No.92 September 1999 . Note: Deadline for the December issue will be ' 10th November. Edited by TONY CROCKER 118 Cones Road, Ashley RD2 Rangiora. c .-' X\. Phone: 03-313 4995, Fax: 03-364 2057 ' Email: [email protected] . for the members of the Ornithological Society of New Zealand (Inc.) Please note that sightings recorded in - this newsletter are subject to . confirmation. Talking Penguins Every year, in Dunedin, the Yellow- penguin species, speculating also on(the Presenbday YEPs eyed Penguin Consultative Group, a kinds of landscapes their predecessors coalition of central government, might have inhabited. For anyone with conservation associates and land- a taste for paleontological investigations, With regret, John Darby has owners, sponsors a one-day public this is fascinating country: it is simply concluded his long-running YEP study symposium on Yellow-eyed Penguin astonishing to see how the physiology on Otago Peninsula, where the penguins (YEP) research and conservation. The and behaviour of animals is deduced now breed in their largest mainland symposium held on Saturday 1 August from fossilised skeletal fragments. aggregations. He, and numerous other this year was the tenth in the series. volunteer observers, have left an invaluable record of YEP fortunes on the Participants converge on these Ewan's journey into the penguin South Island coast since 1981. gatherings from all parts of the YEP'S past traversed a 40 million year history mainland range (Canterbury to of crises and upheavals in New Zealand's A generally favourable trajectory in Southland). Researchers, conservation geological history. Since New Zeaiand's numbers is apparent. Known breeding managers (both amateur and oldest recorded penguin - a fossilised pair numbers, seasoned with a prudent professional), commercial operators, proto penguin - was discovered in North degree of estimation, have risen from and penguin-savvy members of the Canterbury, coastlines and climates have just fewer than 500 pairs in 1981/82 to public keep in touch with others' habitat advanced and receded markedly. Much a high of 631 in 1996/97. This upward restoration projects, science, protection of the evidence needed to fill the gaps trend, actively encouraged by predator measures, tourism, and the lives of in subsequent penguin history control and habitat restoration, is colleagues in the highly motivated undoubtedly lies out of reach in marine remarkable for its steep descent into and penguin-minding community. sediments on the continental shelf. recoverv from a catastro~hicshm~ in the early 1990s. In a series of dismaying Popular notions of giant penguins Typically, symposia have two mortality events thought to have been dominating ancient North Canterbury precipitated by food shortages at sea, components. First, participants who beachscapes are a little exaggerated. choose to do so present short numbers fell to just 150 pairs in 1990/ Even so, at 55 kilos (more or less), the summaries of their YEP research or 91. These events were extremely costly sleek, long-billed ancestors of Emperor to YEPs: not only were eggs and protection projects. These have been Penguin size which came ashore here valuable opportunities to ask for advice nestlings lost to the effects of starvation 30 million years ago would clearly have and disease, but breeding adults on problems or describe how difficulties been awkward banding propositions. have been overcome. More often than attempting to raise young also perished Size does not appear to have changed from the effort. YEPs are particularly at not, they provide interesting insights to much at the other end of the penguin managing the human dimensions of YEP risk because they routinely attempt to scale, however: what are taken to be the raise two chicks. conservation. Second, a YEP ancestors of Blue Penguins have been conservation theme is explored, usually found as comparably-sized 25 million- with the help of an invited speaker. year-old fossils in Hakataramea The cause of these food failures is Themes have been as divergent as local limestone. unknown, but today their probable authority planning mechanisms and YEP occurrence can be predicted when sea foraging behaviour, to speculating on surface temperatures rise anomalously the future ofYEP conservation. This year, Little is known of penguin evolution in the preceding winter. To preserve we took a glimpse into the very distant between 20 to 10 million years ago, but breeding adults from loss in these tough past of New Zealand's penguins. 