Mo¯hua get a boost
Mo¯ hua have been translocated to Whenua Ho¯u/Codfish Island to help widen the dating pool of the native New Zealand birds.
The Mo¯ hua Charitable Trust, working in partnership with the Department of Conservation and with the support of iwi, moved the birds from the Catlins Conservation Area to Whenua Ho¯ u this week. It will be a genetic boost for the population of 39 released on the island from Breaksea Island in Fiordland in 2003.
Trust founder Nigel Babbage said it was fantastic to support a translocation that ensured the genetic diversity for an important island population.
‘‘It means the population will thrive. It also ensures the genetics from the Catlins mo¯ hua are secured on a predator-free island,’’ Babbage said.
Before this week’s translocation, the number of mo¯ hua, or yellowhead, on the island had increased, but not as rapidly as at some other predator-free sites, possibly because of differences in forest type.
‘‘This transfer will speed up that expansion, as well as increasing the genetics of the population, which are very limited as the small founder stock came from a population which itself was based on a limited founder stock originating from the Blue Mountains,’’ Babbage said.
Ros Cole, DOC
Trust manager Hannah Edmonds said the yellowhead species was found only on the South Island and was susceptible to mice and rats, which is why they needed a safe place to breed.
She believed there was now a healthy population of up to 1000 mo¯hua on the island. In the future, the trust would begin looking at islands in Fiordland to translocate the bird to, she said.
DOC senior biodiversity ranger Ros Cole said the transfer was ranked as the third highest priority by the DOC Mo¯ hua Recovery Group at their 2017 meeting.
‘‘As well as boosting genetic diversity on Whenua Ho¯u, it’s also an important safeguard for the Catlins mo¯hua genetics as they are not currently represented on a predator-free island outside of the swimming range of introduced predators. The high standard of biosecurity in . . . Whenua Ho¯ u further reduces any future risk to the population.’’