pretty but poisonous r.c.h. shepherd published by r.j and f.j. richardson

Pretty But Ponous R.C.H. Shepherd Published By R.J And F.J. Richardson Free Public Full

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This overtopped the cliffs and, in some areas pushed seawater 100 m inland, devastating everything in its path.

The forest suffered extensive damage, particularly to the north-western sector, with many trees uprooted and others stripped of branches and foliage.

Even though some patches of forest in the southeast sustained little damage, many lupe (Pacific pigeon, Ducula pacifica) and kulukulu (purple-crowned fruit dove, Ptilinopus porphyraceus) entered eastern villages in search of food and water after the cyclone, a very unusual behavior.

This paper details our findings from a survey of some of Niues forest birds carried out during September 2004 and compares these with results from a similar survey in September 1994.

Five-minute point count data, an index of conspicuousness, from three transects showed that heahea (Polynesian triller, Lalage maculosa) were more abundant in 2004 than in 1994, that the results were variable from transect to transect for miti (Polynesian starling, Aplonis tabuensis) and kulukulu, but that significantly fewer lupe were detected along all three transects in 2004 than previously.

We tentatively suggest that the decline in the lupe population was caused mainly by unsustainable human hunting during 19942004, rather than mortality caused by the cyclone.

Niue Island, showing the locations of villages, sealed roads (solid lines), and the three tracks (dotted lines) along which the 5-min bird counts and rat trapping were carried out.

A Comparison of 5-Min Counts of Heahea (Lalage maculosa), Miti (Aplonis tabuensis), Kulukulu (Ptilinopus porphyraceus), and Lupe (Ducula pacifica) in 1994 and 2004 for Each Transect, Niue Island Figures - uploaded by Ian Westbrooke Author content All figure content in this area was uploaded by Ian Westbrooke Content may be subject to copyright.

Pretty But Ponous R.C.H. Shepherd Published By R.J And F.J. Richardson Free Public Full

Discover the worlds research 20 million members 135 million publications 700k research projects Join for free Public Full-text 1 Content uploaded by Ian Westbrooke Author content All content in this area was uploaded by Ian Westbrooke on Mar 24, 2015 Content may be subject to copyright.

The forest suffered extensive damage, par- ticularly to the north-western sector, with many trees uproot ed and others stripped of branches and foliage.

Even though some patches of forest in the southeast sustained little damage, many lupe ( Pacic pigeon, Ducula pacica ) and kulukulu ( purple-crowned fruit dove, Ptilinopus porphyraceus ) entered eastern villages in search of food and water after the cyclone, a very unusual behavior.

This paper details our ndings from a survey of some of Niues forest birds car- ried out during September 2004 and compares these with results from a similar survey in September 1994.

Five-minute point count data, an index of conspicu- ousness, from three transects showed that heahea ( Polynesian triller, Lalage mac- ulosa ) were more abundant in 2004 than in 1994, that the results were variable from transect to transect for miti (Polynesian starling, Aplonis tabuensis ) and ku- lukulu, but that signicantly fewer lupe were detected alon g all three transects in 2004 than previously.

We tentatively suggest that the decline in the lupe popu- lation was caused mainly by unsustainable human hunting during 1994 2004, rather than mortality caused by the cyclone.

Tropical cycl ones and hurricanes can cause severe damage to forests, resulting in the stripping of leaves, owers, fruits and seeds; breaking of trunks and bra nches; and toppling of trees (Wiley and Wunderl e 1993, Bellingham et al.

Everham and Brokaw 1996, Burslem et al.

The im- pact of such storms can be quite variab le on both forests and birds.

For example, areas of undamaged forest in gullies and valleys can occur within 200 m of areas where many trees on exposed ridges and hills have been toppled and those still standing have been stripped of foliage (Varty 1991, Wunderl e 1995, 1999, Robertson and Saul 2007).

High winds and heavy rainfall associated with cy- clones and hurricanes can kill birds, but stud- ies have shown that it is the indirect effects of such storms that usually have the most pro- found and long-lasting impacts on bird popu- lations ( Varty 1991, Wauer and Wunderle 1992, Wiley and Wunderle 1993, Wunderle 1995, Prather and Smith 2003, Tejeda-Cruz and Sutherland 2005, Robertson and Saul 2007).

These effects include loss of food sup- plies, foraging substrates, and nest or roost sites and increased vulnerability to predation, including by people (Craig et al.

Wun- derle 1995).

Before trees and shrubs have re- covered, birds may respond by changing their diets, locations, habitats, and timing of breed- ing ( Varty 1991, Wunderle et al.

Wiley and Wunderle 1993, Wunderle 1995).

Wolcott 1932, Wiley and Wunderle 1993).

Tropical Cyclone Heta, henceforth re- ferred to as Cyclone Heta, passed over the South Pacic island of Niue on 6 January 2004.

During the cyclone, winds in excess of 270 km hr (winds equivalent to hurricane 3 strength) ravaged Niue for about 5 hr, and a mountainous storm surge battered the west coast.

The main settlement, Alo, and the villages of Makefu, Tuapa, Namukulu, and Hikutavake (Figu re 1) were all seriously af- fected.

The combination of a high spring tide, cyclone travel direction, wind velocity and spiral direction, and a sloping seabed combined to maximum effect to produce a sea surge estimated at 50 m.

Pretty But Poisonous R.C.H. Shepherd Published By R.J And F.J. Richardson