News about conservation activities on the Chatham Islands.
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Written by Peter de Lange, David Galloway and Gillian Crowcroft
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Jul 23, 2010 at 10:41 AM |
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While our knowledge of New Zealand lichens is
rapidly growing we are still unclear of what is present over large parts of the
New Zealand Botanical Region. One key area of lichen ignorance is the Chatham
Islands. The current lichen flora (Galloway 2007) records just 48 species for
the islands. Yet despite that, the Chathams are the type locality for three
species, and one of these, Caloplaca maculata, is endemic
to the islands (see Galloway 2007; Johnson 2008; de Lange 2009).
In 1996 two of us Peter de Lange & Gillian
Crowcroft visited the islands for their first time during which they collected
a few lichens from the southern part of Rekohu (Chatham Island). Since then,
but most especially in 2007 and 2008, Peter de Lange (mostly aided by Peter
Heenan), has made a special effort to collect lichens to improve our knowledge
of their diversity on the island. As a result of these gatherings, Peter de
Lange and David Galloway (the author of the New Zealand Lichen flora series
(Galloway 1985, 2007)) are working with the other key Chatham Islands lichen
collectors Peter Johnson and Allison Knight, and lichenologist Dan Blanchon to
prepare a checklist of the lichen flora for that island group (Galloway et al. in prep.). As part of that project they
have been systematically working through all known collections from the island
group held in New Zealand herbaria. In the process some rather interesting and
at times unexpected finds are being made.
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Menegazzia pulchra
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Read more...
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Written by Administrator
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Oct 23, 2009 at 09:18 AM |
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Very few museum specimens of the Chatham Island taiko exist. The type specimen (called the magenta petrel) is held in the Turin Regional Natural Science Museum in Italy, having been collected in the south-eastern pactifc by His Italian Majesty's ship Magenta on July 22, 1867. No other taiko specimens are known to be held by any other overseas museum and Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand holds one adult study skin and one mounted juvenile.
Recently Paul Scofield of Canterbury Museum discovered what appeared to be a mounted taiko specimen in the Canterbury Museum collection, however it was labelled as a Tahiti petrel. The only information on the origin of the specimen is that it was collected in the Pacific Ocean and has been in the Canterbury Museum collection since at least 1910.
Hayley Lawrence of Massey University was able to compare the DNA of this bird to the original magenta petrel with blood samples taken from Chatham Island taiko and confirm that they were all of the same species.
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Written by Peter J. de Lange
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Oct 14, 2009 at 01:26 PM |
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A common woodland lichen of eastern Australia that has been recorded only twice from
New Zealand in 1934 and
1976, and then only from the far north of the North
Island has turned up on the Chatham Islands. The lichen, Heterodea muelleri is a leafy species that in Australia grows in moderately open
woodland habitats. In New Zealand,
until it was recognised from the Chatham Islands it had only ever been recorded
from dune slacks somewhere on the Ninety
Mile Beach
and from damp sandstone ridges in light scrub near Puheke, Karikari Peninsula.
The Chatham
gatherings came from the north-western end of Ocean
Bay, Chatham
Island and from the top of Hakepa Hill
(Walkemup), Pitt Island. At Ocean Bay
the lichen grew on sandy peat and clay above schist on the margin of salt and
wind blasted vegetation. In this habitat it was associated with the lichens Cladia aggregata and C. retipora, and sedge Lepidosperma australe. On Hakepa Hill
specimens were gathered from amongst the dense drifts of Cladonia lichens that grow between the low, windswept fernland that
covers most of that trachyte peaks summit.
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Heterodea muelleri
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Read more...
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Written by Administrator
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Oct 12, 2009 at 12:00 AM |
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The Chatham Island tui translocated by the Taiko Trust from Rangatira Island to the Awatotara Manuel and Evelyn Tuanui Family Covenant in March are doing well. All 14 birds are still visiting the feeders, and an unbanded bird, first seen during DOCs parea survey, has also joined the group.
Liz Tuanui reported today that the first signs of breeding have been spotted with one banded bird seen collecting dry grass. Bruce Tuanui was able to follow the bird to its nest in a hoho tree.
Banded tui have been seen in several gardens on the South coast - Ollie Seymour was particularly delighted to see them feeding on karo flowers in her garden as she has not seen them since she was a girl at Te Awatea 60 years ago. |
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Written by Administrator
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Oct 08, 2009 at 01:29 PM |
The team of Department of Conservation and Taiko Trust team running spotlights in the Tuku valley have been successful in catching three unbanded taiko in one night. All three birds had radio transmitters attached and it is hoped that the birds can be tracked back to a burrow which can be then managed in order to protect the nest from predators and increase the world population of taiko from just 15 breeding pairs.
Update: as of Oct 27th 13 birds have been caught, 7 of which were unbanded. Well done team!
You can now get taiko updates on Twitter at twitter.com/ChathamTaiko
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Taiko
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