vini lorikeets of French Polynesia 3 Use of artificial nest boxes......................................................................................... 34 Conservation and research requirements ........................................................................... 35 Habitat alteration and loss.......................................................................................... 35 Translocation, rat control and eradication ................................................................. 36 Further research ......................................................................................................... 37 Community education and local capacity building............................................................ 38 CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS.......................................................................... 40 OTHER COMMENTS............................................................................................................... 41 LPF ASSISTANCE REQUEST ................................................................................................ 41 OUTPUTS OF THE PROJECT................................................................................................. 41 WORKSHEET........................................................................................................................... 42 EQUIPMENT ............................................................................................................................ 42 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................... 43 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Location of the Marquesas Islands and the Tuamotu archipelago................................ 10 Figure 2: Tuamotu Islands mentioned in the text. ..................................................................... 10 Figure 3: The main islands of the Marquesas archipelago, French Polynesia............................. 11 Figure 4: The Vini lorikeets of French Polynesia......................................................................... 12 Figure 5: Coconut palms protected from black rats by placing metal bands around trunks......... 15 Figure 6: The presence eaten coconuts is a sign of the presence of black rats............................. 15 Figure 7: Distribution of the blue lorikeet on Apataki atoll......................................................... 28 Figure 8: Distribution of the blue lorikeet on Tikehau atoll ........................................................ 29 Figure 9: Distribution of the blue lorikeet on Arutua atoll .......................................................... 30 Figure 10: Distribution of the blue lorikeet on Kaukura atoll. ..................................................... 31 Figure 11: Distribution of the blue lorikeet on Rangiroa atoll..................................................... 32 Figure 12: Installing a PVC nest box in the botanic gardens on Ua Huka. ................................. 35 Figure 13: Local guides Gerome and Matthieu setting traps for rats on Ua Pou.......................... 38 Figure 14: Philippe Raust talks to school children about birds at a primary school on Tikehau..39 Vini lorikeets of French Polynesia 4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Owing to their naturally small population sizes, susceptibility to environmental changes and introduced species and contracting populations all three Vini lorikeets that occur in French Polynesia are threatened with extinction. The decline in numbers and contraction of each species range has closely paralleled the spread black rats to islands across the Pacific. Black rats, as nest predators, are considered the main threat to the survival of the genus. This study is the second of two pilot studies aiming to assess the status and conservation requirements for Vini lorikeets in French Polynesia. The first was conducted in 2002 focussing on the ultramarine lorikeet in the Marquesas Islands. The general aims of the present study were to establish the status and examine threats and conservation actions required for protecting the blue lorikeet in the region and to assess preliminary efforts introduced to protect the ultramarine lorikeet in 2002. A review of the literature and recent records revealed that the blue lorikeet is now found on only 9 of up to 26 islands it was known to occur on at the time of European discovery of the region. Eight of these islands are located in French Polynesia. Surveys in the Tuamotu archipelago revealed that populations are relatively robust, though fragmented, on at least 4 of the 5 atolls it occurs on. We estimate population sizes on each of the five atolls as follows: Apataki 1258 (±351), Arutua
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