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Science, Technology and Engineering |
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School of Life SciencesDepartment of Environmental Management & Ecology
Mr Mark CareyMark commenced in the Department of Environmental Management & Ecology as a teaching fellow in January 2006. He plays a large role in the practical components of the 1st year undergraduate biology and chemistry subjects. Mark is undertaking his PhD on the effects of human interactions and investigator disturbance on the breeding success of Short-tailed Shearwaters (Puffinus tenuirostris) in the Furneaux Group, Bass Strait , Tasmania . There are three main areas where Mark is focusing his research; at sea, on their breeding grounds and inside the burrow. About 23 million burrow nesting Short-tailed Shearwaters (Puffinus tenuirostris) breed annually on the islands and headlands of south-eastern Australia , especially Bass Strait , Tasmania , in individual colonies of up to three million burrows. Laying in this species is extraordinarily synchronous, with 85% of eggs laid within three days of the mean 25-26 November. Chicks hatch from the 10th of January onwards after a 53 day incubation period and fledge in the last half of April to the first week of May. A popular name for this species, the muttonbird, stems from its exploitation for food and oil for more than a century. At it peak this harvest took more than one million young annually; at present about 800,000 young are taken recreationally and by commercial operators. With concern over impacts of investigation on the biology of wildlife, the effects of investigator disturbance on the hatching success of Short-tailed Shearwaters will be studied. Procellariiformes are particularly long-lived seabirds, many of whose are in serious decline. Many populations are declining because their island breeding habitat is being lost or degraded as a result of human development and the introduction of mammalian predators. Procellariiformes are further threatened by high levels of mortality incurred in long-line fisheries. Investigator disturbance that reduces reproductive success could exacerbate these population declines and interfere with the accurate assessment of demographic parameters and the appropriate allocation of management resources. Therefore, knowledge of the short-term and long-term effects of investigator disturbance on reproductive success is crucial to designing appropriate research programs that advance conservation efforts. Yet, little is known about the effects of investigator disturbance on Procellariiformes. Several studies have reported that research activities, such as monitoring and banding birds during incubation, have reduced the hatching success. However, no attempt has been made to quantify the frequency of investigator disturbance that affects hatching success, nor to identify the long-term effects of disturbance on reproduction. Short-tailed Shearwaters are an excellent model species because, unlike many Procellariiformes, they are abundant worldwide and can act as a surrogate for threatened members of their order. This part of the PhD aims to answer the following questions: (1) Does the increased frequency of investigator disturbance, through the incubation period, affect the hatching success of Short-tailed Shearwaters? (2) Is there a disturbance threshold that Short-tailed Shearwaters can withhold? (3) Is either sex more vulnerable to disturbance during the incubation period? (4) What are the long-term effects of disturbance on pair-bond and nest site philopatry? Animal migration is regarded widely as a biological phenomenon driven by seasonal cycles in food supply and weather patterns (Gill 1995). Although migration patterns of a few marine species have been recorded using electronic tags, the temporal and spatial dynamics of individuals is virtually unknown for most species. Observations of migrating Short-tailed Shearwaters at sea suggest that the population conducts a trans-equatorial, pan-Pacific flight (Serventy 1967; Serventy et al . 1971; Warham 1990). However, without tracking individual birds from a known provenance, it is impossible to determine the exact timing and direction of migratory flyways or the individual spatial and temporal patterns of habitat use once at the designated wintering grounds. In collaboration with Dr Richard Phillips of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), I plan to deploy 28 geolocation micro data loggers developed by BAS to map the annual migration route of the Short-tailed Shearwaters across the Pacific Ocean . These data loggers are an inexpensive miniaturised recording device with light (geolocation), saltwater immersion (activity), and temperature recording abilities. The information retrieved from the loggers would greatly increase our knowledge of the migration route of the shearwaters across the Pacific and help identify possible conflicts with fisheries within their breeding grounds of south eastern Australia . Since Short-tailed Shearwaters operate at a global scale, they may serve as an important indicator of climate change and ocean health. For further information please view Mark's case study in the Smart Start magazine. Publications Carey, MJ (in press) The effects of investigator disturbance on procellariiform seabirds: a review. New Zealand Journal of Zoology Meathrel CE and Carey MJ (2007) How important are intrinsic factors to natal recruitment in Short-tailed Shearwaters Puffinus tenuirostris? Journal of Ornithology 148 (Suppl 2): S385 - S393 Conference Papers Carey, MJ The effects of investigator disturbance on the hatching success, chick survival and quality of Short-tailed Shearwaters (Puffinus tenuirostris). 36th Annual Meeting of the Pacific Seabird Group, 22 – 25th February 2009, Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan. Carey, MJ and Meathrel CE. The effects of investigator disturbance on the hatching success of Short-tailed Shearwaters Puffinus tenuirostris on Great Dog Island, Tasmania” 4th Australasian Ornithological Conference, 3 - 5 2007, University of Western Australia, Perth. Meathrel, C.E. and Carey, M.J. How important are intrinsic factors to natal recruitment in Short-tailed Shearwaters? Invited paper, 24th International Ornithological Congress, 2 – 9 August 2006. Hamburg, Germany. 2009 ANZ Charitable Trust Australia - Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment. "Effects of human interactions on the reproductive success of short-tailed shearwaters breeding on Great Dog Island, Furneaux Group, Tasmania ." - $5270 2008 ANZ Charitable Trust Australia - Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment. "Effects of human interactions on the reproductive success of short-tailed shearwaters breeding on Great Dog Island, Furneaux Group, Tasmania ." - $5000 2007 ANZ Charitable Trust Australia - Holsworth Wildlife research Endowment. "Effects of human interactions on the reproductive success of short-tailed shearwaters breeding on Great Dog Island, Furneaux Group, Tasmania ." - $5000 2007 Stuart Leslie Bird Research Award - Conference Award (Birds Australia) "The effects of investigator disturbance on the hatching success of short-tailed shearwater Puffinus tenuirostris on Great Dog Island , Tasmania ." - $450
Content Approved by: Head of Department
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