Breeding biology of Fluttering Shearwaters (Puffinus gavia) on Burgess Island in northern New Zealand

ABSTRACT

The Fluttering Shearwater (Puffinus gavia) is an abundant seabird endemic to breeding colonies in northern and central New Zealand. The species remains poorly studied, and here we present the first study to examine its breeding biology in detail. Fluttering Shearwater nests were monitored from laying in September to fledging in January 2016 on Burgess Island in the outer Hauraki Gulf, northern New Zealand. Nine (22%) of forty-one natural nests were located under dense vegetation on the ground. Eggs were laid over a period of 39 days with laying peaking on 12 September. Incubation length was 50.0 ± 3.7 days and chicks fledged after an average of 74.2 ± 4.3 days, from late December to the end of January. Chick growth corresponds to the pattern observed for other Procellariiformes, gaining body mass rapidly to a maximum of 115% of adult mass, and then losing mass until fledging. Chicks were fed most nights throughout chick-rearing. Breeding success was 63.8% and similar to other Puffinus species breeding in pest-free colonies. This study provides baseline biological data for a poorly studied, yet common, New Zealand endemic seabird. The obtained new information will allow for further ecological investigations and improved conservation management.

KEYWORDS:

• Breeding success
• breeding phenology
• chick growth
• Procellariiformes
• provisioning
• seabirds

Acknowledgements

We thank the members of Ngāti Rehua for supporting this study on Pokohinu and Jim Foye at Maritime New Zealand for permission to use their facilities for accommodation. We are grateful for the hard work and dedication of many field assistants, particularly Jonas Kotlarz, Jesper Wadstein, Kajsa Svensson, Leon Berard and Jemma Welch. We also thank James Ross and Piers Barney for logistic support and transport to the island in variable weather conditions. Thanks are due also to Graeme Taylor and the three anonymous reviewers for providing many useful comments on the manuscript. Thanks to Northern New Zealand Trust and Auckland Museum for support with field equipment. This research was made possible by an Auckland Zoo Research Grant and by a Lund University Student Research Grant; and further supported by an ERASMUS+ stipend to M. Berg. Research was conducted under New Zealand Department of Conservation wildlife authority 38016-FAU on Burgess Island and approved by the Auckland University ethics committee. Jannie F. Linnebjerg was funded by the Carlsberg Foundation and is supported by a Linnaeus grant to the Centre for Animal Movement Research (CAnMove) at Lund University from the Swedish Research Council and Lund University.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Auckland Zoo Research Grant; Lund University Student Research Grant; ERASMUS+; and Carlsberg Foundation.