Use of supplementary feeding to induce breeding in free-living kakapo Strigops habroptilus in New Zealand

doi:10.1016/0006-3207(94)90332-8

Biological Conservation

Volume 69, Issue 1, 1994, Pages 97-106

https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-3207(94)90332-8 Get rights and content

Abstract

Nine female and 13 male kakapo Strigops habroptilus (Psittacidae) were transferred from Stewart Island and Fiordland (one male) to Little Barrier in 1982. During the following seven summers (1982–83 to 1988–89) there was no evidence that any bred. A programme of providing food supplements to some kakapo was begun in September 1989 to induce breeding. Six preferred foods (apple, kumara (sweet potato), and the kernels of almonds, brazil nuts, sunflower seeds and walnuts) were eventually supplied ad libitum each night at up to 12 feeding stations. These foods were eaten least often by both sexes in summer, when male activity at track-and-bowl systems was at its peak and females were mating, laying or incubating. Females nested on Little Barrier Island for the first time in the summers of 1989–90 and 1990–91, though nesting success was low.

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Abundance of wild prey modulates consumption of supplementary food in the Iberian lynx
2010, Biological Conservation
Citation Excerpt :
In a conservation context, supplementation is used to increase overall fitness by increasing productivity, survival, or both (Elliot et al., 2001; Schoech et al., 2008; López-Bao et al., 2010). However, unwanted side effects can arise, including increased obesity (Powlesland and Lloyd, 1994), disease and pathogen transmission (Miller et al., 2003; Jones and Reynolds, 2008), increased predation risk (Turner et al., 2008), and behavioural alterations (Reese and Kadlec, 1984; Boutin, 1990; Václav et al., 2003). Since supplementary feeding is usually designed as a transitory measure to be employed only while levels of natural food remain depressed (López-Bao et al., 2008), a key goal should be to minimize the likelihood that a target population develops dependence upon supplemental food, implying the alteration or loss of foraging abilities.
Food supplementation is increasingly used as a conservation tool. However, little is known about how much supplemental food is used by target populations or the degree to which the abundance of natural food affects the utilization of supplemental food. Long-term supplementation programmes could cause individuals to rely almost exclusively upon supplemental food and, consequently, lose some skills needed to forage efficiently on natural food. This may result in reduced fitness upon discontinuation of supplemental food. The Iberian lynx (Lynxpardinus) preys almost exclusively upon European wild rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus), and some populations are thought to be food limited. We quantified the contribution of supplemented domestic rabbits, whose guard hairs could be distinguished from hairs of wild rabbits, to the diet of the Iberian lynx. We also examined whether the consumption of domestic rabbits varied with the availability of wild rabbits, and with the duration of exposure to supplemental food. Domestic rabbits made up over 50% of the diet. Consumption of domestic rabbits decreased non-linearly as the relative abundance of wild rabbits increased; however, this pattern was true only above a threshold density of one wild rabbit km⁻¹. Below this threshold, supplementation was apparently strictly necessary to retain Iberian lynx. The consumption of domestic rabbits did not increase with the length of the supplementation period. Lynx continued consuming wild rabbits proportionally to their abundance, suggesting lynx did not become dependent upon supplemental food. Understanding how the abundance of natural food modulates consumption of supplemental food may help to adjust supplementation schedules to food availability and to the needs of the target populations.
Food supplementation: A tool to increase reproductive output? A case study in the threatened Florida Scrub-Jay
2008, Biological Conservation
Citation Excerpt :
Some efforts to increase recruitment in critical bird populations by provisioning have been problematic. For example, initial efforts to provide supplementary food to Kakapos appear to have improved reproductive success, but also seemed to induce a male biased sex ratio (Clout et al., 2002) and seemingly resulted in obesity in some individuals (Powlesland and Lloyd, 1994). Both of these issues have since been resolved (Raubenheimer and Simpson, 2006; Robertson et al., 2006), but they remind us of the potential for unanticipated problems and the need for care in establishing supplemental feeding programs.
The federally threatened Florida Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens) has suffered dramatic losses in recent years primarily because of overdevelopment of its unique scrub habitat. Ensuring the survival of this species will require not only measures to reduce habitat loss, but also efforts to increase the numbers of birds in small scattered populations to a point at which they are resilient to extinction from stochastic population fluctuations. Here we evaluate the utility of providing supplementary food during the pre-breeding season as a means of increasing the reproductive output of Florida Scrub-Jays. Data collected from 2000 to 2007 at Archbold Biological Station in south-central Florida indicate a marked effect of supplemental feeding on reproductive output. This increased output appeared to result primarily from larger clutch sizes produced by supplemented female breeders as a result of their advanced laying. Supplementation also increased offspring survival probabilities and the early laying permitted more renesting attempts. Furthermore, annual variation in several reproductive measures was dampened in supplemented birds, suggesting that supplemental feeding may reduce environmental or stochastic effects on reproductive output. Although a number of potential problems may be associated with supplemental feeding (e.g., predator entrainment and increased opportunity for disease transmission), it can serve as a valuable tool for management agencies that wish to rapidly increase local carrying capacity. In addition, food supplementation might benefit translocation efforts both by increasing the number of potential translocation candidates from a donor population and then by supplementing the newly established population to promote rapid growth.
The use of a nutritional supplement to improve egg production in the endangered kakapo
2007, Biological Conservation
Citation Excerpt :
Since the most fertile soils in New Zealand were probably among the first to be cleared for agriculture, the offshore islands to which the birds are now confined may not provide an optimum environment for breeding. During the 1980s little or no egg production led to the introduction of supplementary feeding as a management technique in 1989 (Powlesland and Lloyd, 1994). Sample sizes were small, but it did seem that this improved breeding success.
The critically endangered kakapo (Strigops habroptilus) is intensively managed on offshore islands off New Zealand. The birds rear their young on the fruits of native trees. These trees produce abundant fruit only every 2–6 years, and kakapo only breed in those years. At other times their natural diet is poor in nutrients. This study investigated the effect on breeding of improving kakapo nutrition by the provision of two dietary supplements: a nut supplement and a specially formulated pellet. Although dietary supplements had no effect on nesting frequency, females that took the specially formulated food pellets laid significantly larger clutches than those that did not. The supplementary diet of nuts did not increase egg production, which suggests that egg production in kakapo is limited by the nutritional quality of their natural diet rather than the energy content.
Current perspectives in avian nutrition: domestic animal models and their role in conservation management
2024, Ibis
Low hatching success in the critically endangered kākāpō is driven by early embryo mortality not infertility
2022, Animal Conservation
Intake of sugar water by kākā in orokonui eco-sanctuary
2021, New Zealand Journal of Ecology

