Foraging Ecology & Conservation Physiology of the Mottled Petrel, Pterodroma inexpectata, with Applications for Maximising the Success of Petrel Conservation
type: CreativeWork
description: Globally, we face a biodiversity crisis driven by anthropogenic impacts on environmental and ecological integrity. To maximise our conservation efforts, we must understand how populations respond to environmental change and the mechanisms that enable their response. Critically, we need to be cautious of the additive threats of research and conservation action on already stressed populations. Procellariiform seabirds are one of the most threatened avian orders in the world. The conservation management of many species within this group is hampered by a lack of basic species knowledge, including reproductive biology, physiology and spatial extent. Efforts to obtain information to aid the research and conservation of seabirds often requires manipulation, including handling of both adults and chicks. Repeated exposure to stressors, including environmental fluctuations and handling, can induce chronic stress in vertebrates and our understanding of stress reactivity in procellariiform chicks is contradictory at best. In this thesis, I investigated key ecological and physiological factors that will contribute to the successful recovery of mottled petrels (Pterodroma inexpectata), which has implications for other petrel species. This study consisted of two major components. Firstly, I conducted the only study to date of mottled petrel breeding biology and foraging ecology during the chick-rearing period across multiple seasons to determine the parameters that provide insight into inter-seasonal variation in breeding success. Mottled petrels exploit a previously undescribed foraging niche in polar waters during chick-rearing, confirming that small gadfly petrels are capable of long-distance foraging trips during breeding. Mottled petrels are flexible foragers and appear to cope with prey limitations better than other sympatrically breeding procellariform species by adapting their foraging range and diet to maximise breeding success. Mottled petrel chick growth did not alter b…
abstract: Globally, we face a biodiversity crisis driven by anthropogenic impacts on environmental and ecological integrity. To maximise our conservation efforts, we must understand how populations respond to environmental change and the mechanisms that enable their response. Critically, we need to be cautious of the additive threats of research and conservation action on already stressed populations. Procellariiform seabirds are one of the most threatened avian orders in the world. The conservation management of many species within this group is hampered by a lack of basic species knowledge, including reproductive biology, physiology and spatial extent. Efforts to obtain information to aid the research and conservation of seabirds often requires manipulation, including handling of both adults and chicks. Repeated exposure to stressors, including environmental fluctuations and handling, can induce chronic stress in vertebrates and our understanding of stress reactivity in procellariiform chicks is contradictory at best. In this thesis, I investigated key ecological and physiological factors that will contribute to the successful recovery of mottled petrels (Pterodroma inexpectata), which has implications for other petrel species. This study consisted of two major components. Firstly, I conducted the only study to date of mottled petrel breeding biology and foraging ecology during the chick-rearing period across multiple seasons to determine the parameters that provide insight into inter-seasonal variation in breeding success. Mottled petrels exploit a previously undescribed foraging niche in polar waters during chick-rearing, confirming that small gadfly petrels are capable of long-distance foraging trips during breeding. Mottled petrels are flexible foragers and appear to cope with prey limitations better than other sympatrically breeding procellariform species by adapting their foraging range and diet to maximise breeding success. Mottled petrel chick growth did not alter b…
author: Sagar, Rachael
license: https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htm
date published: 2019
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:04:52Z
provider: University of Auckland
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: ResearchSpace@Auckland

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: https://hdl.handle.net/2292/48876