5 million years ago, Adelie, King and seasons, YEP managers and researchers Emperor Penguins lineages were in Otago considered reduction of clutch Penguin evolution established in New Zealand waters. The and brood sizes. (In really calamitous origins of YEPs are enigmatic. They are years, the taking of all eggs was Dr Ewan Fordyce of Otago not related directly to any one of these considered in order to preserve University's Geology Department lineages, but molecular similarities experienced breeding adults.) Though summarised current wisdom on the suggest divergence from the crested politically unpalatable, these measures evolution of New Zealand's extant penguins. were and and its subscription payments, Ornithological Society of NZ OSNZNews - No.92 - September 1999 1 1 PO Box 12397, Wellington [email protected] rescue programmes favoured by public Blue Penguin seats at the conference dinner. reaction to news of starvation. Sadly, Registrants came from Hamilton to however, virtually no young birds appear symposium, Oamaru Owaka, drawn from universities, DOC, to have survived from previous large- interested organisations such as the scale salvage and rehabilitation attempts. This full day meeting was the second Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust, various biennial penguin meeting to be held in tourism ventures, Forest and Bird, OSNZ Clutch and brood reduction proved Oamaru, which has become a significant and individual naturalists. All agreed that problematic for several reasons. centre for penguin related activity since the meeting was an unqualified success Sometimes, the indications of a poor the establishment of the Oamaru Blue in terms of knowledge of the birds, their season were equivocal; or, a sudden Penguin colony in 1993. The interaction with man, predation and improvement might follow a disastrous development of the colony is closely climate. The only expressed regret was start. Managers needed more certainty related to the expansion of the local that there was insufficient time to say before taking the critical decisions to penguin population and associated all the things that needed to be said. intervene. Researchers held differing biological research. The success of the day was due in opinions about its benefits. At Otago no small part to the organisation, University, Kerry-Anne Edge's study has In September 1997 the first hospitality and compliant conference indicated that swapping eggs and chicks symposium was held to consider the facilities provided by the staff at the to leave each pair with just one chick to progress of the colony, biologically and Quality Hotel Brydone. The symposium raise might not materially reduce as a tourism venture, and, importantly, committee is grateful to several local parenting effort: the adults could invest upon their interaction. The success of bodies, service groups and businesses in one chick nearly as much effort as they that meeting encouraged the Oamaru of the Oamaru community who have do in two. As John Darby suggests, Blue Penguin Committee to establish an supported this symposium. The next however, a single chick might go to sea additional role for its monitoring and symposium will be held in 2001. earlier, perhaps at a higher fledging weware committee of arranging what will weight, allowing parent birds to enter be a biennial event for Oamaru. TONY HOCKEN the perilous moult phase with more days to spare. Each of these possibilities The meeting attracted speakers in awaits another disastrous season before the field of penguin biology and ecology, From the they can be tested adequately in the from staff and post-graduate students field. from the Universities of Otago, Victoria President's and Massey, and various parts of the Department of Conservation. Professor Ewan Fordyce, Geology YEP numbers and distribution on the Department of the University of Otago, north coast of Stewart Island will be who is well known for his studies of surveyed comprehensively in November fossil whales and penguins, spoke on the -this- yea^. TheYe4low-eyed-P-enguinzmst- origins of ~enrmins.the oldest known is funding and supervising the survey, the first in a proposed series intended years, having-been unearthed in the to provide accurate baseline data on Waitaki Valley. Dr Chris Lalas discussed At the end of July I received the penguin conservation status. The forest the food of penguins, his research Proceedings from the 22nd International habitat on these coasts will make pointing to the importance of the Ornithological Congress held in Durban searching very difficult. For this reason, dominance of small sprats in Blue during August last year. Totalling some this summer's survey will be treated as Penguins' diet, and the consequent 3,600 pages it arrived in a small envelope a pilot, to test methodology and quantify vulnerability of the birds when the fish - the first IOC Proceedings to be search effort. biology was disrupted by adverse delivered on a CD-Rom. Apart from a weather conditions, such as El Nino and flaw in the search engine which won't La Nina, providing alteration of sea automatically find contributed papers, temperatures. North Otago is this is a major achievement on behalf of particularly affected because of the very the organisers in South Africa. I am sure Further YEP specific current patterns off its coast. the national rivalry between our two countries on the sports field has had symposia A string of speakers from Oamaru, something to do with their efforts to Dunedin, Christchurch and Wellington match achievements from the 20th If you would like to be notified about then provided accounts of their own Congress.