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Biological Conservation

Abstract

References (26)

Aspects of the ecology of kakapo Strigops habroptilus liberated on Little Barrier Island (Hauturu), New Zealand

Biol. Conserv.

Food and water interrelations and the protein requirements for growth of an altricial bird, the cockatiel Nymphicus hollandicus

J. Nutr.

Food supplementation experiments with terrestrial vertebrates: Patterns, problems, and the future

Can. J. Zool.

Kakapo booming activity, Little Barrier Island, January–March 1989

Clinical avian medicine and surgery, including aviculture

The habits of flightless birds of New Zealand: With notes on other New Zealand birds

Kakapo survey Little Barrier Island, 12 September–7 November 1989

Supplementary feeding of kakapo on Little Barrier Island

Wildlife radio tagging

Kakapo breeding activity on Little Barrier Island: 21 November 1989–10 April 1990

Kakapo breeding activity on Little Barrier Island: October 1990–June 1991

Cited by (40)

Abundance of wild prey modulates consumption of supplementary food in the Iberian lynx

Food supplementation: A tool to increase reproductive output? A case study in the threatened Florida Scrub-Jay

The use of a nutritional supplement to improve egg production in the endangered kakapo

Current perspectives in avian nutrition: domestic animal models and their role in conservation management

Low hatching success in the critically endangered kākāpō is driven by early embryo mortality not infertility

Intake of sugar water by kākā in orokonui eco-sanctuary